After an 11-month layoff, men's rugby defeated Mid-South Conference foe Arkansas State 31-8 Saturday afternoon at Curt Huckaby Field in Jonesboro, Arkansas.  

The first half tested the mettle of the Lions, who spent most of the minutes digging deep defensively with little possession. The Red Wolves came out firing and worked the ball side to side fairly effectively, but could not break through the Lindenwood defense for any points. 

Emmanuel Albert, voted man of the match by his peers, spoke about the class of the defense on display early in the game. 

"It was tough, [Arkansas State] was physical and took advantage of our early errors," he said. We held them out with line speed and double tackles. Our preparation in training, especially on defense, earned us this win."

Lindenwood was coiled for 37-minutes, but scored twice in the final minutes of the half.  Evan Williams, on form with his kicking boot all day, knocked a penalty over from nearly half way to make it 3-0. Just three minutes later, Williams spotted a gap in transition and fed wing Morgan Purcell for a try. To end the dizzying flurry, Williams knocked over the routine conversion to end the half with the Lions leading 10-0.

Coming out of the half time intermission, the Lions were confident they could leverage their physicality and depth to wear down the opposing team.

Senior flanker Cody Erhardt, often used as a substitute and known for his late game physicality, reflected on his role as well as the roles of the other substitutes. 

"I believe the starters did well to generate momentum at the start of the second half, so it was crucial for us to come in and keep that going," he said.  "We like to call ourselves the bomb squad. We are all finishers and big hitters. We get excited to come in and put the squeeze on the other team. The reserves didn't give up any points today, when each guy came on he could smell blood in the water and we continually dialed up the pressure."

Arkansas State cut into the deficit with a penalty kick in the 50th minute, then the Red Wolves scored an opportunistic try from long distance two minutes later after gathering a dropped ball off the line out.  The conversion failed leaving Lindenwood with a 10-8 lead.

From that point through the rest of the match, the Lions remained encamped in the Red Wolves red zone, combining hard carries with good ball movement across the field. Tinashe Muchena crashed over for a try at the one-hour mark after the forwards had the Arkansas State scrum on ice skates. 

The outside backs also began to smell opportunity as the Lindenwood forwards pulled more and more players into the ball. Full back Connor Burns and Morgan Purcell both scored in the last ten minutes. Purcell had a particularly strong day, leaving three defenders in his wake en route to a celebratory dive into the try zone.

The Lions debuted several players in their first ever college action. Freshman Shiven Dukhande started on the right wing. The aforementioned Alberts suited up at outside center, while Miguel Arcos, Coleson Warner, and Beorn Graham all added valuable minutes as reserves.

From the coaching corner, Josh Macy expressed gratitude for the opportunity. 

"Aside from forgetting a bunch of our match day work flows, the coaches were so happy to watch the guys play, Macy said.  "We understand how fortunate we are to be able to support players at a level that make these matches possible and I personally love the air of gratitude in the training environment right now."

The Lions return to action with another match in the Mid-South Conference against Life University February 20.  The opening kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. that Saturday afternoon at Lupo Family Field in Marietta, Georgia.

Scoring Summary
Tries: Morgan Purcell (2), Connor Burns, Tinashe Muchena
Conversions: Evan Williams (4)
Penalties: Evan Williams