Game Summary | Game Stats
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Davenport had to battle the weather as well as Notre Dame but overcame a slow start to defeat the Irish 18-8. Jean Pierre Eloff had eight points to lead the Panthers. Davenport will next be in action on October 1st when they travel to West Lafayette, Ind. to take on Purdue.
The Panthers seem to attract bad weather when they play in South Bend as the weather was cold and raining at the start of the game. It didn't seem to affect Davenport early on as JP Eloff made a penalty kick five minutes into the game to give the Panthers the quick 3-0 lead.
The score would remain 3-0 in favor of Davenport until early in the second half when Notre Dame got on the board with their own penalty kick to tie the game at three.
The next 20 minutes were all Davenport. JP Eloff got things started for Davenport with a try 15 minutes into the second half. Five minutes later, Gabe Sochanek added his own try to extend Davenport's lead to 13-3.
Notre Dame didn't give up and pulled to within five when the Irish scored a try with about 15 minutes remaining in the game.
Erin Hillary put the game away for Davenport when he scooped up a loose ball and ran into the try-zone untouched.
The Panthers will next be in action when they take on Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind. on October 1st.
Post-Game Quote - Assistant Coach Doug Powers
Thoughts on Game - "We played a good team who came out fired up. It was wet and sloppy and we were making poor decisions for most of the first half. It wasn't until the middle of the second half that we settled down and played better rugby."
Post-Game Notes
Davenport improves to 2-0 against Notre Dame…Davenport is now 3-0 in season openers…Including the playoffs, Davenport has won nine straight matches dating back to November 7, 2010.
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