Men's rugby added three wins to its record over the course of three days November 16-18. 

The Lions traveled to Grand Rapids, Michigan and earned a 33-3 victory over Davenport University on Saturday.  Facing 35-degree temperatures and some snow, Lindenwood started the match in lackluster fashion, but senior wing Cristian Rodriguez managed to score an early try.

"We didn't capitalize on some of our scoring opportunities and left a lot of points off the board," he said.

Stagnant defense and some half-hearted tackling were the theme of the first half, but the Lions were able to rely on a solid game plan and some explosive individual efforts to build a 19-3 lead at halftime.

A much more determined and focused team was on display in the second half for Lindenwood, led by senior second row Wes Parker who had some charging runs and played some clinical defense.  Hooker Stephen McLeish also helped steer things in the right direction.

"The momentum stayed through the second half, where we won the kickoff and had multiple improvements," he recounted.  "The reserves came in a made a huge impact almost instantly, especially on defense."

Reserves Emmanuel Albert, Joe Stewart, and Josh Perry made significant impacts off the bench as the Lions closed the gaps on the Davenport runners.

The trip north began with the Lindenwood second XV defeating Michigan 76-0 Friday night at Mitchell Field in Ann Arbor.  A young and determined squad only arrived at the pitch 45 minutes before game-time, which probably led to a few early errors, but overall, the Lions controlled most aspects of the match.

The duo of Tali Nasilai and Drake Humphrey proved to be a handful.

"Once we were able to get loose after the first few minutes of the game, we were able to dissect the Michigan defense," Humphrey said.  "It took a bit for our attack to adjust to the cold, wet conditions of the game, but after getting handle on the ball, we were able to attack fluently and produce positive results with great efforts."

The aggressive Lindenwood defense and numerous willing runners led to five tries in the first half.  The message delivered by the coaching staff at the break was to keep pressuring the Wolverines and be more organized on attack.  Captain Jack Desmond made sure that message was understood.

"Once we found our groove, we were able to continuously put points on the board," he said.  "Outstanding defense led to a shutout and allowed our playmakers to find holes in the Michigan defense."

The Lions were able to clear their bench in the second half while scoring another seven tries, two of which came from reserve wing Karl Bleikamp.

A busy weekend of rugby concluded at home on Sunday with a 62-12 victory over the STARS invitational traveling team at Hunter Stadium in St. Charles, Missouri.  Most of the players on the STARS roster are from the Midwest, but a few came from as far away as New York.

Lindenwood fielded a team with every class freshman through senior represented that was led by three consistent first XV players.  Because of the nature of the STARS, little was known about their overall talent and organization, but the Lions handled it well.

Captain and second row Brandon Chalker was a key leader on the pitch.

"The forwards set a great platform for the backs at set pieces and the backs capitalized by scoring some slick tries," he reported.  "The boys also turned defense into attack well."

The Lindenwood defense pressured the STARS consistently, forcing some ill-advised offloads.  One of the veterans that helped with that effort was Mason Brooks.

"The forward did well in applying pressure and taking control in the scrums," he said.  "The backs did great in placement of exits and counter-attacks."

The backfield was led by flyhalf Juan Pablo Aguirre and center George O'Sullivan.  The two playmakers created plenty of opportunities for their younger teammates to shine.  Aguirre found the try zone three times and handled kicking duties, while O'Sullivan made several cutting runs and consistently swung the ball to wide spaces.

"We had great momentum from the forwards," O'Sullivan said.  "This led to quick and clean footy for the backs, who capitalized well."

Despite a few mental lapses that can be expected from an inexperienced squad, the match was a great display of team play from the Lions.  One of the highlights of the game came from freshmen Hunter Collins and Tristan Mahs, who dominated some scrums late.

With the three victories in three days, Lindenwood improved to 8-1 overall, and concluded the fall schedule.  The Lions will return to the pitch to begin the remainder of their season schedule in February.