Women's rugby spent Saturday working a clinic for Memphis Inner City Rugby (MICR) and then spent Sunday defeating Life University 41-5.
 
The clinic was a combined effort with Lindenwood and Life University that involved high school students from several Memphis area rugby programs.  Lions Head Coach Billy Nicholas summarized the event.
 
"The clinic was fantastic!  It was great to see all of the college students giving back and teaching skills and games to the next group of college bound rugby players," he said.  "A big thanks to Shane and Sanam from MICR for helping to put the weekend together.  Working with the Running Eagles staff and players off the pitch was a great opportunity for all involved to give back to the game collectively." 
 
After the clinic on Saturday, Lindenwood focused its attention on a neutral site match in Germantown, Tennessee against fellow D1 Elite opponent Life University.  The match initially was a tight affair with the Lions defense proving strong in the set piece.  Lindenwood left some points off the board in the green zone, but still managed four tries in the first half, two from Nika Paogofie-Buyten and single scores from Selena Tuilaepa and Avalua Lafitaga.  Natalie Gray booted two conversions to give the Lions a 24-0 lead at halftime. 
 
Lindenwood sharpened its tactics for the second half and aside from giving up a single try, continued to hold a strong Running Eagles offense in check while adding another 17 points to the scoreboard.  Paogofie-Buyten dotted down for a third time and Nohea Uluave and Morgan Freeman also scored.  With another conversion from Gray, the Lions completed the 41-5 victory.
 
Coach Nicholas assessed the match.
 
"We had some really good moments on the field and we are starting to work together more as a collective unit rather than individuals," he said.  "As that continues to improve and we sharpen our decision making on attack, we will really be able to get to our full potential this year. To hold such a strong team to just five points is a great testament to the defense we showed this weekend, so we hope to keep building on that success in the next few weeks of the fall season."
 
With the victory, the Lions improved to 2-0 in collegiate competition this season. They face another neutral site contest October 26 against D1 Elite Penn State University.  The game will take place at the Moosegrounds Complex in Elkhart, Indiana.
 
In other action from Sunday later in the day, the Lions second XV faced the Life second XV with Lindenwood scoring a late try in dramatic fashion to post a 10-5 win.  Emily Morris scored for the Lions earlier, and the match was tied at five until the final moments of the second half when Sydney Julich broke free for a 70-meter run.  Some final efforts from the Lions defense clinched it. 
 
Lindenwood vs. Life First XV

Scoring Summary
Nika Paogofie-Buyten - 5 
Natalie Gray - 2 
Selena Tuilaepa - 5 
Natalie Gray - 2 
Nika Paogofie-Buyten - 5
Avalua Lafitaga - 5

24-0 at half time 

Nika Paogofie-Buyten - 5 
Nohea Uluave - 5 
Natalie Gray - 2 
Morgan Freeman - 5 
Lindenwood 41-5 Final
 

Lindenwood vs. Life Second XV
Scoring Summary
Emily Morris - 5 
Sydney Julich - 5 
Lindenwood 10-5 final