PRESS RELEASE-San Marcos, TX Oct. 4, 2013
LSU Rugby traveled to San Marcos to renew their annual pre-season matchup with Texas State on Friday night at West Campus Field. While sloppy play was expected from both clubs in their first match of XVs season, play was surprisingly crisp and the raucous crowd was treated to a hard-hitting affair that saw Texas State strike first early in the match. Sophomore Winger, Eric Enright dotted down a try in the corner off of the assist from Junior Center Scottie Tatum, after he exploited an overloaded LSU backline. Scoring then began to see-saw as both clubs pressed deep into each other's territory, only occasionally drawing blood. LSU went into the half with a narrow 10-5 lead. Both clubs scored early in the second half. Texas State's Junior Hooker Pete Therriat took a pass off of a penalty play from Senior Captain Walker Cagle about 22 meters out, he bowled over and evading several LSU defenders to score an epic try. Evan von zur Muehlen converted the extra kick to tie the match at 17 all. With only a few minutes remaining, LSU capitalized on solid and quick recycling at the breakdown deep in Texas State territory to dive over in the corner for the game winning try.
Captain and Club president, Walker Cagle stated, "(I'm) disappointed that we let one slip out of our grasp tonight, but also pretty pleased with our boys' effort. They showed that we have the potential to take the Southwest Conference (SWC) title this year. If we train consistently and dedicate ourselves to fitness and further developing our core skills with both the experienced players and the young talent, we can be a solid contender."
Coach Scot Courtney added, "We have an outstanding class of rookies that have a ton of potential and will contribute to the club immediately."
Texas State rugby will play in the SWC Invitational XVs this next Saturday in Austin, before they open SWC play on the road against Stephen F. Austin in Nacogdoches the following week.