Women's rugby won its fourth straight College Rugby Association of America (CRAA) Women's D1 Elite 15's National Championship with a 21-0 shutout of Life University Saturday afternoon at Avena Stadium in Houston, Texas. 
 
After having to make some last-minute changes because of an injury to starting tight head prop and USA pathway player Samantha Tancredi, quality depth from Lindenwood was able to step up as some rotations were made prior to the opening kickoff.
 
The match was played in the trenches in the first half with the Lions spending most of the time attacking inside their own 50-meter line. Newcomer of the Year Helen van Hattem managed to fend off the defense and go for a long run to score the first points of the game for Lindenwood. Standout first-year player Freda Tafuna booted the conversion to make it 7-0 in favor of the Lions.
 
Offensive possession continued to go back and forth as the half continued with restarts for both teams, but Lindenwood was able to eventually get better field position which resulted in a score from Selena Tuilaepa to give the Lions a 14-0 lead at the break. 
 
Lindenwood controlled the pace for most of the second half, playing inside the Running Eagles 22-meter line, but inconsistency in phase continuity stifled several attacking attempts. However, the Lions defense held strong against a potent Life offense, preventing the Running Eagles backline from ever mustering momentum during restart plays. With time winding down, Tafuna scored up the middle of the pitch and added her own conversion to give the Lions a 21-0 advantage, which proved to be the final score.  
 
Championship Most Valuable Player and Lindenwood senior captain Sativa Tarau-Peehikuru was happy with the result, but still critical of some things.
 
"I'm really happy with the result, but we know we could have performed better in attack," she said. "I'm still happy to shutout their attacking threats in defense. There is no other team of people I'd want to have shared this moment with, so while it's bittersweet to move on from the 15's program, I'm stoked to have finished on a high note."  
 
The Lions will graduate eight seniors from the championship roster of 23 and will look to their younger plays to step up into leadership roles and continue to build the Lions legacy.
 
Head Coach Billy Nicholas was happy to get another title, despite some struggles.
  
"It was a gritty match and we would have liked to put some more points on the board, but our decisions with ball in hand weren't the best," he lamented. "I think we let some pressure and nerves get to us a bit and tried to force some things, but if there is one thing I've learned over the past few years, it's that a win is a win, especially when it's for a championship. Our team hung in, played fearless defense, and battled some injuries and match day conditions that were less than ideal and absolutely earned the result we wanted.
 
"After looking back, I'm just so proud of how well this team did over the course of the entire year and grateful that our seniors left a legacy of success as they head on to the next great thing in their journey."  
 
This is the first year that women's rugby did not allow a point in either the semifinals or finals as the Lions outscored their opponents 113-0 in the two games. Over the course of the 2021-22 season, the women's varsity 15's squad outscored its opponents 465-68 and finished a perfect season with wins over WPL, D1 clubs, and D1 Elite competition.
 
The Lions now shift their focus from 15's play to sevens and will seek another national title at the AEG Collegiate Sevens National Championship May 13-15 at Kennesaw State Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.