The Georgetown club rugby team earned their first trip to the National Elite Eight this weekend with a 6-3 victory over Salisbury State in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Finals. Playing on a sloppy field in Princeton, NJ courtesy of this past weekend’s storm, the Hoyas prevailed on two penalty kicks from senior flyhalf Jake Ludwigson.
Despite having beaten Salisbury 34-0 in the Potomac Rugby Union Championship this past fall, Georgetown had their hands full with their local rival. With neither team able to truly gain momentum to push for a try, the action went back and forth in the midfield. Salisbury opened the scoring on a penalty kick to take a 3-0 lead.
Minutes before the end of the half, Georgetown responded. After moving downfield, the Hoyas were awarded a penalty kick. Ludwigson promptly booted his first conversion through the uprights to tie the game at 3-3.
“The way the first half went, you knew it was going to be a close game that would come down to the little things and who executed them better,” Ludwigson said.
The second half saw a similar game as the first half as both teams fought for the try that would give them control of the game. Ludwigson, who missed a penalty kick earlier in the half, found a shot at redemption midway through the half. His third attempt brought the Hoyas a 6-3 lead.
“When I missed that second kick, I wanted to make up for it,” Ludwigson said. “You could see two years of frustration on the face of every guy on the team, and I said to myself that if I had another chance I wouldn’t let them down.”
Salisbury responded, intent on wresting control from the top-seeded Hoyas. With the game’s final minutes ticking away, Salisbury made a push into the Georgetown end that resulted in a penalty kick. Fortunately for the Hoyas, the kick sailed wide. Undeterred, Salisbury came right back hoping to score a try to win the game. Georgetown’s defense was relentless, however, and the squad kept Salisbury from putting the points they needed on the board. With virtually no time left, Salsibury was awarded another penalty kick and a chance to send the game into overtime. After the kick sailed wide, the referee signaled the end of the game and Georgetown’s first trip to the National Elite Eight.
“I was real nervous,” Ludwigson said. “I was thinking that if they tied it up, we would go to overtime, and with a quality side such as Salisbury, it would have truly been anyone’s game.”
The team will now head to Santa Cruz as the No. 1 seed to play No. 8 seed Idaho State on April 16.
