The Penn State Nittany Lions Men's Rugby team edged out Kutztown in a spirited comeback to go 1-0 in the Rugby East, this past Saturday. The Nittany Lions fought until the final siren to secure the 33-30 victory over the Golden Bear's on their own turf.
The Nittany Lions came out firing with an early try by stalwart prop Noah Smith. However, Kutztown responded with two tries and a penalty goal to round out the first half.
Kutztown carried their momentum into the second half, scoring an early try.
The Nittany Lions stayed composed and staged their comeback mid-way through the second half. The scoring started with sophomore flanker Aiden King pushing through for a try on the goal line. The Nittany Lions quickly built off that momentum with the two captains combining for a try with Dalton Musselman threading the ball through to Campbell Halloran to put him into a wide-open gap.
Penn State's Finishers came in and kept the momentum rolling with a try by junior scrumhalf Giancarlo Nastasi off of an offload by Numa Pailhol.
The game was ultimately won by the great play of captain Dalton Musselman, who's late, breakaway try secured the game for the Nittany Lions.
Musselman said on the game, "Kutztown was a team we knew was going to be tough and especially two PA schools going at it always brings great energy. Overall everyone did a great job staying composed and showing grit while we were down most of the match which is something hard to do. Coming out with a win against a team like Kutztown is another step to where we want our team to be and the quality of play, we need to have versus every team we play."
Flanker Caleb Smith would go on to win man of the match for his gritty, physical performance.
