Men's rugby swept Ohio State on Saturday at Fortress Obetz in Obetz, Ohio, with the first XV opening Midwest Rugby Conference (MRC) play with a 41-21 win and the second XV following with a 50-7 victory. Lindenwood scored 15 tries across the two matches.

How it Happened: 1st XV

Ohio State struck first. In the ninth minute, the Buckeyes scored off a pick-and-go, and the conversion made it 7-0. Lindenwood answered in the 13th minute when Landon Starnes broke the line, though the conversion was missed, cutting the deficit to 7-5. The Lions took the lead three minutes later as David Cathcart broke the line for a try of his own. Another missed conversion left it 10-7.

Lindenwood added to its lead before the break. In the 26th minute, Zack McCartney picked and fed Nayan Sirwani Villanueva, who finished the move, and Baptiste Esperon's conversion sent the Lions into halftime ahead 17-7.

The scoring continued after the restart. Five minutes into the second half, Sirwani Villanueva scored his second try of the day off a 2-on-1 overlap, with the conversion missed, to make it 22-7. Cathcart followed in the 50th minute, finishing a kick chase for his second try, and the conversion was again missed, extending the lead to 27-7. Lindenwood worked its bench into the match through the second half, and Samuel Enochian powered over from close range with a pick-and-go in the 54th minute. Esperon's conversion made it 34-7.

Ohio State responded late. A penalty try in the 58th minute made it 34-14, and the Buckeyes added a try and conversion in the 72nd minute to close to 34-21. Lindenwood had the final say. Right at the 80-minute mark, reserve Ren Heimer scored off an intercept, and William Bentley added the conversion to set the final margin at 41-21.

Lindenwood scored seven tries spread across five different players, and all eight reserves saw action in the road win. The Lions are now 1-0 in MRC play.

"I thought the boys put in a very solid performance this weekend. It was great to open our conference play against Ohio State and get the ball rolling. There are definitely areas we can improve on, but I thought the boys showed a lot of character getting the win on the road," said Captain Zack McCartney.

How it Happened: 2nd XV

Lindenwood's second XV scored eight tries in a 50-7 win over Ohio State's second side later in the afternoon. Nicolás Rosselot converted five of the Lions' eight tries, and eight different players found their way to the tryline.

Lindenwood wasted no time. In the ninth minute, Ethan Huish broke the line for the opening try, and Nicolás Rosselot's conversion made it 7-0. The Lions extended the lead in the 17th minute when Kincaid Baxter received an offload and went over, though the conversion was missed, making it 12-0. The pack added to the lead before the break. Eli Law scored off a pick-and-go in the 34th minute, and Rosselot's conversion sent the Lions into halftime ahead 19-0.

The scoring continued after the restart. Reserve Joshua Gillet came on to start the second half and carried in from five meters in the 47th minute. Rosselot converted to make it 26-0. Ohio State got on the board in the 52nd minute with a line break try and conversion, cutting the deficit to 26-7.

Lindenwood answered right away. In the 57th minute, Shay Farkash peeled off a maul to score, and Rosselot's conversion pushed the margin to 33-7. Jack Thory added a try off another maul in the 61st minute, with the conversion missed, to make it 38-7. Dylan Scruggs ran in a try in the 69th minute to extend the lead to 43-7, again with a missed conversion. Dyvhinity Puaauli closed out the scoring in the 76th minute with a line break, and Rosselot's conversion set the final margin at 50-7.

"We went down to Ohio State with a lot of boys who are very early on in their Lindenwood careers, and we put together a great team win, in what was a great display of the boys willing to work hard for one another and putting together a great Lindenwood style performance", Said front rower Jack Thory
Lindenwood's second XV scored eight tries spread across eight different players, with the starting pack, the starting backline and the bench all contributing.

"Great experience of traveling to a new team in the conference and a fantastic opportunity to test some new combinations as we continue to build", said Associate Head Coach Dominic Shaw

What's Next:

The Lions travel to Indianapolis to face Marian University on Friday, October 16 at Kuntz Stadium. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. CDT.

Try Summary: 1st XV

First half, in scoring order:

• Ohio State: Try (with conversion)
• Lindenwood: Landon Starnes
• Lindenwood: David Cathcart
• Lindenwood: Nayan Sirwani Villanueva (with conversion)

Second half, in scoring order:

• Lindenwood: Nayan Sirwani Villanueva
• Lindenwood: David Cathcart
• Lindenwood: Samuel Enochian (with conversion)
• Ohio State: Penalty try
• Ohio State: Try (with conversion)
• Lindenwood: Ren Heimer (with conversion)

Lineup & Reserves: 1st XV

Lineup:

1. Kieran Holland
2. Oryx Kirk
3. Samuel Enochian
4. Gabriel Hopkins
5. Michael Daly
6. Moses Ratnage
7. Maximus Orefice
8. Zack McCartney (C)
9. Nayan Sirwani Villanueva
10. Baptiste Esperon
11. David Cathcart
12. William Bentley
13. Landon Starnes
14. Eli Baumann
15. James Birley

Reserves:

16. Easton Yancey
17. Joshua Gillet
18. Lachie Foster
19. Cooper O'Malley
20. Jack Cahill
21. Charlie Kirkpatrick
22. Demitrius Taape
23. Ren Heimer

Try Summary: 2nd XV

First half, in scoring order:

• Lindenwood: Ethan Huish (with conversion)
• Lindenwood: Kincaid Baxter
• Lindenwood: Eli Law (with conversion)

Second half, in scoring order:

• Lindenwood: Joshua Gillet (with conversion)
• Ohio State: Try (with conversion)
• Lindenwood: Shay Farkash (with conversion)
• Lindenwood: Jack Thory
• Lindenwood: Dylan Scruggs
• Lindenwood: Dyvhinity Puaauli (with conversion)

Lineup & Reserves: 2nd XV

Lineup:

1. Victor Gomez Ballester
2. Martin Herreros
3. Jack Thory
4. Eli Law
5. Owen Black
6. Kincaid Baxter
7. Shay Farkash
8. Shaun Ndowa
9. Martin Guerra
10. Nicolás Rosselot
11. Liam Ishizaki
12. Dyvhinity Puaauli
13. Lucas Menacho
14. Dylan Scruggs
15. Ethan Huish

Reserves:

16. Jasper Quesenberry
17. Kyle Monroe
18. Joshua Gillet