Queens University of Charlotte men's rugby opened conference play Saturday evening against St. Bonaventure University. The Royals struck early, putting 12 points on the board in quick succession.
Roan Shawver opened the match with a try, followed by a score from Emile Van Dyk and a successful conversion from
Hilton Olivier to give Queens a 12-0 lead.
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St. Bonaventure, however, did not back down. After a back-and-forth battle for the next 15 minutes, the Bonnies capitalized on three critical Queens possessions after the 20-minute water break, scoring 13 unanswered points to take a 13-12 lead into halftime.
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Coming out of the break, the Royals made key adjustments.
Hilton Olivier slotted a penalty kick to regain the lead and soon after finished a try off an offload from Tertius Dames, extending Queens' advantage to 22-13. The Bonnies responded quickly, scoring off an interception to cut the deficit to 22-18, and then adding another try to take a 25-22 lead.
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The Royals answered back when Everett Boyd took a kickoff return deep into Bonnies territory, setting up Josh Schwartz for a try. Olivier converted to put Queens ahead 29-25 with under three minutes to play.
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Unfortunately, a late penalty put St. Bonaventure in scoring position, and they capitalized with a final try. The Royals fell just short in a hard-fought battle, 32-29 as they fall to 1-2 on the young season.
"We fought for 80 minutes but made too many mistakes at critical moments in the match. Sometimes rugby comes down to who executes in those critical moments, and the Bonnies did that today. They capitalized on our every mistake. Hats off to them. We must now refocus and retool for our next conference match."
Key Stats for Queens
What's Next
Queens returns to action on Friday, October 4th, when they travel to face Wheeling University under the lights on NCR Friday Night Rugby.
