KANSAS CITY,  Mo. – Southern Nazarene Men's Rugby opened their season in Kansas City this past weekend, stumping Iowa State in both matches. SNU Black defeated ISU on the last play of the game, 26-22, while SNU Black also handled business, defeating ISU B, 22-7.
 
Southern Nazarene was in good spirits in Kansas City as seven Storm athletes are from the area, one being Sam Miller who earned his Bachelor's degree at ISU and previously played for the cyclones. SNU's feeling of home-field advantage was also helped by sister school Mid-America Nazarene in Olathe, Kansas who sent several fans to the matches.  

Several turnovers and strong field positioning led ISU to a 12-0 in the first 10 minutes. SNU settled in and managed a momentum shift before half, leading to a halftime score of 12-5. 


 
SNU fought back after the break, tying it up early in the 2nd half, 12-12. ISU went ahead by three after a penalty, 15-12. After a scoreless back-and-forth affair, SNU responded with a go-ahead try and conversion with 15 mins left in the game, bumping them up 19-15. At the 10-minute mark, ISU scored a try and conversion, putting them ahead 22-19


In the last play of the match, SNU mounted a drive behind the fresh legs of 3 forward subs that ended with a try and conversion, stealing the victory by a final score of 26-22. SNU's winning try can be credited to freshman Tervarious Massie who came off the bench late in the second half to win it for the Storm.


Jack Gilliland- Earned 1 Try
Sam Miller- Earned 2 Tries
Tervarious Massie- Earned 1 Try
Josh Robertson- 3 for 4 on Conversion Kicks

"We're very pleased with the level of rugby we saw today from our A-side and B-side" , says Head Coach Aric Gilliland. "There's lots of improvement to be made, but we as coaches are pleased with the foundation being set. A no-quit, grind-it-out, whatever-it-takes kind of attitude and effort won us that game today! And it was amazing to have such a great group of fans travel to support!  I hope those boys figure out a way to maintain that kind of effort this season because as an NCR D1 Independent, we've got quite a schedule ahead of us."
 
Up next
 
Southern Nazarene will be set to host its first two home matches of the season when Oklahoma comes to Bethany on Saturday, September 16^th. SNU Black will play first at 10 AM and SNU White will follow at noon.