Iowa State Hangs on In Dramatic HOA Final
Iowa State Hangs on In Dramatic HOA Final
The Heart of America Conference title game between Iowa State (7-0) and Minnesota (5-2) produced a tight and dramatic finale.
These two made the final with semifinal victories over Arkansas and Kansas last fall. The final, however, was delayed until March in order to avoid bad weather and to give the winner a launching pad to the playoffs in the spring. Of course, the weather was bad anyway, and the match ended up being played in Minnesota’s domed field.
The match started off with Iowa State kicking off deep and turning over Minnesota. Within minutes it appeared Iowa State had scored in front of the posts, but with multiple lines on the field for different sports, there was a bit of a confusion and it was determined that the ball had been placed over a line that was not the tryline.
The Gopher defense held from there and turned over possession. Minnesota went on the attack, but an errant pass wide was scooped up by senior Tyler Cahill of Iowa State and he broke some tackles before putting the ball down over the real tryline for a 5-0 Cyclines lead.
Iowa State kicked deep and worked to keep Minnesota pinned deep. They did that, got the ball back, and wing Rowan Collins raced in to make it 10-0.
Another deep ISU kickoff and more pressure but this time Minnesota worked their way forward. That put the game in the middle of the field as both teams started to ramp up the physical part of the game.
With less than 10 minutes to go in the 1st half, Iowa State went wide off of a pod and hooker Ryan Snider drew defender attender and fed Cahill to go in to make it 17-0 with the conversion.
Minnesota then took the restart and worked their way methodically down the field, sucking in the forwards, and then sending it wide to center Carter Roth to score. With halftime looming the Gophers sent No. 8 Jack Robinson around the edge and scrumhalf Sean Doyle came on in support to make it 17-12.
Still there was time in the first half and after a heated exchange between teammates the Cyclones kicked deep and re-secured possession. Cahill, again, broke around the corner and set up captain Wes Cummings for ISU's fourth try and a 22-12 lead.
Ten minutes into the second half Iowa State got inside the 22 and tight five forward Alex Geisert charged through.
The Gophers responded 10 minutes later when Sean Doyle again found a seam, making in 27-19 as the crowd started to get loud.
This is when trouble struck for Cyclones. They subbed in a new front-rower, and he was almost immediately yellow-carded. Then ISU senior Max Muhm started to experience cramping. He tried to give it a go but eventually had to be pulled off. His replacement was also immediately yellow carded for playing the ball on the ground. Doyle slotted the penalty for Minnesota to make it 27-22 and Iowa State was down two players and in real trouble.
The Gophers put the pressure on the Cyclones but their defense held strong as finally got one of their yellow-carded players back. But at that moment Iowa State's versatile Alex Geisert went down with a shoulder injury. The Cyclones were down to their last sub, a back, and were declined the right to bring on a front-rower who had been subbed off already.
The sub was brought on but confusion between the sideline and the players on the field saw Cahill, remarkably, leaving thinking he was subbed off. Iowa State were down to 15-on-13. Somehow Iowa State held on.
With time winding gown the Gophers got a penalty right in the middle of the field. They went for touch, and the kick was just short of the sideline. Nick Baines fielded the ball and put it into touch, ending the game.
The Cyclones are the Heart of America Champions and will take on Sam Houston State on 4/15 in Houston, Tx.
“Really, really proud of the guys," said Iowa State Head Coach Any Frein. "Especially a kid like Cahill, who I’ve said since the start of the season is maybe the most underrated player in the country, who does the right thing day-in and day-out, phase-in and phase-out, and was rewarded with a massive day on a massive stage. With the long layoff and tight training quarters indoors, I think the guys, and coaches, were a bit stir crazy."
A Spring Break gathering was well-times as the players were able to spend more time together. That unity was crucial in the tense closing moments.
"Being able to weather that storm, on the road, down two men knowing you’re going to play defense for roughly a quarter of the match, against a team that’s taken to the brink twice already this year, is something that doesn’t happen unless there is true connection and trust between everyone involved," said Frein.
This is the first national-level final four Iowa State rugby has ever been in. A win over Sam Houston State will pit them against the top team from the West Coast, which would probably be U. San Diego or Western Washington.
(Correction: Yes even we get confused as to which program is a member of which organization. We said Sacramento State, or Fresno State are the likely candidates but no, that's not correct as the top two from the California Conference—whichever teams they are—will play the top two teams from Florida in Houston the weekend of May 6.)
For Frein, this is reward for a lot of hard work.
"I want to give a special shout-out to the unsung heroes of this thing; guys like Matt Brotherton, who I’ve been working with since I was a freshman at Iowa State, Owen McGuffin, who’s first match at ISU was the same match the team found out I’d be their head coach in 2017, John Ivan, Jared Johnson, and Austin Schmidt, who give up their time to help the program however they can at practice. We are very excited to get to work."
