The University of San Diego's men's rugby team clinched the 2024 Collegiate Rugby Association of America (CRAA) Championship Final with an impressive 38-7 victory over Iowa State.
The Toreros dominated the field at Aveva Stadium in Houston on May 4 to secure the top spot in the men's D1AA college competition. The USD backs were exciting, but it was their forwards who got the hard work done in the hot and humid weather to overwhelm the Cyclones in the first half.
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The game's energy was evident right from the kickoff, and dynamic center Paul Habeeb scored a brilliant try to open the game.
Michael Lewis, who went on to net two tries, set the tone for USD's formidable offense. San Diego's persistent attacks against ISU's defenses led the Torers to flirt with the tryline twice. Both times ISU looked to stop them in short yardage, but both times Lewis stepped and dove over to expand USD's lead.
Daniel Suhr, Dustin Braun, and Josh Butler also contributed tries to the Toreros' dominant performance. Suhr's precision with the boot was evident as he successfully converted four attempts.
05.05.2024College Men
Suhr's was a thing of beauty, as he was set free on the sideline, chipped over the final defense, got the bounce, and scored.
The USD forwards also shone especially brightly with the determination of the front row made up of Tanner Barnes, Josiah Lauifi, and Torres Kapust. Their efforts were vital in both gaining ground and securing possession in the breakdowns.
Iowa State struggled with the hot and humid conditions and with playing defense most of the first half they were exhausted. In addition, ISU's ball-handling let them down. They are a better team than their performance showed on Saturday and they know it. But with their handling mistakes they couldn't string phases together.
They weren't helped by having their star lock Alex Geisert leave injured early in the game. They did score a well-taken try with Drew Guinn, who looked impressive in bursting through on a flat pass. But those types of attacks were few and far between.
USD, meanwhile got some nice go-forward from former star HS football player Josh Butler as an impact sub, and he exploded for a long-range effort to cap the scoring.
