Men's rugby made history by capturing the first national division I title for the program at the 2015 USA Rugby Collegiate 7's Championship May 23-24 in Denver, Colo.  The Lions went 3-0 in pool play and then won another three games in the bracket knockout stage, defeating Mid-South Conference rival Davenport 28-10 in the finals.

The journey to the cup for Lindenwood began in Pool E on Saturday with an opening match against Central Florida.  The Lions jumped out to a 17-0 lead and then coasted to a 17-7 victory.

Lightning caused a delay in the schedule, but that didn't slow Lindenwood at all.  When play resumed, the Lions quickly dispatched Arkansas 32-0.  Cameron Reed made a quick cut to break the line and ran the length of the field for the first try just two minutes into the game.  Toma Ghattas scored three times and Lucas Bersin scored twice and added a conversion to pace the Lindenwood offense the rest of the match.

The Lions continued to roll in the third game with a 35-0 shutout of Stony Brook.  Just like the previous match, Lindenwood struck quickly, when Alex Augsburg ran the distance in the first 30 seconds.  Mickey Bateman kicked the conversion, one of five in the contest, and the Lions were ahead for good.  Cameron Reed added a try under the posts at the four minute mark and Lindenwood took a 14-0 lead to the half.  Augsburg, Bersin, and Giovanni Falco scored in the second half, which was highlighted by the return of Morgan Findlay to the pitch after a 10 month injury hiatus. 

With three wins in pool play, the Lions earned the number four seed in the Cup quarterfinals and faced number five seed American International College (AIC) on Sunday.  It was clear from the opening kickoff that it was going to be a tough battle.  The Yellow Jackets scored first to take a 5-0 lead in the third minute, but Lindenwood responded when Tom O'Connor bounced through some tackles and then offloaded to Sebastian Kalm who finished under the posts.  Bateman added the conversion for a 7-5 lead, but AIC would take it back with a try just before halftime. 

Momentum continued to swing in the second half.  The Lions regained the lead when Findlay took a few steps before offloading to Kalm who drew the defense to put Bersin under the posts in the 11^th minute, but the Yellow Jackets countered by taking the ensuing kickoff in for a score and a 17-14 advantage.  With time running down, Lindenwood forced an error and took over possession.  Findlay ended up with the ball and again provided a key offload to set up Bateman for the winning try and conversion by a final score of 21-17.

After the come-from-behind effort, the Lions would need more late game heroics in the Cup semifinals against Utah.  In a match that would prove to be a bruising battle, Lindenwood took the opening kickoff and scored in the first 20 seconds on the strength of a great run and conversion from Bateman.  The Utes answered with a try in the third minute, but failed on the conversion for a 7-5 deficit, and then the defense took over.  Neither team would yield anything for the next nine minutes, but as the clock wound down in the second half, Utah finally pushed the ball over the line to take a 10-7 lead.  With their backs against the wall, the Lions needed some quick magic, and O'Connor provided it by taking the kickoff the distance.  Lindenwood held the final two minutes to escape with a 12-10 win and advance to the Cup finals.

After two thrillers, the championship game against Davenport ultimately proved to be less dramatic, but not until the second half.  Kalm gave the Lions a lead with a try in the third minute and Bateman converted, but the Panthers scored in the corner in the sixth minute and Lindenwood went to the half with a 7-5 lead.  The break apparently energized the Lions, because they came out fast in the second half.  Bateman broke free for a try under the posts in the 11^th minute and Kolton Nelson followed in the 13^th minute to give Lindenwood a 21-5 advantage.  Davenport countered with a try, but when Reed bumped off a defender to dive over the line for the Lions with a minute left, the celebrating began.  Lindenwood hoisted the championship trophy with a 28-10 victory.

The national title was the second in program history.  The Lions won the USA Rugby Division II crown in 2012.  Lindenwood wraps up the season with an overall collegiate record of 15-6-1, finishing with a USA Rugby D1A semifinal appearance in 15's play and a national title in 7's competition. 

The Division I Cup final match between the Lions and Panthers, as well as the Division II and Women's Cup finals will be broadcast on the ESPNU network beginning at 10 p.m. CDT Monday night, May 25.