Christendom’s men’s rugby team scored an incredible achievement this past weekend: an undefeated regular season, coming back from a 27-point deficit to defeat VMI 35-34 in the final 30 seconds of their final game. The win gave them a 5-0 record, setting them up well as they look to defend their 15s National Title in the coming weeks.
The men’s rugby team traveled down to the Virginia Military Institute for their final regular season game, after blanking Old Dominion University 96-0 at the beginning of October. For the first time this season, however, Christendom found themselves in a hole by the end of the first half, losing 26-7 to VMI. The second half began much the same way, with VMI scoring back-to-back tries to go up 34-7 on Christendom — a deficit that was improbably to comeback from.
Christendom, however, proved once again that they never quit. With their backs against the wall, the team slowly began crawling back, with tries from Thomas Santschi, Will Kolesar, and John Kennedy bringing the team to a near-tie, 34-28, with time counting down.
Finally, the team came pushing down the field, breaking through VMI’s defense. Kennedy took the ball and willed himself over the try line, scoring for Christendom with only 30 seconds left. Santschi made the conversion and the defense held the score for the final seconds, giving Christendom a dramatic 35-34 victory, an undefeated season, and the #1 ranking in National Collegiate Rugby for their division.
With the regular season now complete, the team is already looking ahead to their next challenges. They will play VMI again this coming weekend in the Cardinals Conference Championship, and will take on the University of Virginia again on Sunday for the title if they defeat VMI.
On November 19, the team will begin their National Championship Title defense, competing for the South Regional Title in Culpeper, Virginia. If they make it through, they will travel once again to Houston, Texas, on December 9 to compete in the National Championship semifinals for a shot at the National Championship game on November 11.
For more information, visit christendomathletics.com.