written by: Assistant Coach Matt Heavens

The Neumann University Men's Rugby Club traveled to Reading, PA to take on Penn State Berks on Saturday, September 28. After a slow start and trailing in the first half,  Neumann battled back to notch a 28-24 win over the hosts.

Santino D'Angelo opened the scoring for the Knights crashing through from 10-meters out and a Connor Gilden conversion put NU up 7-0. PSU Berks went on to notch 21 unaswered points via three trys in a 14-minute span. Liam Ruddy finally broke through for Neumann at the 35-minute mark, but PSU notched a penalty kick to increase their lead to 24-14 at the half. It would be the last points they would score on the day.

The Knights continued to relentlessly keep Berks on the back foot in the second half led by punishing runs from Dan Dumas and Adam Figorski. Veteran forward Alex Barraclough provided steady support in the loose play and they finally broke open the scoring with two trys from AJ DelleMonache and Gilden conversions to finish off the Lions 28-24.

Newcomer Hunter Garman and freshmen Mike Michini and Mike Schwab added solid runs for Neumann and senior Sean Spence dominated the lineouts to keep the PSU defense busy throughout the match.

The Knights move to 2-0 in Mid-Atlantic Rugby Conference (MARC) league play. The club will next welcome Franklin & Marshall to campus during homecoming festivities on Saturday, October 12; kick-off on the grass pitch is scheduled for 1pm.