PROVO, Utah - In a back-and-forth affair, the #2 Central Washington University men's rugby team lost their first match of the season to the #7 BYU Cougars by a score of 23-24.
 
INSIDE THE FIXTURE:

• Final: CWU 23, BYU 24
• Location: Provo, Utah | South Field

QUOTING HEAD COACH TODD THORNLEY:

• "It was a slow start by us today and we did not quite catch up in time. We certainly had multiple chances in the last 15 minutes to finish the job but sadly did not get the rub of the green. Credit to BYU, they are certainly a good team that is so hard to beat on their turf in front of a big crowd. We wish them all the best in their season going forward."

HOW IT HAPPENED:

• In the 2nd minute, BYU opened the scoring with a try followed by an unsuccessful conversion. The Wildcats trailed 0-5.
• Oliver Cline got the Wildcats on the board with a penalty kick in the 11th minute, closing the gap to 3-5.
• In the 20th minute, BYU extended their lead after finding a gap in CWU's defense. After a good conversion for the Cougars, the Crimson and Black were down 3-12.
• The 'Cats recorded their first try of the afternoon in the 26th minute thanks to Tiai Vavao. Cline made the conversion. The score was 10-12.
• BYU returned the favor in the 35th minute and with a successful conversion, the 'Cats found themselves down nine again at 10-19.
• With just a couple minutes left in the half, Cline hit another penalty kick, bringing the score to 13-19 entering the break.
• In the 46th minute, Vavao logged his second try of the afternoon. With another made conversion from Cline, the Wildcats took their first lead of the match at 20-19.
• Cline landed his third penalty kick of the fixture in the 52nd minute, expanding the CWU lead to 23-19.
• But, the Cougars showed resilience, taking the lead back in the 63rd minute with a try. The Wildcats found themselves back down 23-24.
• In the last 10 minutes, the Wildcats had a pair of tries from Andrew Miller and Campbell Robb disallowed, as well as a missed Cline penalty kick in the final minute but couldn't convert the opportunities against a stout BYU team.

UP NEXT:

• The Crimson and Black fall to a record of 7-1 and will face the University of Arizona in a battle of the Wildcats at Tomlinson Stadium on Saturday, Mar. 25, at 12:00 p.m.