October 5, 2019
PSU 43 – 20 St. Bonaventure
Penn State Men dispatch St. Bonaventure 43-20
In a much better team performance, the Nittany Lions managed to secure a bonus point win over St. Bonaventure this Saturday, 43-20, pushing us up to #1 in the conference going into the midpoint of the season.
The team continues to progress each week, and we are starting to find our form at the perfect moment this season. The attack started to click, which led to a 6-try day on the weekend. Pete Jean opened the scoring off the back of some serious defensive pressure, which pinned Bonnies in their own half and forced a Penn State penalty. Off the ensuing lineout and a few attacking phases, he was able to open the day.
The first half came to a bit of a standstill and some errors allowed Bonnies to take the lead mid-way through the half. The Lions did not panic and, once we settled into our structures, moved the ball to the wide channels, enabling Xavier Fangmeyer to score just prior to half, tying the score 12-12 at the break.
The second half was all Penn State, as we outscored Bonnies 31-8. Jesse Capriotti scored two long range tries after his forward pack opened some space out wide for the flyer. Will Lyke powered over the line, and Freshman GianCarlo Nastasi finished the day in style, with a well worked move from scrum. Dalton Musselman went 5 from 6 on conversions and 1 from 1 on penalties to cap off the afternoon.
The 2nd Team responded with another win, defeating Bonnies 10-7 in a shortened match (50 minutes total). It is exciting to watch some of the younger members of the team starting to play some really nice rugby.
This week we head into a real battle with old rival Kutztown University. KU sit 2nd on the table and will be looking to knock the Lions out of the #1 spot heading into the tail end of the season. This match will be played at 1pm at University Park on Saturday, October 12th.
PSU 43 – 20 St. Bonaventure:
Tries: Jean, Fangmeyer, Lyke, J.Capriotti x2, Nastasi
Conversions: Musselman 5 of 6
Penalties: Musselman 1 of 1
PSU 2: 10 – 7 St. Bonaventure