The Lindenwood Women’s Rugby Team fell to Life University in the Division I Elite championship game in Arizona.

It was a competitive game with a 41-44 final score.

The Lions have been preparing for this game since Aug.

They have won six of their seven games and went on to play Brigham Young University in the semifinals. This win secured their spot in the championship game.

Sophomore Sophie O’Cain said although the outcome of the game stings, they still played some incredible rugby.

“Looking around the circle at the end, there was a lot of emotion, a lot of people were hurting,” O’Cain said. “For a lot of us it was our last game playing for Lindenwood in that white jersey so to be able to not come away with a win hurt, but when we look back at the game as a team, we feel very proud of what we were able to create.”

O’Cain said she is proud of the girls’ work rate and teamwork during this game.

“We were able to move the ball like no other team could,” O’Cain said. “Our tries came from team efforts. It didn’t come from individuals; it came from other people setting up a platform for their teammate to score.”

Lindenwood Women’s Rugby’s Strength and Conditioning Coach Danny Sheehan said watching this team compete for a national title was really special.

“Being able to watch the team grow from the start of the year into what they’ve become now and watching girls improve, get spots that they were not in at the beginning of the year, and knowing how hard they’ve worked with me and on the field is awesome,” Sheehan said.

O’Cain said her team is so successful because of their team’s culture, environment, coaches, and support from the university.

“It takes a lot to be a lion and it takes a lot to earn that white jersey so just the respect that we hold over that jersey is what enables us to be so successful,” O’Cain said.

The Lions’ next games are the CRAA Sevens National Championship on May 4 in Houston, Texas.