Men's rugby clinched the Midwest Rugby Conference (MRC) Championship with two wins in a span of 24-hours over the weekend at Hunter Stadium in St. Charles, Missouri. The Lions defeated McKendree University 44-12 Friday night and stopped Adrian College 39-22 Saturday evening.  
 
How it Happened:
In the match against the Bearcats, Emilio Carranza ran a hard line on the edge of the defense to give Lindenwood a 5-0 advantage in the ninth minute. The Lions gave up a penalty try five minutes later but regained the lead when Patricio Mas forced himself over the goal line in the 20^th minute.

McKendree only needed two minutes to answer with a score to go in front 12-10 and the Bearcats held that advantage for several possessions on each side until a Ben Crosby try gave Lindenwood a 15-12 lead just before the break.  
 
The Lions came out of the gate quickly in the second half with tries from Mark Barbour and Gavin Richards. Charlie Kirkpatrick slotted the second conversion for a 27-12 Lindenwood advantage in the 53^rd minute.
 
The Lions continued to pull away from there. With 20 minutes to play, Emanuele Tani slipped loose from the defense for another five points, then Lindenwood added another try 10-minutes after that. After the Lions took a five-meter scrum deep in Bearcats territory, the forward pack settled it and Brendan Mullen picked the ball off the back and crashed over the line to make it 37-12.
 
The final score came with three-minutes remaining when Jack Cahill scored in the corner. Marcus Robinson booted a tough conversion for the 44-12 Lindenwood victory.
 
How it Happened:
In the match against the Bulldogs on Saturday, the Lions struck first when Dimitri Diakogiannis found space on the edge and made a great 20-meter run for a 5-0 lead in the 10^th minute.

After an Adrian try evened the match 17-minutes later, Diakogiannis again made a great individual effort on the edge. With a powerful burst and fancy footwork, he shook the defense and was in the zone for a 10-5 lead, one that Lindenwood held until the break.
 
The Bulldogs only needed two minutes to score an equalizer in the second half, but the Lions answered three minutes later. Leander McQuade ran a great support line and was able to cut through the defense for a 20-meter run and a 15-10 advantage, but Adrian responded once again with a two-minute drive to tie the match 15-15 in 47^th minute.  
Lindenwood started to take charge from there. At the 52-minute mark, Jack Johnson worked his way over the goal line for a 20-15 lead, then after McQuade blasted a box kick deep in his own territory, he immediately chased it, went airborne out-jumping everyone to secure possession at the 50-meter line, then raced down the pitch for the try. William Bentley slotted the conversion to push the Lions advantage to 27-15 in the 59^th minute.
 
Lindenwood added on five minutes later. With possession on the goal line, Asher Webb forced himself through the defense and into the try zone. Bentley added the conversion to make it 34-15.

The Bulldogs kept battling and stayed within striking distance with a converted try in the 70^th minute and they continued to pressure and pin the Lions in their own territory for most of the remaining 10-minutes, but Lindenwood showed patience and persistence to keep Adrian from scoring anymore.
 
With one minute remaining, the Lions had a lineout 10-meters from the try line. A well-executed maul put Guillermo Bilbao into the zone for the 39-22 win.
 
Player Thoughts:
Johannes Greyling: "This week's matches were a great indicator of the depth we have in our team. Playing three different teams in five days and winning them all showed the depth we have developed this season. We still have some things to sort out but I believe we are on a special path going into the playoffs."
 
Asher Webb: "Adrian is a very good team and it took all of us to finally put them away. It definitely wasn't a perfect performance on our part, but there will be plenty of positives to take away from this match."
 
What's Next?
With the two victories, men's rugby improved to 23-2 overall and finished conference play with a mark of 6-0. The Lions host Marian (Ind.) University on March 29. The opening kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. Friday night at Hunter Stadium.
 
Scoring Summary vs. McKendree University:
9' Lindenwood Try Emilio Carranza 5-0
14' McKendree Penalty Try 5-7
20' Lindenwood Try Patricio Mas 10-7
22' McKendree Try 10-12
37' Lindenwood Try Ben Crosby 15-12
45' Lindenwood Try Mark Barbour 20-12
52' Lindenwood try Gavin Richards 25-12
53' Lindenwood Conversion Charlie Kirkpatrick 27-12
60' Lindenwood Try Emanuele Tani 32-12
70' Lindenwood Try Brendan Mullen 37-12
77' Lindenwood Try Jack Cahill 42-12
78' Lindenwood Conversion 44-12
 
Scoring Summary vs. Adrian College:
10' Lindenwood Try Dimitri Diakogiannis 5-0
27' Adrian Try 5-5
33' Lindenwood Try Dimitri Diakogiannis 10-5
42' Adrian Try 10-10
45' Lindenwood Try Leander McQuade 15-10
47' Adrian Try 15-15
52' Lindenwood Try Jack Johnson 20-15
59' Lindenwood Try Leander McQuade 25-15
59' Lindenwood Conversion William Bentley 27-15
64' Lindenwood Try Asher Webb 32-15
65' Lindenwood Conversion 34-15
70' Adrian Try 34-20
71' Adrian Conversion 34-22
80' Lindenwood Try Guillermo Bilbao 39-22
 

Lineup vs. McKendree University:
 

1. Patricio Mas
2. Mark Barbour
3. Brysten Appleton
4. Will Blowers
5. Jacob Racine
6. Curtis Smith
7. Jack Cahill
8. Gavin Fitzhugh
9. Charlie Kirkpatrick
10. Gavin Richards
11. John Kenaga
12. Ben Crosby
13. Emilio Carranza
14. Karsten Rice
15. Emanuele Tani
16. Ivan Ingram
17. Cameron Schafer
18. Emmett Bock
19. Charles Palmer
20. Brendan Mullen
21. Gage Poland
22. Aiden Kalmar
23. Marcus Robinson

 
 
Lineup vs. Adrian College:
 

1. Asher Webb
2. Xavier Herbert
3. Luke Schaefer
4. Neil Milczarek
5. Le'Donn Mathis
6. Jack Johnson
7. Riley Richardson-Mould
8. Joaquin Gonzalez Fontan
9. Leander McQuade
10. Cole Scharffenorth
11. Bautista Nasta
12. William Bentley
13. Kobe Millar
14. Dimitri Diakogiannis
15. Brendan Mason
16. Giovanni Agostini
17. Carter Breneman
18. Johannes Greyling
19. Owen Peel
20. Guillermo Bilbao
21. Abraham Boston
22. Hassan Lin
23. Emilio Carranza