CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Queens University of Charlotte Royals bounced back in a big way Friday night, defeating Southern Virginia University (SVU) 45–3 at home. Coming off a tough road loss to Army, the Royals were determined to respond, and they wasted little time getting on the scoreboard.
Junior CJ Thompson opened the scoring with two tries off mauls just five minutes apart, giving the Royals an early 10–0 lead. After the fast start, the match settled into a back-and-forth battle, with both teams putting together strong defensive stands.
The Royals' discipline allowed SVU to find an opportunity to get on the scoreboard. A penalty gave the Knights a chance to cut into the lead, and their No. 10 converted the penalty kick to make it 10–3. Before halftime, Thompson completed his hat trick with his third try of the night. Zack Colson added the conversion, sending the Royals into halftime with a 17–3 lead.
Queens came out of the second half with renewed energy and continued to pressure SVU deep in its own territory. The Royals created several opportunities to extend their lead but struggled to complete the final pass and finish several promising attacking possessions.
After the match settled once again, the Royals found their breakthrough following the water break. After a strong scrum,
Jack Rice found space up the middle and raced through to score under the posts. Colson converted the try, extending the Royals' lead.
Rice then turned provider, delivering a beautifully placed up-and-under kick that Toby Gilles Knopp gathered before finishing the attack with a try under the posts. The Royals continued to apply pressure late in the match, eventually finding the try line once again through another strong maul.
Ethan Mello broke off the back of the maul and crossed the line to add another score for Queens.
When the final whistle sounded, the Royals had secured a 45–3 victory and an important response after the previous week's loss to Army. While pleased with the result, Queens knows there is still work to do. Handling errors and lineouts remain areas the team will look to improve as the season progresses.
"We still have a lot of growth ahead of us," said Head Coach
Tyree Reed. "We have to continue to improve each week. Our last non-conference match next week gives us an opportunity to clean up some areas of our game before we begin conference play."
The Royals will look to build on Friday night's performance when they host Southern Nazarene University next week. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:00 PM in Charlotte.
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