Strong set pieces and aggressive defense led the Lions to a 58-0 shutout of Iowa Central Community College Saturday afternoon at Hunter Stadium in St. Charles, Missouri. 
 
Lindenwood started scoring early when the forward pack, led by captain Marnus Spangenberg, drove a maul 20 meters deep into Triton territory where scrumhalf Richard Felton set up wing Morgan Purcell in the corner.  The backs kept the ball in the Iowa Central half of the pitch and the forwards turned the screws in a scrum near the Tritons try line, resulting in a score from #8 Tinashe Muchena.
 
Emmanuel Albert and Kayleb O'Donoghue piled on the defensive pressure and forced mistakes from Iowa Central which led to an opportunistic score from Felton on a quick tap after a Tritons penalty.  Lindenwood props Joseph Stewart and Liam Smith continued the scrum pressure and wing Jake Jacobson was able to finish off a nifty move from flanker Ayden Hurst and Felton.
 
The Tritons continued to kick to Purcell despite repeated runs back into their territory.  Only ill-advised offloads hindered some brilliant counter-attack play from the Lions.  Muchena earned Lindenwood multiple possessions through his powerful stand-up tackles and he continuously stifled the Iowa Central attackers with the help of his teammates. 
 
Before the half ended, Lindenwood added three more tries through Reece Botha, Purcell, and Hurst and led 39-0.
 
The Tritons started the second half with more front foot attacking, but the Lions defense closed ranks when necessary.  The Lions brought on the reserves early and reserve props Sam Buckley and Gabe Kettering continued the dominance at scrum time. Their earned penalty moved Lindenwood into great position in a lineout that was finished off by the forwards through O'Donoghue.
 
Fullback Connor Burns set up three different tries for the Lions in a splendid performance, and early in the second half, he was able to break the defense and offload to Jacobson who scored his second try.  It was a familiar sight when Burns set up Purcell on the edge for a score 10 minutes later. 
 
The remainder of the match proved to be a bit disjointed with the reserve play and the cold, rainy weather conditions, but Lindenwood maintained defensive discipline to complete the shutout. 
 
After the dust settled from the first game, the 3^rd XV squad hosted the Iowa Central 2^nd XV squad with the Lions earning a 46-17 victory.  The developmental side faced an extremely athletic Tritons team, but weathered their attacks while executing a smart game plan. 
 
Lindenwood started the game with some big hits through prop Setu Vole, but offsides penalties kept them moving backwards and Iowa Central was able to score two early tries for a 12-0 lead. 
 
After the slow start, the Lions defense started to click and that propelled the offense to march down the field.  Strong scrummaging through Vole and fellow prop Victor Wong gave Evan Conlon a front-foot ball that he converted into a try under the sticks. Center Lucas Black converted to get Lindenwood on the board with seven points.
 
Tyler Acosta was able to pick off the back of another strong scrum and drive over for the line, and with the conversion from Black, the Lions took a 14-12 advantage, one they would not relinquish.    
 
The next Lindenwood foray into Triton territory resulted in center Deven Mason taking a good line.  Wong picked from the base of a ruck and pushed his way to pay dirt to give the Lions a 19-12 lead at the break. 
 
Early in the second half, the Lindenwood defensive lineout, led by Juan Mota Sanchez, stole the ball on the Tritons try line. Conlon scooped it up and scampered for his second try of the match and a 26-12 advantage after the conversion from Black. 
 
Reserve prop Jose Tomas Perez Acle entered the game and immediately became a force on defense by moving Iowa Central backward on phase after phase. The Lions earned a scrum on the Tritons line and wing Skyler Budman picked a strong line and finished off the movement for another score. 
 
Additional reserves continued to add to the Lindenwood effort.  Flyhalf Lochlan Charley sent up a huge up-and-under and fullback Micah Duffield expertly fielded the kick and finished off the move two phases later.  Props Perez Acle and Nick Balante continued the strong scrummaging and reserve #8 Brandon Babalola picked off the back and scored.
 
A period of sloppy play ended with the Tritons scoring off the back of a maul, but Babalola responded with a try off another scrum to complete the final margin in the victory. 

After the two games against Iowa Central on Saturday, the Lions 2^nd XV hosted the St. Louis Bombers and finished with a 28-17 win Sunday afternoon at the Lindenwood Track and Rugby Complex. 
 
The Lions played a smart, field-position game early through halfback Evan Williams and flyhalf Dylan Thompson, earning a penalty in the opposition half that Williams slotted to give Lindenwood an early 3-0 advantage. 
 
Set pieces for the Lions worked well in the next phase of game play, but penalties and missed tackles allowed the Bombers to score under the post.  The Lions demonstrated good set pieces again and moved the ball through the good hands of the backline, putting center Cael Hodgson across in the corner.  The rest of the first half was filled with missed opportunities, missed tackles, and more penalties for Lindenwood, but aggressive defense countered some of those shortcomings.  It was still not enough to keep the Bombers from scoring again to give them a 12-8 lead at the break. 
 
Both teams struggled with missed tackles early in the second half which led to back-and-forth play. Fullback Josh Paulsen cleaned up the backfield and moved the Lions into an attacking position. Dylan Thompson kicked a ball deep into Bombers territory, Hodgson scooped it up, and offloaded to wing Ryan Thompson who finished off the try.
 
Reserve flanker Cody Erhardt added some much-needed forward movement, tackled extremely well across the gain-line, and had a huge line break, but support was too far away. Lindenwood made some strong runs through #8 Ross Brocket and hooker Steve McLeish, but poor ball security in the breakdowns prevented the Lions from stringing plays together.  Good counter attacking from the back three and some strong defense earned the Lions a penalty right in front of the posts and Williams hammered the kick home. 
 
Another sloppy period of play followed, but aggressive Lindenwood defense and loose play from the Bombers gave Williams another chance at goal. He was successful again.  The final try of the game came when Acosta found a gap in the defense and dotted down.  Williams converted for the final points for the Lions.
 
With the three wins, Lindenwood improved to 8-0 overall for the season.  The Lions have another busy weekend ahead with three games November 2.  They will play the Royal Ramblers at 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. at the Lou Fusz Soccer Complex in St. Louis, and host the United States Naval Academy at 8:30 p.m. at Hunter Stadium in St. Charles, Missouri.