Women's rugby displayed solid offense and defense in a 68-0 shutout over Penn State University Sunday afternoon in Elkhart, Indiana. 

In the neutral site contest against the perennial D1 Elite power, the Lions put four different players across the line in the first half to build a 22-0 advantage by halftime.  Tries came from Alex Strasser, Nika Paogofie-Buyten, Caring De Freitas, and Joyce Taufa.  Natalie Gray booted a conversion to add to the scoring column.

In the second half, the continuing pressure from Lindenwood wore the Nittany Lions down, resulting in another 44 points for the Lions.  Strasser, Taufa, De Freitas, and Paogofie-Buyten each scored for a second time in the match, and single tries came from Morgan Freeman, Kodi Barlow, Teresa Bueso Gomez, and Isabel Manu.  Gray kicked another two conversions and Bueso Gomez slotted one as well. 

The player-voted awards went to Alex Strasser for Back MVP, Morgan Freeman for Forward MVP, and Veteronnica Tafito for Hit Stick.

With the victory, Lindenwood improved to 5-0 overall and concluded the fall campaign.

In other action, the women's rugby second side earned a 48-32 win over Davenport Saturday afternoon in Elkhart, Indiana.  The Panthers entered the game as one of the top ranked teams in the country but the Lions were up to the challenge.
Lindenwood started quickly in the first half and built a 24-5 lead by halftime on tries from Kiarah Mosely, Alicia Barry, Samantha Tancredi, and Moira Dillow.  Meg Gold kicked two conversions for four points.  The Lions continued to build their lead to 41-15 with 20 minutes remaining in the second half with tries from Jessica Laughlin, Tui Roberts, and Barry.  Davenport scored three times and added a conversion to pull within nine, but Emily Morris touched down for the final score and Gold booted the conversion for the final margin.

Samantha Tancredi was voted Forward MVP by the players, Kiarah Mosely was voted Back MVP, and Selena Tuilaepa earned the Hit Stick.

The second side improved to 3-1 for the fall.  They will return to action October 28 to host the Mid-America Women's All-Stars.  The opening kickoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. that Sunday afternoon on the Lindenwood campus.