Belmont Abbey defeated UNC Charlotte 10-7 Saturday in an emotional Friday night for the new varsity program.

Last weekend Belmont Abbey player CJ Hopper died. CJ/s mother Cynthia and his twin brother Chris were on hand for the game and in a pregame ceremony they were presented with CJ's jersey.

Head Coach Nick Whitrow said it was an emotional night remembering what he called "a tragic loss."  

Whitrow added: "Many thanks to UNCC, who showed total class pregame in joining us to remember CJ, it was a great show of the rugby community down here in the Southern Rugby Conference."

The game itself was a physical, defensive battle.

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 "I feel it was a game CJ would have loved to be in; he sure did love a good scrum," said Whitrow.

This was an enormously physical game and both teams struggled to find space.

"We have had some solid challenges in preseason against the Citadel and the Gaston county Gargoyles men’s team," said Whitrow. "We have such a young team I wanted to challenge the guys physically and UNCC sure provided another test of that." 

Whitrow credited the win to his tight five's fitness, which showed late in the game.

"While all of the team deserve a lot of credit, the front row of Tommy Wood, Jordan Caro, and Josiah Bown started and finished the 80 minutes. 

UNC Charlotte scored first but Belmbnt equalized soon after with a try from Michael Brennan and the conversions tied it at 7-7.

The teams battled on and couldn't score and it wasn't until the final play of the game. Eric Morgan then slotted the winning penalty goal for the 10-7 win.

@AbbeyRugby wins with a last second kick #RaisetheRed pic.twitter.com/v1bPXZcSns

— Abbey Athletics #RaisetheRed (@abbeyathletics) September 17, 2021