PHILADELPHIA, PA - The Iona College rugby program completed an impressive spring sevens campaign with an elite eight appearance in the 2019 Penn Mutual Collegiate Rugby Championship. The event was held at Talen Energy Stadium, home of the Philadelphia Union of the MLS on June 1 and 2.
 
Completing the spring regular season with a 10-0 mark, the Gaels rolled through the pool stage at CRC with three more wins. After edging Kutztown 14-12 in the opener, Iona earned a 40-0 rout of Boston College and a 24-0 shutout of Wisconsin to advance to the knockout round. Earning the No. 5 seed in the quarterfinal, the Maroon & Gold fell to eventual CRC champion Lindenwood 19-7. In its second-ever appearance at the event, Iona repeated as quarterfinalists.
 
Visit the Iona College Rugby Football Club's facebook home for highlights and photos from this weekend in Philadelphia.
 

Individual game recaps (courtesy of SevensRugby.com):

Iona 14, Kutztown 12

The Golden Bears looked to bounce back from a bowl championship last year to return the final for the third time and first time since 2017. Iona, in its second CRC, entered looking to build on a run to last year's quarterfinal. As would surprise none, the first score of the contest came from Kutztown's bona fide star, Dmontae Noble. Thorne O'Conell's conversion ticked off the top of the right post and through for the 7–0 lead. But Iona answered right back with a try by Michael Scarcella blistering down the left touch line past the Golden Bears. The well-taken conversion by Santiago Mascolo tied the score. The half came to a close with Noble again diving in for the score to put the Golden Bears back on top.
 
Iona leveled the contest when Santiago Mascolo dove under the post. The conversion pushed the Gaels into the lead. Kuttown just about retook the lead right off the restart when Gerald Lowe burst into the Iona five-meter line. But the Golden Bears lost the ball forward, giving Iona a five-meter defensive scrum feed. Noble was pinged for being overly eager at the scrum and sent off to the bin with a yellow card. Looking to burn the clock, Iona kicked to touch and sought to hold onto possession to starve Kutztown of any opportunities for points. A handling error, however, put the ball on the deck and set up a Golden Bears' scrum just inside the Iona twenty-two. Playing six-on-seven rugby, Kutztown yielded a penalty on the stroke of full time to give Iona the match.
 

Iona 40, Boston College 0

Iona dominated Boston College to move into strong position atop Pool D. Two tries each rom Watson Filikitonga and John Powers helped Iona to a shutout victory. Joining them in the scorers' column was Micahel Marro and Michael Scarcella each with a try and Santiago Mascolo with five conversions
 

Iona 24, Wisconsin 0

John Powers strolled under the posts for Iona's first score. Santiago Mascolo's conversion made it 7–0 three minutes gone off the clock. Iona's march to the quarterfinal continued out pace with Michael Scarcella adding five points. The first half ended with yet another Iona converted try, this one from Connor Buckley. In the second half, points were harder to come by, but Michael Hay still found a way, pusing Iona into the 24–0 lead.
 

Cup Quarterfinal - Lindenwood 19, Iona 7

Santiago Mascolo's self-converted try a quarter of the way into the match put Iona on top. With back-and-forth action to close the first half, neither side was able to produce any more points. A yellow card to Mascolo in the first minute of the second half provided ample opportunity for the defending CRC champions to close the gap. Samuel Chapman did just that with a converted try to draw the sides even. The Lions roared again when Cristian Rodriguez tore down the right touch line for an unconverted try. With under a minute to play, the Lions booked a spot in the semifinal with Wesley White's try to the right of the post. Reece Botha slotted the conversion with just enough time for the restart.
 
The Iona rugby team will showcase Iona's 2019 Homecoming and Family Weekend on Saturday, October 19, when they host the University of Notre Dame at Mazzella Field. The Gaels will also host Trinity College Dublin and American International this fall. Full schedule details will be available later this summer.