D1A Rugby Preview

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The seventh-ranked men's rugby team will close out their spring road schedule with a match against second-ranked Life University. The Panthers have struggled in the Mid-South Conference going 0-2 in their first two conference games. Davenport has lost both games by a combined 16 points. Davenport will travel down to Marietta, Ga. to play Life University on Saturday at 1 p.m. for their last road game of the season.
 
SCOUTING LIFE
 
The Running Eagles are ranked second in the D1A Rugby polls and are 2-0 in Mid-South Conference games. Life beat Arkansas State 34-7 and followed it up with a narrow 19-15 win over Lindenwood. Life currently leads the Mid-South Conference standings with nine points, and is just one point ahead of Arkansas State with eight.
 
Joseph Cowley and Jake Anderson lead the way for the Running Eagles, as Cowley has 28 points in the two games, all coming from conversion and penalty kicks. Anderson leads the team with two tries, both of which came in the game against Arkansas State. The young Life squad has had a balance attack so far this season with four different players scoring tries in the first two games.
 
THE PANTHERS
 
Davenport is still searching for their first Mid-South Conference win as they are 0-2 this season and went 0-4 last season. The last time DU faced Life was last season at home and Life was able to pull away late to beat Davenport 41-24.
 
So far this season, freshman Sondai Adjei has led the way for the team scoring 34 points this season. Gabe Sochanek leads the team with six tries through nine games this season. With the absence of JP Eloff, Brady Gent has filled in with 31 points this season. Last time out, the Panthers faced off against Lindenwood, and Davenport tried to comeback from 27-6 deficit, but they fell short as they lost the game 27-16.
 
Davenport will face Life University on Saturday at 1 p.m. in Marietta, Ga. to conclude their road schedule for the season.   
 
Men's Rugby Contact: David Gerhart | 616-554-5045 | dgerhart@davenport.edu
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