By Kiley O’Donnell
Contributing Writer
After a win last Saturday against the University at Buffalo Bulls, the men’s rugby team looks to improve their record to 2-0 this weekend at Wheeling Jesuit University.
“It’s always good to win the season opener and we did a few things well later in the game,” said Coach Andrew Tui Osbourne. “We let them score a couple of easy tries and that was just lazy on our part. We’re looking to fix that in our match this weekend on the road against Wheeling Jesuit University.”
Upperclassmen leaders Luis Carpio, who is a senior, and graduate student Patrick Hogan both contributed to Saturday’s win.
“It gives us our first conference win and it also sets the tone for the rest of the season,” said Carpio. “Regardless of the wins or losses, we always try to be a better team than what we were the week before.”
The team was very pleased after their home opener this past weekend, establishing a strong foundation for their season.
“Saturday’s game was definitely a milestone for the program. It was the first game of the inaugural season of St. Bonaventure Men’s Rugby being a Division 1 Varsity sport,” said Hogan. “The guys were excited and we knew had to make a statement and we did.”
Both Hogan and Carpio were extremely pleased with the underclassmen’s leadership.
“What has impressed me so far is the ability in our young players to step up and take on leadership roles. Our team is very young. In fact, we only have 1 graduate student, and 3 seniors on our 40-man roster,” said Hogan. “More than 75% of our team consists of freshman and sophomores. The future for this program is very bright with young guys like Eamonn Matthews, Christian Artuso, Kyle Ciquera, and Pat McCormack ready to lead the team once we leave.”
“They come from some of the best high school programs in the country and it shows,” said Carpio.
Wheeling Jesuit is coming off of a 30-14 win against Lindenwood University – Belleville. The Bonnies look to take home a win during their first away match and have been prepping all week.
“We know the mistakes we made in the preseason matches and in our game against University [at] Buffalo last weekend,” said Carpio. “We know that once we clean up the little things and become more comfortable with each other and the game plan as a team, we can be a huge threat to every team we face in the conference.”
“Our game plan for this Saturday has a strong focus on our defense,” said Hogan. “We know Wheeling Jesuit University has big guys and strong runners, so our main goal is to make all our tackles by putting pressure on them and making the hit before they hit us.”
Their mentality has been to take one game at a time, according to Hogan.
“This week is Wheeling Jesuit week so our primary focus and mentality is all about WJU,” said Hogan. “We want for everyone to know their specific roles, play their absolute hardest, and hopefully bring home another win to Bona’s this weekend and then begin focusing on our next game come Sunday.”
Carpio has the utmost confidence in his younger teammates, praising them very highly.
“The guys know what it takes to be a Bonnie and the heights that we want to take this program. We all have one goal and one job,” says Carpio. “The most important thing to note is that despite how the season goes, win or lose, no one can debunk the feeling of giving it 120 percent every week in this conference.”
The Bonnies will play at 1 p.m. on Saturday as they take on the Wheeling Jesuit Cardinals.
odonneke16@bonaventure.edu
