![WE'RE IN! Men's Rugby clinches LRC Playoff berth with win at Northeastern](/sports/mrugby/2023-24/MRvsNE.png?max_width=600)
WE'RE IN! Men's Rugby clinches LRC Playoff berth with win at Northeastern
BOSTON, Massachusetts - The American International College men's rugby team built an early lead and held on to defeat Northeastern University 41-31 in Liberty Rugby Conference play, clinching a playoff berth in the process, on Saturday, October 21.
AIC is now 5-3 overall and 4-2 in the LRC.
The Yellow Jackets busted out to a quick lead, with Kahanu Koi tapping the ball down in the try zone just three minutes in; Filimone Manu converted for a 7-0 lead.
The teams then traded scores in the middle part of the half; Trent Taai broke the line for a score in the 13th minute, with Manu converting again, but three minutes later Northeastern broke the shutout and cut the lead back to 14-7.
As the match neared the half-hour mark, Koi took a kick to add three to AIC's total; less than five minutes later, Augusto Arguello scored another Yellow Jackets try with a Manu conversion to put AIC ahead 24-7. Again the Huskies pushed back, scoring in stoppage time to leave AIC ahead 24-14 at the break.
In the second half, a defensive battle ensued for the first 15 minutes before Manu broke through, putting down his first try. That opened the floodgates; Demitrius Ta'ape seemingly put the battle out of reach with a pair of tries three minutes apart, with another Manu conversion building AIC's advantage to 41-14.
The Huskies made a desparate push in the final 15, with a penalty kick and a pair of tries, but the clock ran out with AIC still up by 10 at the final whistle, 41-31.
AIC will play at Brown University in the Liberty Rugby Conference Semifinal match. Date and time are to be determined.