Rio Rugby falls in regional finals

Rio Grande Sports Information
ST. LOUIS, Mo. - Although the University of Rio Grande's first-year men's rugby program may have come up short in reaching its ultimate goal, it's difficult to be too disappointed in what the RedStorm were able to accomplish.
Head coach Corey Momsen's squad came up one two wins shy of playing for a national title after suffering a 51-34 loss to St. John's (MN) University in National Collegiate Rugby's Small Schools Midwest Regional Championship, Sunday afternoon, at the Emerson Soccer Fields within Forest Park.

St. John's, the No. 2-ranked team nationally, advances to NCR's Small Schools national semifinals, which are scheduled for the weekend of Dec. 10th in Houston, Texas.
Rio Grande, which was ranked No. 5, suffered its first loss of the season and finished 10-1.
Thanks to a combination of injuries and a pair of disqualifications from a semifinal victory over Xavier University the day before, the RedStorm played Sunday's final one man short from the outset and trailed 22-0 at one point in the opening half.
Rio refused to go away quietly, though, and managed to close the gap to 10 points, 44-34, late in the second half.
The Johnnies added one more successful try and convert to set the final score and seal the win.
Freshmen Ben Kelly (Basinstoke, England) and Christopher Gates (Charlotte, NC) finished with two tries each in a losing cause, while fellow freshmen Dean Brits (Still Bay, South Africa) and Devon Scriber (Colorado Springs, CO) had one try apiece.
Senior Caden Harden (Oak Hill, OH) tacked on a pair of successful converts.
Rio Grande reached the title contest by posting a 34-26 semifinal victory over Xavier on Saturday.
The RedStorm rallied from an early deficit to lead the Musketeers 10-8 at halftime and opened up a big second half lead before things got close late as Rio became short-handed.
Rio Grande, which finished with just 13 players in the victory, got two tries from Brits and one each from Scriber, Gates and freshman Solomone Ahoia (Lawndale, CA).
Harden had three converts, in addition to a penalty kick.
"We headed into the weekend very confident, but we knew that focusing on the little things would be what put us through in the winner's column," Momsen said. "Mental toughness and heart was definitely on display throughout the weekend. However, with significant injuries we couldn't come out on top on Sunday. I'm extremely proud of everyone in this program and their ability to overcome so much adversity this season. Our season, unfortunately, is over, but everyone's head is up and we're gearing up for 7s in the spring."