USAR College NCS Fall Series 2018

Lynx Win Big One: Around D1AA

Lynx Win Big One: Around D1AA

News from around D1AA, including a big win for Lindenwood-Belleville.

Oct 13, 2018 by Alex Goff
Lynx Win Big One: Around D1AA

Lindenwood-Belleville has basically locked up an at-large playoff spot in D1AA after beating Kentucky 33-5 on Saturday.

The game was much, much closer than the score might suggest, but the victory still means that the Lynx are 5-1 in the team's independent season. Playing as an independent, Lindenwood-Belleville has to do well every time out in order to earn a place in the D1AA playoffs this fall. 

See The D1AA Final LIVE on FloRugby Dec 2

After going 1-1 against D1A Big 10 teams Wisconsin and Indiana, L-B won via forfeit over MTSU, and beat last year's Small College champion Iowa Central CC 38-16. After beating D1AA Heart of America contender Kansas 50-3, the Lynx needed to win this game against the FloRugby #4 D1AA team, Kentucky.


The game itself was close for the first 60 minutes. In fact, it was deadlocked 0-0 at halftime. Kentucky nudged ahead 5-0 after a try from Dirk van den Berg. But with better depth and solid fitness, the Lynx finished the stronger, scoring five tries in the final 20 minutes to win it.

"They are a very good team," said Kentucky head coach Gary Anderson. "This was one of the best most competitive played games for 60 minutes I have seen at the D1AA level."

L-B head coach Joe Lippert said the strong finish was more mental than physical.

"In the second half we buckled down and played our system," Lippert told FloRugby. "Kentucky did a good job of disrupting our possession and keeping us out of the try zone all first half. We did a good job of keeping our line speed on D and cleaning up the linebreaks they got.

But after that, "we dominated territory and the contact point," said Lippert. "Defense and physicality won us this game."

Captain and No. 8 Tinashe Muchenawas big again for the Lynx, while the senior lock combo of Ayemere Oiyemhonlan and Seif Shoukry also played well. 

The rest of Lindenwood-Belleville's schedule shouldn't have a lot of influence on the team's playoff prospects. The Lynx take on defending national D2 champs Wisconsin-Whitewater, followed by top D1A teams Lindenwood and Arkansas State. Regardless of how those games go, Lindenwood-Belleville appears to have shown enough quality to be a playoff team.

Ivy League

One of those other top D1AA contenders, Dartmouth, keeps rolling, beating Yale 59-0. Fullback Fuller Winton scored three tries and wing Gyorgy Brevnov ran in two as Dartmouth remained undefeated in the conference at 4-0

Also unbeaten is Brown at 3-0 after opening up the offense and defeating Penn 56-5. Princeton claimed its first win and leads what appears to be the less strong South Division.

Also Around D1AA

Tennessee shut out Mississippi State, and it's all back-and-forth once again in the MAC, as Louisville edged Ohio 36-35. The win puts Louisville in a much stronger position for the top four.

James Madison's inconsistent season continues as jMU lost 49-33 to Maryland. At 1-2 and with the top two teams in the conference still to face, JMU is in trouble. Maryland, meanwhile, is now 2-3, and with two very winnable games left against Virginia Tech and Georgetown, could sneak into a playoff spot.

Salisbury defeated Towson 40-22 to improve to 3-2 and take control of its own destiny.