ELSAH, IL – The Principia Thunder Chickens rugby team hosted the University of Iowa on Saturday for their second match of the season. The Hawkeyes are one of Principia's new Midwest Rugby Conference opponents this season in Division 1-AA of the College Rugby Association of America.
The match was a back-and-forth affair with neither team able to break through for the first 30 minutes. Iowa was able to strike first with nine minutes left in the half to make the score 5-0, but Principia responded with a successful attack of their own seven minutes later. Coming out of a scrum in the corner, co-captain
Dresden Roberts broke through the line before passing the ball to fullback
Keaton Opie for the Thunder Chickens try.
Dylan George added the conversion to give Principia a 7-5 advantage heading into halftime.
The Hawkeyes came out of the break strong as they retook the lead with a try just two minutes into the second half to go up 12-7. However, on the ensuing kickoff,
Emmanuel Mazhuhwa made brilliant individual effort to tie up the match at 12. After a Iowa fielded the ball and tried to kick it forward, Mazhuhwa blocked the kick and recovered the loose ball in the try zone for the score.
Eight minutes later, an Iowa wing broke through the Principia line and outran the pursuing defenders to take a 17-12 lead. The score remained the same until a late penalty by Principia allowed Iowa to kick a conversion to go up 20-12 with two minutes remaining. The Thunder Chickens would score a try by
Max Leaitua with just seconds remaining, and despite a successful conversion to pull Principia within one point, the clock ran out to give Iowa a 20-19 victory.
The effort was a definite improvement from Principia's opening 28-12 loss to Wayne State, but the Thunder Chickens will look to get their first win of the season when they travel to the University of Minnesota on October 24th for another conference contest.
A week before that on October 17, the team will host an alumni match on Clark Field at 11:30 AM. Later that evening, the Thunder Chickens 2013 7s National Championship team will be inducted into the College's Gold & Blue Athletic Hall of Fame.
