Arkansas State Makes First Varsity Cup Final

Arkansas State Makes First Varsity Cup Final

Arkansas State Red Wolves are set to make their first-ever Varsity Cup finals appearance on May 6 against Cal at Santa Clara University.

Apr 25, 2017 by Michael Cramer
Arkansas State Makes First Varsity Cup Final
Arkansas State is set to make its first appearance in the Varsity Cup finals after a disciplined approach and stout defense lifted the Red Wolves to a 22-7 win over Navy in sloppy conditions on Saturday. With the victory, ASU advances to face Cal in the championship match on May 6 at Santa Clara University.

The Red Wolves entered this past weekend's semifinal averaging more than 50 points per game but had to shelve their normally high-scoring approach amid a downpour on their home field.

"We planned to throw the ball around a little bit more, but with the conditions, we had to adjust," Arkansas State coach Shaun Potgeiter said.

The game remained scoreless until midway through the first half when ASU's Sione Fangaiuiha broke through with the first of his two tries on the day. After the Red Wolves extended their lead to 10-0 on a penalty, Navy converted a try and seemed to grab the momentum until an ASU clearance kick put the Midshipmen under pressure deep in their territory.

When Navy launched a kick of its own, Arkansas State's Tabo Maree chased it down and ran it back for a confidence-boosting try before halftime. In the second half, the Red Wolves' stifling defense took over and held the Midshipmen without a try in the final 40 minutes.

"We have put a lot of emphasis on defense the last two weeks," Potgeiter said. "It paid off against [Utah Valley in the quarterfinals], and we used that momentum in this game. We planned for them to play directly and the weather conditions prevented them from doing much else. We had some nice double tackles and put in some good hits. Our defense was really good all day,"

Arkansas State will make its Varsity Cup finals debut against a Cal team that beat Penn State 35-14 in the semifinals.

Arkansas State Lineup
1 B. van Niekerk 9 B. Roper 16 T. Kennell
2 G. Sharpe 10 Z. Young 17 K. Makuvire
3 T. Pope 11 A. Pretorius 18 N. Pena
4 T. Maree 12 J. Moustier 19 S. Fay
5 C. Robinson 13 S. Fangaiuiha 20 J. Ray
6 P. Alvarez 14 V. Balande 21 D. Boast
7 B. Walser (C) 15 R. Cunningham 22 N. Abreus
8 P. Weigel 23 N. Maestri