Women's rugby held off Life University 17-15 to capture the College Rugby Association of America (CRAA) D1 Elite National Championship Saturday afternoon at the Mecklenberg Sportsplex in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Cloudy and damp conditions made ball handling a challenge for Lindenwood in the early stages of the match and pressure from the Running Eagles kept the Lions mostly pinned in their own end. That pressure led to a penalty kick opportunity for Life that was slotted for a 3-0 lead in the seventh minute. The Running Eagles maintained a majority of possession and had other scoring opportunities, but couldn't get any more points on the board. They missed a penalty kick and then were held up after driving to within inches of the try line.  

What could be considered the key play of the first half came at the 25:41 mark. With possession in the Lions end of the pitch, a loose ball bounced into an open area and players from each side charged to recover. As Amy Brice dove to cover the ball for Lindenwood, a Life player attempted to kick it, catching Brice in the face. The dangerous play prompted a yellow card and left the Running Eagles short-handed for 10 minutes.

Life initially did a good job of maintaining possession to kill off the penalty time, but good ball handling and powerful running from the Lions finally created a crack in the Running Eagles defense. After series of Brice broke out to the left side and off-loaded to Demi Allen who raced 30 meters for a try in the extreme left corner to give Lindenwood a 5-3 advantage in the 34^th minute.

With momentum clearly on the Lions side, they charged forward again just four minutes later. Brice broke through a weary Life defense, faked a final defender, and scored to the left of the posts to increase the lead to 10-3. It looked like that might end up as the halftime score, but a penalty helped Life take possession into Lindenwood territory and drive close to the try line. A final dive over to the left side of the zone and the Running Eagles had cut the deficit to 10-8 going into the break.  

In the opening moments of the second half, the Lions demonstrated better passing and ball handling, which resulted in more possession. A beautiful 50 to 22 kick moved Lindenwood deep into Life territory. After several phases, Samantha Ganoza ultimately broke several tackles to get just short of the line. Annie Nauer then executed a quick pick and go try right under the posts. Helen van Hattem slotted the conversion to give the Lions a 17-8 lead.

As the second half continued, both teams brought several players off the bench to provide some fresh legs. One of the most impactful subs was Freda Tafuna. Every time she touched the ball, she moved the Running Eagles defense backwards, gaining multiple meters of territory for the Lions. They drove close to the try line twice, but both times were unable to get the five-points that could have sealed the victory.

The clock was on the side of Lindenwood however, and as it ticked down to the final 10 minutes, the situation became more urgent for Life, but while the Lions defense would bend, it didn't break until the final seconds. After another set of subs entered the game for Lindenwood with two minutes remaining, a tap-penalty move from the Running Eagles caught the Lions off-guard which led to a sprint for a score just to the right side of the posts. A successful conversion left Lindenwood with just a two-point lead at 17-15.

With only seconds left, Life had time for one more chance. The Running Eagles kicked possession away to move the ball, but Cerhys Gould caught the kick on the fly and quickly booted sideways to touch at the final whistle to preserve the win and the national title.

Amy Brice was named the Most Valuable Player for the match as Lindenwood earned its fifth straight collegiate 15's championship.

Demi Allen commented about the match afterwards.

"It was a hard fought game from both sides," she said. "Not our best or prettiest game, but we came together and showed why we're the best collegiate women's rugby team in the nation."

The Lions will turn their attention to sevens rugby in the spring.