ELLENSBURG, Wash. (April 11) – The Central Washington University men's rugby team defeated the University of Utah 18-7 Saturday afternoon in front of a hoard of Wildcat fans to advance to the semifinals of the Varsity Cup where they will meet the reigning Varsity Cup Champions in BYU next Saturday, April 18 in Provo, Utah.
 
With wind gusts of over 30 miles per hour, the Wildcats were able to fend off the Utes scoring three tries and one penalty kick in a hard fought game on both sides.
 
"With winds like we had today, game plans get altered quickly," CWU Head Coach Tony Pacheco said.  "Our boys adjusted well and credit to Utah, they came to play and I felt like this was a well played game on both sides."
 
The Wildcats escaped an early push by the Utes who had the ball five meters in front of the try zone with the wind at their backs.  But the CWU muscle regained possession of the ball and evaded an early deficit. 
 
The ball stayed on Utah's side of the field for the majority of the first half, due in large part to the 30 MPH wind at their back, but a big run by Dominic Lindstrom gave the Wildcats the field position they had been waiting for and in the 34^th minute, Maverick Schirmer broke through a tackle and slammed the ball down in the try zone to give the Wildcats a 5-0 halftime lead.
 
With the wind in its favor, CWU found the try zone once again win Lindstrom scoring from five meters out after long runs by Aladdin Schirmer and Simi Ratukalou.
 
Six minutes later the Utes kept pounding the middle of the field and scored its lone try of the game, and with the conversion closed the CWU lead to 10-7.
 
With less than 20 minutes left in the contest, Utah was called for a penalty and Coach Pacheco asked Josh Bower if he could make the 40-meter kick, and the senior wing gave him a thumbs up.
 
Bower lined up for the kick and nailed it right through the uprights to give the Wildcats a much-needed 13-7 lead.
 
"I asked Josh [Bower] if he thought he could make it and when he told me yes, I had full confidence in him," Pacheco said about his senior wing.  "His conversion attempts on our tries were from tough angles and he almost made those and the penalty attempt was straight on.  Getting those three points was crucial."
 
Aladdin Schirmer added a stamp on the Wildcat victory scoring up the right side of the pitch extending the CWU lead to 18-7.
 
The Wildcats once again advances to the semifinals of the Varsity Cup, and Coach Pacheco expects a dogfight.
"BYU is as tough as they get and we will have our hands full.  We have the ability to compete with any team out there, we just have to clean up a few things come next Saturday."