Waterville, Maine - The Colby College Men's Rugby team fell in the final seconds to the College of Holy Cross 20-18 in Sunday's conference championship on the Rugby Pitch at Colby College.  

On a brisk fall day, the Mules came up against one of its most fearsome opponents yet. Holy Cross, while not as large in stature as some of Colby's previous competitors, still boasted a quick and athletic playstyle, evidenced by their team's maxim "win the game line, win the game." 

The match got off to a fast start.  Eight minutes into the match Colby's spectacular scrum drove Holy Cross back onto their own try line where Colby sophomore Jamenard Exavier (photo inset) executed a textbook pick-and-go, diving into the try zone for the first points of the contest. Holy Cross quickly answered back with a try of their own, nailing the conversion to make the score 5-7 in favor of Holy Cross. Senior Demetrius Ramirez would tally Colby's next points, followed by sophomore Steven Ditzler's conversion. Once again, Holy Cross was able to respond with a try and conversion of their own.  Moments before the half Holy Cross was able to sink a field goal and the Mules entered the half down 12-15.  Despite the scoreboard, Colby remained positive that heart and endurance could keep them in the game. 

The second half was fraught with scrums, Colby being able to win the scrummage in nearly all of them. After a particularly good drive towards Holy Cross' try line, the Mules decided to kick for points, with Steven Ditzler nailing the field goal again to tie the game up at 15-15. After a number of tense bouts of try-line defense, Colby was finally able to advance the ball leading to another Ditzler field goal to put Colby in front 18-15. With four minutes left the Mules dauntlessly fought off the opposition, battering Holy Cross bruisers away from the try zone with all their might. With the final seconds of the game ticking down, Colby secured a scrum a few yards from their try line, but disaster struck when Holy Cross was somehow able to push back, picking the ball out of the scrum for a heartbreaking last-second try. 

The final score of the game was 18-20 in favor of Holy Cross. Despite the unfortunate result, Colby still has the chance to stay in playoffs dependent on next weekend's match versus the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

(photo courtesy of Alec Chapman '21)