Houston, TX - The Penn State Men's Rugby team finished out the fall season with a narrow defeat to St. Bonaventure in the NCR National Final, 18-19.
In a match that was a true tale of two halves, St. Bonaventure managed the conditions in Houston well and used a strong wind effectively in the 1st Half. Pinning Penn State back for majority of the half, Bonnies racked up a 14-3 lead into the half through kicking and pressure which resulted in 1 try and 3 penalties. Dalton Musselman put Penn State on the board late in the half through a penalty and an effort to begin closing the gap.
With the wind at their back in the second half Penn State began working on a comeback. Using the wind Penn State put St. Bonventure on the back foot and mounted pressure through good phase play. Dalton Musselman closed the gap in the 58th minute with another penalty, which seemed to be mounting for St. Bonaventure. Giancarlo Nastasi scored Penn State's first try in the 65th minute, 11-19 and a two score game. Added pressure with a closing score gap forced some more ill-discipline from Bonaventure resulting in a red card. Penn State capitalized on the man advantage with Dalton Musselman skirting through a gap and putting Jesse Capriotti away for a try, Dalton Musselman converted and with time winding down Penn State trailed 18-19.
In the end The Lions ran out of time and fell 18-19 to St. Bonventure. Now with some time to reflect and set sights on the spring, the team are excited to have made it to the Championship and will use this momemtum moving forward.
