For the second year in a row, Lindenwood and Life University will play for the USA Rugby Women's D1 Elite National Title.  The rematch was assured after the Lions posted a 70-5 win over Central Washington and the Running Eagles topped Penn State 34-31 Sunday afternoon in semifinal action at Furman University in Greenville, South Carolina.

Lindenwood entered the match having won two previous meetings against the Wildcats in convincing fashion, and the Lions picked up right where they left off as they took the opening kickoff and scored in the first minute on a long break down the sideline from Sativa Tarau-Peehikuru.  She, along with Morgan Freeman and Caring De Freitas each scored two tries while McKenzie Hawkins booted several conversions and a penalty kick for good measure to give the Lions a 41-5 lead after the first 40 minutes. 

The trend continued into the second half with Casey Karl making an immediate impact with multiple scores and Isabel Manu smashing through the defense for points as well to leave no doubt about the outcome.

Head Coach Billy Nicholas reflected on the victory.

"Our team played a strong match against a quality opponent and we are happy with the results," he said.  "I believe we put on a great display of rugby and it's exciting that over 10,000 have viewed the live stream.  We are already back at work and focused on the title game against one of the top programs in the country and one that we definitely respect.  We know that we are very capable, but like any other weekend, we have to come out and execute and control the control-ables." 

The USA Rugby Women's D1 Elite National Championship Lindenwood versus Life University is scheduled for April 7 at 12 p.m. PST in Stanford, California.  Live streaming is available at www.usarugbytv.com.  Last year, the Lions topped the Running Eagles 36-8 to claim their first 15's national title in program history.