Despite scoring on three critical drives in the final 20 minutes, visiting Central Washington denied the Sac State men?s rugby team the chance of advancing past the first round in the Division I Playoffs last Saturday at Sac State.

The Hornets suffered a 43-38 season-ending defeat in their first attempt at making it to the sweet 16. However, they competed without U19 Rugby National Team standouts Tyler Pierce, Bill Bunfill and Jason Chappell, all of whom were representing the United States at the Rugby World Cup in Santiago, Chile.

“We were hoping those key guys could have been back to play, but the team showed tremendous heart and didn?t give up without them,” head coach Justin Prichard said. “That?s the way we?ve played all season. Coming in second in our league behind Cal and making the Division I Playoffs shows our program is headed in the right direction.”

Central Washington took command of the game early with three quick scores. Sac State?s offense responded by cutting the deficit to seven by halftime, as the Hornets trailed 28-21.In the second half, Sac State outscored Central Washington, 17-15, behind a stellar performance from Hornet forward Corey Larson. He scored on two breakaway runs, helping Sac State pull within five points. But, with little time remaining, the Hornets were unable to score again and obtain the victory.

“After being down by 20, we brought ourselves back in the game,” Prichard said. “With Corey running for us up front we almost pulled it out.”

With a league record of 2-2-1, Sac State finished as one of the top 32 teams in the nation. The Hornets? biggest victories of the season came from defeats over Chico State and Army, considered among the elite four teams in the country.

“Stepping up a level means competing against tougher opponents,” Prichard said. “The team has shown drastic improvement since the beginning of the year.”