Houston, Texas - The Bowling Green Men's Rugby Team (12-1, 6-0 MAC) have reached the NCR National Championship Final. The Falcons will face off against the 2023 NCR Champions Kentucky (8-0, 2-0 SCRC). The title deciding match will be played on Saturday, December 14th at 2pm (3 pm EST) at the SaberCat Stadium in Houston Texas.

"You know, it's pretty much the end of the year. It always comes down to two teams. A lot of the time it's who handles the pressure better," said Head Coach Tony Mazzarella. "So we'll see what happens, but I'm pretty confident in everyone who's here today."

BGSU has fought their way back to the National Championship Final for the first time since 2021. Along the way, the Falcons had to first reclaim their MAC title, which they did in a 34-33 home win. Then Bowling Green faced off against SCRC runners-up Clemson at home in the quarterfinals of the NCR National Tournament. Bowling Green emerged victorious in a 34-22 home win to earn the right to face Virginia Tech in Reading, PA. Once in Reading, BG was able to overcome Virginia Tech with the help of Joey Apels last minute penalty kick to steal a 20-18 win at Penn State Burkes Field. Now Bowling Green is in Houston Texas, ready to stake their claim for the 2024 NCR National Championship. BG is set to face last year's NCR D1-AA National Champions Kentucky in the 2024 NCR Championship Final. Bowling Green will once again need to step up to the pressure, this time on the largest stage to date. The

Falcons will need to play smart rugby and stick together in order to find their way to the top of the NCR D1-AA Tournament.

"I think both teams stack up very well, both teams rely on a mix of dominant forward play along with dynamic backs opening the defense up," said vice-captain Phil Tracey. "Overall, I think it will be a true contest to decide the #1 and #2 teams in the country."

Last Time on the Field

The Falcons kicked off to start the semifinal against Virginia Tech. In what became a low-scoring opening 40 minutes, the Hokies were able to drive down and convert a penalty kick to be the first to get points on the board. After many long-fought phases of play 8-man and vice-captain Phil Tracey would punch one in for the Falcons from a short run. This was Tracey's 8th try in the postseason. Following the score, captain Joey Apel converted. As the half came to its dying minutes, the Hokies would find a late try. Although they failed to convert, they reclaimed the lead going into halftime. Once the second half started the Falcons got back to work. Wing Gary Brammer scored in the corner to bring the Falcons ahead. The Hokies didn't go away, punching another try past the Falcons and taking the lead once more. A brilliant piece of attack from Center Brian Arnold provided Fullback Joe Romshe with the opening for a punishing crashball. From there Romshe was able to find the offload to Wing Owen Slimmer who would ultimately score in the corner to give the Falcons back their lead. From then on, the Falcons found some control. They created promising attacks in the Hokies half. However, a costly mistake resulted in a pass getting intercepted and returned for a 70 yard Hokie try. The game was drawing to an end and the Falcons managed to reclaim possession. In typically BG fashion, the Falcons held possession inside the Hokies 22 for the remainder of the game, poking and prying to find their opportunity to score the game-winner. After several attempts, the opportunity came after Virginia Tech was called for diving over the ruck. The Falcons chose to take the Penalty Kick from 10 yards outside the posts. Center Joey Apel slotted the kick to give the Falcons the lead

20-18 with 30 seconds left in the game. The Hokies kicked off and the Falcons let the clock run out, leaving it to a late win once again. Regardless of how it was done, Bowling Green booked themselves a ticket to Houston to fight for the 2024 NCR National Championship.
 

Milestone Markers

• Bowling Green looks to extend their All-Time Record to 9 games
• This is the fourth appearance for BG in the National Championship since 2016: Loss to NDC in 2016, Win over St. Joseph in 2018, Loss to Tennessee in 2021
• BG won the National Championship in 2018 under Head Coach Tony Mazzarella.BG finished Runners-up in the 2021 National Championship in a 31-36 loss to Tennessee

About the University of Kentucky:

This season, Kentucky finished 8-0, Overall, winning the SCRC Conference Tournament. The Wildcats began their preseason 2-0 with wins over Illinois (57-36) and Marian (27-18). In the SCRC, Kentucky went 2-0 after beating Alabama 46-5 and Tennessee 37-23. Kentucky also finished first in the division with points against (30), points differential (+53) and tied first with Tennessee for points for (83). Kentucky qualified for the SCRC Tournament after finishing first in the SCRC D1-AA West division with 10 points from two wins. In the SCRC Tournament, Kentucky was crowned champions after beating South Carolina 29-15 in the semifinal and Clemson 8-7 in the final. In the postseason, Kentucky defeated St. Joseph (5-0 MARC South) 63-17 at home in the NCR National Championship Quarterfinal. The Wildcats then beat UMass 39-22 in the semifinals in Reading, PA.

Bowling Green vs. Kentucky

Houston, TX | SaberCats Stadium

Saturday, December 14th | @ 2 PM EST (3 PM Local)


Up Next 

Bowling Green will begin preparations for their spring break trip to Madrid, Spain and the Sevens season.

Follow the Falcons

Be sure to follow the Falcons Rugby team on social media for schedule updates and any information:

• Instagram: @rugbgofficial
• Facebook: BGSU Men's Rugby