Christendom’s men’s rugby team took second in the Cardinals Conference Championship this past weekend, defeating William & Mary and the University of Virginia (UVA) before falling to the Virginia Military Institute (VMI) in the Championship game.
The rugby team had a strong 15s regular season, going 3-1-1, including big wins over Washington & Lee and Emory & Henry. They traveled to Culpeper, Virginia, on Saturday to compete in the Cardinals Conference Championship, taking on William & Mary in the quarterfinal match. The teams fought hard in the first half, with Andrew Krolic scoring the sole try of the half. William & Mary scored a penalty kick as well, leaving the score at a tight 5-3.
The second half began with another penalty kick, this time for Christendom, bringing the score to 8-3. The lead did not last for long, however, with William & Mary tying up the game 8-8. Finally, Christendom broke through again on a try from Nicholas Ward, taking a 15-8 lead, which held up as the final score. The hard-fought win sent Christendom to the semifinal match later in the day, against the one team that tied them all season: the University of Virginia.
UVA took control of the game from the opening kickoff, going up 10-0 on Christendom. Chris Sanstchi scored a single try for Christendom before UVA scored again, carrying a daunting 17-5 lead into the second half. A penalty kick for UVA led the second half, raising their lead to 20-5. From there, Christendom began crawling back, with John Kennedy and Hugh Wingate both scoring crucial tries, cutting the lead to 20-17. Then, with minutes left, Christendom took two huge penalty kicks, with Santschi converting on both of them. Final score: 23-20, in favor of Christendom. A stunning comeback — and a huge win — for Christendom, sending them to the conference championship game on Sunday.
The Sunday championship game offered the hardest matchup yet, with Christendom taking on VMI, who handed Christendom their sole loss of the season in September. Jimmy Coffey gave Christendom an early 7-0 lead to start the game before VMI began to take over the game. By the end of the first half, they held a 20-7 lead over Christendom — another daunting deficit for Christendom to overcome.
The team began their comeback, once again, for the second day in a row, with Coffey again scoring a try to bring the score to 20-14. VMI, however, was unfazed, scoring a try and three penalty kicks to bring the score to 34-14. Frank Woltering scored a try for Christendom, but VMI followed it up with another try of their own soon after. They ultimately held on to win the conference championship 39-21, pushing Christendom to second in the conference tournament.
Christendom will next compete in a play-in game for a spot in the regional playoffs on Saturday, November 11, at 1:00 p.m.
The team is also in the final two weeks of a raffle, raising money to cover the costs of their next playoff run. For more information on how to compete in the raffle, visit here.
For more information on Christendom Rugby, visit christendomathletics.com.
Photo Credit: Mo Woltering.