SPRINGFIELD, Massachusetts - The American International College men's rugby team battled to the end in a 31-22 Liberty Rugby Conference matchup on Saturday, October 11.

AIC is now 4-2 overall and in the LRC.

The Bears jumped to an early 7-0 lead on a Marco Lapierre try and Tito Edjua conversion near to the seven-minute mark.

AIC was able to come back, however, with great work out of a scrum on the left side near midfield. German Rossi broke for a big gain before offloading to Filimone Manu, who was brought to ground near the try line on the right. Out of that breakdown, Mateo Carrazanna was able to pick up the ball and drive forward for the score at 16:20; Rossi converted to tie the game.

A yellow card put AIC in a tough spot, but the defense was able to hold steady despite a strong Bears push. Brown then committed a key miscue in AIC territory, kicking the ball out of the try zone, and the Yellow Jackets not only took possession but the lead, as Ivan Rossi's kick bounced beautifully for Augusto Arguello to run onto; he caught the defense flat-footed and flew down the wing, ultimately offloading through to Demitrius Ta'ape, who dove in for the score with less than 1:10 to play in the half. German Rossi's conversion put AIC ahead 14-7 at the break.

In the second half, the game was a stalemate for much of the first 15 minutes until a critical error ended in a Brown try; out of a scrum, AIC missed a back pass and the Bears pounced on it, with Edjua scoring and converting to tie the game. To make matters worse, AIC also took another yellow card.

In spite of the shock and the disadvantage in manpower, the Yellow Jackets regained the lead quickly. This time, it was heavy work by the forwards, with repeated drives from inside five yards of the line, until Axel Strasser finally was able to put the ball to ground beyond the line at 18:15 and put AIC ahead 19-14.

The Bears responded again; Asa Rosenmeier scored, with Edjua's conversion putting the visitors up 21-19 with 12:30 to play.

AIC needed points, and a penalty provided a chance. German Rossi nailed a long kick directly down the middle with 9:05 to play, pushing AIC ahead by one.

Unfortunately for the Yellow Jackets, the Bears countered with a penalty kick of their own barely a minute later, and a late try sealed the win as Brown grabbed the 31-22 victory. 

AIC will next play Syracuse University on the road on Saturday, October 25 at 1:00 p.m.