MARIETTA, Ga. – The Central Washington University women's rugby team (4-5) fell in the semifinal round of the USA Rugby D1 Elite Playoffs by a 28-3 score to the Life University Running Eagles (8-1).

"I'm just very proud of this group and at the end of the day, I'm very thankful," CWU Head Women's Rugby Coach Matt Ramirez said. "We had our battles in the lead up to the contest, but there weren't any excuses. They just went to work. We had to have some younger players step up for us, and that bodes well for the future.

The first half was some great rugby. We made a plan to attack their back two and kick to them early and often. We were rewarded with some opportunities with our set piece. This team vastly improved in both lineouts and scrums in just a few short weeks. Even going over a really good Life forward pack a few times.

We were able to kick to the right spots and you could see the team build their energy and momentum. We just couldn't touch it down over the line. That didn't take away from the defensive effort as the team kept at it and earned a few turnovers for their persistence.

We got deep into the second half and unfortunately had a few injuries. But the team rallied. I hate to say it, but the score didn't reflect the effort of our squad. They stayed in it and kept at it. It's tough not to advance, there's no easy way around that. I just couldn't be more proud of the seniors who did everything we asked of them the past four years and will leave this program in a better place."
 
The Wildcats saw a penalty kick from Kai Brandt-Templeton to put CWU up 3-0 in the 10th minute, however the Running Eagles would score the next 28 points. 
 
The Wildcats are now 2-13 against Life all-time and are on a nine-game skid to the Running Eagles. The last Wildcat victory over Life came back on March 27, 2021, in Marietta by a 10-5 score.