written by: Assistant Coach Matt Heavens    

The Neumann University Men's Rugby Club traveled down the road to Chester to take on local rival, Widener University, in a Mid-Atlantic Rugby Conference (MARC) matchup on Friday, October 18. Despite being light on numbers due to injuries, Neumann battled the Pride falling just short at the close, 27-22.  

Widener struck first scoring twice for an early 12-0 lead. The Knights fought back on trys by freshman Dino Cerquetelli (his first) and Santino D'Angelo with a Connor Gilden conversion to draw even. The Pride added trys at the end of the half and the beginning of the second to jump out to a 22-12 lead. Hunter Garman scored his first try as a Knight racing down the sideline pulling the club closer at  22-17, but a costly turnover on the ensuing restart resulted in a Widener try for a 10-point lead with nineteen minutes remaining. The Knights would not go quietly as Adam Figorski rumbled from eight meters out to pull Neumann within 5. With two injured on the same play, Neumann played down one man for the remainder and fought to the finish being stopped just three meters out as the final whistle sounded. 

Coach Larry McManus said "I'm really proud of how the guys battled and stayed focused. We need to work on restarts, but effort was outstanding."

The club will return home to welcome Haverford College to the grass pitch on Saturday, October 26.