JMU Men's Rugby Club saw its three-match winning streak end at home on Saturday, falling 41-17 to West Chester at John Carr Field in Mid-Atlantic Rugby Conference play.

For 40 minutes the Dukes went stride for stride with the highest-ranked side in the conference. JMU led 12-7 for most of the first half and trailed just 17-12 at the break.

The game turned on a second-half yellow card. With hooker Andrew Ringel in the bin, West Chester scored 17 points in the ten minutes JMU played a man down and pulled clear from there.

It was a young Dukes side. Five of the seven backline players were freshmen, among them outside half Luke Cooney, who added a conversion, and center Dominic Mulieri. Freshman Ryan Chambers again impressed in the second row, and sophomore Bobby Schroder dominated the lineout before an ankle injury ended his day in the 35th minute. JJ Tiago, Logan Edler and Ringel scored the tries.

The B-side fell 36-26 in a competitive match of its own, with Michael Swingle, Ian Glassner, Max Binder and Noah Mena among the standouts.

JMU sits at 3-2 and third in the region with three regular-season games to play, against Temple, Maryland and Delaware. A top-three regional finish would keep the Dukes clear of the top seeds early in the postseason. Next up is Temple at home.

Match video will be posted on the club Watch page.

‍