Men's rugby had to rally from behind twice in a 21-14 victory over Brigham Young University (BYU) Saturday afternoon at Hunter Stadium in St. Charles, Missouri. In a highly contested match, the No. 2 ranked Lions took their first lead with only four minutes remaining.
 
How it Happened: 
Lindenwood played field position and executed a very patient game plan, allowing the Cougars to have possession of the ball, but limiting their opportunities to move it forward. It worked well until midway through the first half when BYU took a quick tap penalty and brought the ball to the goal line. A few phases later, the Cougars crossed over the line and led 7-0 with a successful conversion.  

 
The Lions continued their game plan which prevented any more BYU scoring, but Lindenwood couldn't get any points either and the Cougars took their lead into the break.
 
The Lions went to work on the attack in the second half. In the 48^th minute, a lineout deep in BYU territory put Lindenwood in great position. A tip pass from Connor Devos gave Eduan van Heerden a lane to cut through the defense and into the zone. Cole Scharffenorth slotted the conversion and the match was tied 7-7.
 
BYU answered quickly though. The Cougars ran a nice blocker line, and a dummy pass sent the ball carrier racing down the sideline for a score in the 53^rd minute. The ensuing conversion made it 14-7 BYU.  
 
With both squads continually pushing each other, the constant physical battle started to wear down the Cougars and the Lions started imposing their will in the scrums, resulting in a handful of scrum penalties on BYU. That combined with continued physical defense slowly turned momentum towards Lindenwood.  
 
With the ball down close to the Cougars goal line, both teams were scrambling to make a play. Alejandro Martinez Tapia ultimately was the one to do it when he stretched the ball over the line for a try in the corner. Byron Forword booted a difficult and critical conversion and the Lions tied the game again with less than 10 minutes to play.  
 
The match was knotted 14-14 and the game clock continued to count down. With five minutes remaining, Nick Hardrict, II broke free and raced 60-meters before getting tackled. With the ball deep in BYU territory, Lindenwood forced a Cougars scrum backwards. BYU touched the ball down in the end zone, giving Lindenwood a scrum just five-meters away. The ball was passed directly to Declan Ries out of that scrum and he gave a step, then crashed over the line to give the Lions their first lead of the match. Forward was successful on the conversion and Lindenwood held a 21-14 lead with only three minutes remaining.
 
With time almost up, the Lions took ball possession out of a center scrum and executed a 50-22 kick to retain possession for the final play. After running a few phases, they kicked the ball out to end the match and seal the win.  
 
What's Next? 
With the victory, Lindenwood completed its fall campaign undefeated. The Lions will return to the pitch in the new year when they travel to Knoxville, Tennessee for a neutral site contest against the University of Mary Washington on February 10.  
 
Scoring Summary:

20' BYU Try 0-5 
21' BYU Conversion 0-7 
48' Lindenwood Try Eduan van Heerden 5-7 
49' Lindenwood Conversion Cole Scharffenorth 7-7 
53' BYU Try 7-12 
53' BYU Conversion 7-14 
72' Lindenwood Try Alejandro Martinez Tapia 12-14 
72' Lindenwood Conversion Byron Forword 14-14 
76' Lindenwood Try Declan Ries 19-14 
77' Lindenwood Conversion 21-14 
 
Lineup: 

1. Chad Tinney 
2. Christopher Wallace 
3. Connor Devos 
4. Eduan van Heerden 
5. Le'Donn Mathis 
6. Alejandro Martinez Tapia 
7. Calvin Ihrig 
8. Duncan Krige 
9. Jeremy Zwick 
10. Cole Scharffenorth 
11. Kobe Millar 
12. Declan Ries 
13. Stephin Alberts 
14. Nick Hardrict, II 
15. Brendan Mason 
16. Xavier Herbert 
17. Johannes Greyling 
18. Hailama Anakalea 
19. David Scanlon 
20. Guillermo Bilbao 
21. Byron Forword 
22. Delfino Salinas 
23. Lautaro Soto Ansay