Men's Rugby | 3/24/2016 10:09:00 AM

VICTORIA, British Columbia (Mar. 23) -- The Central Washington University men's rugby team split a pair of fixtures against the University of Victoria.
 
In the first fixture the Wildcats handed the Norsemen a 46-12 defeat.  In the second contest the Vikes came away with a 27-22 victory.
 
Brian Nault opened the scoring in the first fixture.  The Wildcats' match day captain grounded the ball in the try zone, giving CWU a 5-0 lead.
 
"He led from the front," CWU Head Coach Tony Pacheco said.  "He carried the ball well and defended well also."
 
The Wildcats went up 12-0 on a try from Tyler Enfield and a conversion by Robert Hiles.
 
The Norsemen found the try zone, bringing the score to 12-7, but a stout CWU offense went over the try line twice more in the first half.
 
Derise Fuga and Martin Van Der Wal each notched a try before the halftime whistle, while Hiles added another conversion.
 
At the half, Central led 24-7.
 
Zach Brewer got things going in the second half.  The sophomore flanker grounded the ball in the try zone and Hiles added his third conversion.
 
"We had quite a size advantage and we exploited it well," Pacheco noted.  "We did a good job maintaining possession and kept the majority of the possession which wore them down.  We were able to get some nice tries out of it."
 
The Norsemen added a try in the second, but it was not enough.
 
In total, the Wildcats had seven different scorers.  John Hayden, Elijah Hernandez, and John Marti each added a try in the second half for a 46-12 final.
 
The second match did not go in the Wildcats' favor.
 
The Vikes found the scoreboard first. An offload bounced off the shoulder of a Vikes attacker and into free space, which he gathered in the air, allow the Vikes to ground the ball in the try zone for the fixture's first points.
 
"We did well early on in the game to sustain pressure," Pacheco added.
 
A penalty called against the Vikes inside their 22 led to a penalty kick from Ian Wright, cutting the deficit to 3-5.
 
Seth Halliman gave the Wildcats their first lead with a try of his own.  Central gained a line break and moved the ball to Vili Toluta'u, who threw a cutout pass to Halliman.  Halliman put together a 20-metre run for the try.
 
"It was a really well worked try with a nice line break from Aladdin Schirmer and Gavin Schag," Pacheco acknowledged.
 
Clint Lemkus then scored from close range after the Wildcats played five phases inside the Vikes' 22.  Wright's conversion made it 15-10.
 
The Vikes levelled the score after gaining possession deep in the Wildcats' defensive end.  A made conversion gave the Vikes a 17-15 lead at the half.
 
Aladdin Schirmer swung the score in the Wildcats' favor in the 61^st minute.  Schirmer took an offload from Halliman inside the Vikes' 22 and grounded the ball over the try line, pulling ahead 22-17 after another conversion from Wright.
 
The Vikes tied it back up in the 65^th minute. 
 
On the ensuing kickoff, the Wildcats were awarded a penalty within kicking range.  Central opted to tap and go, attempting to find the try line, instead of attempting a penalty kick and ultimately lost possession.
 
With a 22-22 score in the 73^rd minute, the Vikes ran a set move inside the Wildcats' 22 and scored, making it 22-27.
 
In the final six minutes the Wildcats had possession deep in the Vikes' defensive end and were held up once and had three knock-ons.
 
"We had some opportunities in the final minutes, but just couldn't get it over the line," Pacheco said afterward.  "Overall it was a good contest, U Vic Is a high quality opponent and we got a lot out of this match."
 
The Wildcats are back in action on April 2, as they host the Air Force Academy.  Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the fixture will be streamed on the Wildcats' StretchInternet portal.