This past Wednesday, Lindenwood men's rugby defeated the McKendree Bearcats by the score of 54-17. It was a back-and-forth contest, but the Lions were up to task and secured a hard-fought victory over their Midwest Rugby Conference (MRC) rival.
 
How it Happened:
The Lions scored first on Wednesday after a perfectly placed kick to touch set up a textbook lineout. The final pass found Tyresse Prescod on a blistering short line, and he smashed through to score the opening try. Malan Graham stepped up and slotted the conversion putting the Lions up 7-0.

With momentum on the Lions' side and a few key calls in their favor, they secured a crucial lineout deep in Bearcat territory. Then the backline took over and sliced through the defense with slick hands and electric footwork. Graham finished the job then slotted the conversion, stretching the Lions' lead to 14-0. 

The Bearcats pressed hard the ensuing possession, but Lindenwood stayed cool under pressure. The Lions soon had the ball again and with sharp passing and quick decision-making, they spread the ball wide into open space, right into the hands of Prescod. He took off and flew over the line for his second try of the day. Graham cashed in the conversion to extend the Lindenwood lead to 21.

A forced turnover by the Lions defense allowed Malan Graham to deliver a perfectly placed 50/22. Now set up in prime attacking territory, the forwards powered up the maul behind Luke Shaefer. Shaefer powered in for the score, stretching the Lindenwood lead to 26-0.

Although the Lions were in complete control, the Bearcats were not going down without a fight. With Lindenwood temporarily down a man, McKendree forced a huge charge-down on a Lions kick. The bounce was in favor of the Bearcats, and they scooped it up and dived over for their first try of the day. A successful conversion closed the gap just before halftime, making it 26-7.

McKendree got the ball to start the second half, but a crucial handling error immediately gave the Lions the ball back. William Bentley pulled off a slick offload to Kobe Millar, who charged up the field 45 meters before firing a laser of a pass to Dimitri Diakogiannis. With open space ahead, Diakogiannis torched the defense and flew over the try line for the score. The Lions' lead now stood at 31-7.

Although ahead by 24, the Lions continued to apply the pressure. The ball found its way to Joaquin Gonzalez Fontan, who wove through defenders and soared 60 meters downfield. Fontan dove over the line and put the Lions ahead 36-7.

A well-earned penalty gave the Lions another chance to strike. Lindenwood booted it to touch, set up the lineout, and the LU maul was in motion. The pack powered forward and rumbled over the try line. Terrell Hopson was the man to dot it down as he celebrated his first try of the season. Hassan Lin added the extras, stretching the Lions' commanding lead to 43-7.

The Bearcats trimmed the deficit to 43-14, but the Lions responded once again. A scrum just five meters out from the McKendree try line set the stage for William Bentley, who saw the two versus one out wide. With a slick show-and-go, he faked the pass, backed himself, and dived over for the try. Lin nailed the conversion and pushed the Lions' lead to a dominant 50-14.

Following a misfired lineout by the Bearcats, the Lions got the ball back. Bentley completed a pass to Prescod who raced up the field. Prescod then handed it off to Diakogiannis, who put the finishing touch on an epic play, scoring the final try of the game. Lin stepped up and nailed the conversion with flair sealing a 57-14 for Lindenwood.
 
Coach Quote:
 Assistant Coach Corey Harmann: "Was very proud of the boy's performance. It really highlights our depth as a team that we can play BYU on Friday and turn around and pick almost a new 23 for a league match on the following Wednesday. It is a testament to the competition we have within the squad at training daily with the younger boys continuing to grow and push the older boys to take it to the next level."
 
Players Quote:
Junior Guillermo Bilbao: "It's always an honor to play with the Lindenwood crest on our chest, and especially to play at Hunter. I think this game was great opportunity to show what we have for many of us, and in my opinion, we were able to take advantage of this opportunity. We had a solid defense and were flying around on attack so very proud of the boys that played and now its time to look forward to the playoffs." 
 
What's Next:
The Lions will head to Forest Park in St. Louis for some Prescription Sevens action beginning at 8 a.m. on Saturday, April 5th. The Lions will begin play on Saturday with a six game win streak and a season record of 33-3-1.
 
Scoring Summary:
3' Lindenwood try Tyresse Prescod 5-0
4' Lindenwood conversion Malan Graham 7-0
8' Lindenwood try Malan Graham 12-0
9' Lindenwood Conversion Malan Graham 14-0
17' Lindenwood try Tyresse Prescod 19-0
18' Lindenwood Conversion Malan Graham 21-0
24' Lindenwood try Luke Schaefer 26-0
34' McKendree try 26-5
35' McKendree Conversion 26-7
42' Lindenwood try Dimitri Diakogiannis 31-7
47' Lindenwood try Joaquin Gonzalez Fontan 36-7
60' Lindenwood try Terrell Hopson 41-7
61' Lindenwood conversion Hassan Lin 43-7
67' McKendree try 43-12
28' McKendree Conversion 43-14
75' Lindenwood try William Bentley 48-14
76' Lindenwood conversion Hassan Lin 50-14
80' Lindenwood try Dimitri Diakogiannis 55-14
80' Lindenwood Conversion Hassan Lin 57-14.
 
Roster:
1 Keiran Holland
2 Joaquin Gonzalez Fontan
3 Luke Schaefer
4 Harry Regan
5 Owen Peel
6 Jacob Kleist
7 Jack Johnson (C)
8 Guillermo Bilbao
9 Malan Graham
10 Jean Pierre Reichel
11 James O'Connor
12 William Bentley
13 Kobe Millar
14 Dimitri Diakogiannis
15 Tyresse Prescod
16 Mkhanvisi Buthelezi (55')
17 Grant Devos (55')
18 Carter Breneman (55')
19 Jacob Racine (58')
20 Terrell Hopson (50')
21 Nayan Sirwani (58')
22 Aiden Kalmar (59')
23 Hassan Lin (59')