BUENA VISTA, Va. - The Southern Virginia University rugby team won a hard fought conference match against Mount Saint Mary's University 32-17, on a crisp fall Saturday afternoon.
Coach Smyth on the victory:
"What really made me the most proud was the effort, the team just kept going for the full eighty minutes. The players worked very hard on and off the ball, the heart was there. We've been working on our fitness, it's getting better and it showed on the field today. When our backs were against the wall we dug deep and did the things we had to do to win the game."
How it happened;
Mount Saint Mary's scored the first points of the game after a successful conversion to go up 3-0, followed by Southern Virginia capitalizing on an offensive possession after
O'Shea Settle found the try zone for a score. After a successful conversion, the Knights took the 7-3 lead. Settle then converted on a kick to further the advantage for Southern Virginia 10-3. The Mount kept things interesting after a try evened up the score 10-10 at the end of the first.
The Knights came out firing offensively in the second half, with David Falatau scoring his first try of the match within the first couple minutes, putting Southern Virginia up 15-10.
O'Shea Settle continued to show his kicking prowess after his second successful conversion stretched the Knights lead to 18-10.
The Mountaineers kept the match interesting after another successful try making the score 18-17 in favor of the Knights.
Southern Virginia once again showed their resilience, with
Michael Golden fighting his way to the try zone to score his first try of the match. The successful conversion pushed the Knights to a 25-17 advantage.
Taniela Faletau put the game out of reach for The Mount, scoring his first, and Southern Virginia's, final try of the match.
O'Shea Settle once again made the conversion to ice the game for the Knights. The match would end with a final score of 32-17.
Up Next;
Southern Virginia looks to keep their winning ways going next Friday, October 14 at home against conference foe Queen's University of Charlotte. The match is set to start at 5 p.m.
For all the most up-to-date information regarding Southern Virginia University rugby, please visit knightathletics.com and follow @knight_rugby on Instagram.
