Kutztown University held off a furious late charge from Penn State to win a big Rugby East clash 36-28.
Kutztown ran out to a 17-7 first-half lead, using the wind effectively. Meanwhile, Penn State was adjusting to a few personnel changes. They traveled without Junior All American flanker Malcolm May, and did not have flyhalf Ross Morris available, either.
So center Selby Niumataiwalu was moved to flyhalf and freshman Rob Irimescu, a Xavier HS product, slotted in at outside center. Irimescu played very well and Niumataiwalu helped spark a second-half comeback that fell just short.
"We showed we can play well even if we have some adversity," said captain Dan Metcalf, who scored one of the late tries to inch his side closer. "It was a really good, competitive game, and we felt it could have gone either way."
Jordan Ghyzel and Vetekina Malafu scored tries for the KU, with captain Niku Kruger converting both and adding a penalty.
In the second half, Kutztown scored opened it up with tries from Andrew DeColli, Ghyzel, and Trent Hensley to lead 36-14. But tries from Metcalf and Niumataiwalu turned a 36-14 scoreline into a 36-28 nail-biter with 12 minutes to go. But Kutztown held on for the win.
Jordan Ghyzel and Vetekina Malafu scored tries for the KU, with captain Niku Kruger converting both and adding a penalty.
In the second half, Kutztown scored opened it up with tries from Andrew DeColli, Ghyzel, and Trent Hensley to lead 36-14. But tries from Metcalf and Niumataiwalu turned a 36-14 scoreline into a 36-28 nail-biter with 12 minutes to go. But Kutztown held on for the win.
"Playing Penn State, we know they are a quality side, and they will play tough," said KU's Kruger. "We had several opportunities to score in the first half but it didn't go our way.
In the second half they did a good job of holding possession, but we were able to turn the ball over and after that it was back-and-forth from both sides. It's always going to be nerve-wracking when a team starts scoring like they did at the end. But I looked around at the guys and told them, it's time to switch one, and we finished it off. It was a total team effort."
Meanwhile, Iona defeated St. Bonaventure 43-13 in a game that can be seen below. Evan Staikos scored four tries for the Gaels as they improved to 2-3.
Army played at SUNY Buffalo's football stadium and won 73-12. David Huff and Logan Pearce scored two tries each, with Pearce adding two conversions for 14 points (Andrew Borer got the other two). Nine other Black Knights scored.
So everything is set for next week's Rugby East clash between Army and Kutztown at West Point to decide the top team in the conference.
Standings
Video Iona v SBU (if you don't see video, hit refresh)
| Rugby East (DIAA, ACRC) | |||||||||
| W | L | T | Pf | Pa | Pd | BT | BL | Pts | |
| Kutztown | 4 | 0 | 0 | 212 | 53 | 159 | 4 | 0 | 20 |
| Army | 4 | 0 | 0 | 154 | 59 | 95 | 3 | 0 | 19 |
| Penn State | 2 | 2 | 0 | 181 | 77 | 104 | 3 | 1 | 12 |
| Wheeling Jesuit | 2 | 1 | 0 | 110 | 59 | 51 | 3 | 0 | 11 |
| Iona | 2 | 3 | 0 | 100 | 175 | -75 | 2 | 1 | 11 |
| St. Bonavanture | 0 | 4 | 0 | 50 | 189 | -139 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Buffalo | 0 | 4 | 0 | 37 | 223 | -186 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Video Iona v SBU (if you don't see video, hit refresh)
