TUCSON, Ariz. – The No. 18 Central Washington University men's rugby team defeated the No. 14 University of Arizona, 32-28.
 
"Rollercoaster game and a great spectacle for college rugby today," CWU Head Coach Todd Thornley said.  "To put ourselves in a hole and find a way playing with 14 men shows great resolve and fight.  Credit to Arizona they put us under a ton of pressure and it could have gone either way.  I'm proud of our group, but also excited for us to use this experience to learn from heading into the rest of the season."
 
Tresten Keys opened the scoring for Central, grounding the ball for a try in the fifth minute. 
 
The Crimson and Black went down a man in the 25^th minute of play.  Marques Fuala'au received a red card and was sent to the sin bin.  Playing shorthanded, Alex Mackenzie recorded a try in in the 36^th minute, while Lewis Hollidge tacked on the conversion. 
 
Central's next try came in the 51^st minute when Cole Zarcone plunged over the line.  Ivan Pula pulled Hollidge added his second conversion. 
 
Trailing 28-24 in the 70^th minute, Hollidge knocked through a penalty kick to cut Arizona's lead 28-27.  With time winding down, the Crimson and Black pushed through for a try in the 78^th minute with a try from Alex Mackenzie put the Wildcats 32-28.  Central held off Arizona's final push for the 32-28 victory.
 
Next up for Central Washington will be Gonzaga University and then Trinity Western before Utah and then BYU visit Ellensburg to close out the month.