Women's rugby advanced to the USA Rugby Women's Collegiate D1 Elite XV's National Championship match with a 92-0 shutout of Penn State in the semifinals Saturday afternoon at Hunter Stadium in St. Charles, Missouri.

 
Hosting the Nittany Lions at home for the first time in program history, the Lindenwood Lions took a quick lead when Helen van Hattem crossed the try line in the first minute. They never looked back from there, adding another 39 points before halftime on single scores from Destiny Arena, Taina Tukuafu, and Kapoina Bailey, two scores each from Fane Haungatau and Amy Brice, and two conversions from Freda Tafuna. Penn State had some attacking opportunities with set pieces inside the Lindenwood 22-meter line, but a stout Lions defensive effort kept the Nittany Lions off the board. The Lions took a 44-0 advantage into the break.
 
The finishers started entering the match after the start of the second half, but Lindenwood did not miss a beat, continuing a fast-paced attack that added another 48 points to the Lions ledger, while maintaining a strong defensive effort. Lindenwood showed its depth with all 23 players spending at least 20-minutes on the pitch while preserving the shutout.
 
Head Coach Billy Nicholas explained the significance of the win against Penn State.

"We have a lot of respect for Penn State rugby, I know I do," he said. "When I first took the head coaching job here at Lindenwood, Penn State was the class you wanted to play alongside and they have a lot of trophies and professional players to prove that. Being able to host them at home for the national semifinal was a great opportunity for the program here. We've had some different results meeting them in the playoffs in the past, so be able to earn this win was big for us as a program."
 
With the victory, the Lions extended their varsity XV's winning streak that started after a loss to the Glendale WPL team in September 2017, and they earned a trip to the USA Rugby Women's Collegiate D1 Elite XV's National Championship match which will be played in Houston, Texas April 30. The opening kickoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. at Aveva Stadium, home of the Major League Rugby (MLR) Sabrecats.
 
Tickets to support your Lindenwood Lions in person can be purchased at this link. 
 
Full Match Score: 

Van Hattem - 5 
Arena - 5 
Haungatau - 5 
Tafuna - 2 
Brice - 5 
Brice - 5 
Haungatau - 5
Tafuna - 2 
Taina - 5 
Bailey - 5 
Halftime
Tafuna - 5 
Haungatau - 2
Allen - 5 
Tafuna - 5

Tafuna - 2
Dillow - 5 
Tafuna - 2
Van Hattem - 5 
Dillow - 5 
Mailo - 5 
Tafuna - 2
Farley – 5
Final:  92-0