Wildcats Fall into Early Hole, Suffer Season-Ending 31-62 Loss to BYU in D1A Quarterfinal

ELLENSBURG, Wash. - After a slow start, the #1 Central Washington University men's rugby team couldn't find a way to comeback from 31-point deficit and suffered a 31-62 defeat to the #4 BYU Cougars in the D1A Quarterfinal. The loss ends the 2023 campaign for the Wildcats.

INSIDE THE FIXTURE:

Final: #1 CWU 31, #4 BYU 62
Location: Tomlinson Stadium | Ellensburg, Wash.

QUOTING HEAD COACH TODD THORNLEY:

"It's a tough way for us to finish the season. Credit to BYU, they showed up to play and we did not. We cannot win games without owning the collision and we got owned there. Good luck to them the rest of the way."

HOW IT HAPPENED:

BYU started the scoring in the 3rd minute, followed by a missed conversion. The Cougars continued to add to their margin through the 23rd minute, scoring four more tries and expanding the CWU deficit to 0-31.
In the 30th minute, Oscar Treacy got the Wildcats on the board with his team-leading seventh try of the season. CWU trailed 5-31.
Only four minutes later, Treacy sparked some more magic. He intercepted a BYU pass and took it the length of the field for another try. Oliver Cline nailed the conversion and cut the lead to 12-31.
The Crimson and Black continued their momentum in the 38th minute with a try from captain Albert O'Shannessey. The Wildcats edged a little closer with a score of 19-31.
But, BYU capitalized with the final possession of the first half. The Cougars added a try going into the halftime break, with a successful conversion attempt, to make it 19-38.
The Cougars added another try in the 55th minute, followed by a missed conversion. BYU grew their lead to 19-43.
In the 58th minute, Daniel McQuade scored his first try of the season. The 'Cats trailed 24-43. BYU responded immediately afterwards with a try to make the score 24-50.
Conner Grande logged his third try of the season in the 66th minute, followed by a conversion from Cline to cut the Cougars lead to 31-50.
In the final 10 minutes, BYU added a pair of tries. At the end of regulation, the Wildcats fell 31-62.