The Penn State Men’s team kicked off their fall season with a “friendly” against a game Millersville University team. This match was set up to provide our second, third, and fourth side players with a match against good competition, and on a beautiful fall Saturday in Happy Valley over 50 Penn State men’s team players stepped onto the pitch.
This season marks the first time in program history that we’ve held tryouts for membership, and as this was the last chance to impress before the fall team roster was finalized, those who did play took full advantage of their opportunity.
The team scored early and often in both matches, and the intensity, aggressiveness, and pace of play continued at a very high level from the first whistle to the last.
Particularly exciting to the staff was watching the more than 20 true freshmen new to the team playing in their first match for Penn State. At one point there were a dozen on the field at the same time, and the rugby they were playing has the entire program excited for the future.
Scoring over 120 points, while only surrendering two trys in two matches clearly shows that the hard work the team put in over the summer months, and throughout our preseason, is beginning to pay off.
Clearly we are not reading too much into our success this past weekend, as our opponent is just getting started, and did not have their full squad. However, based on the level of play that was seen, a message was clearly sent to those who did not play that they have no room to feel comfortable about their position on the team, and that there will be competition for spots on the top side this fall. Something that has the staff very excited!
