BOYDS, Md. -- Defending national champion Kutztown won a pair of matches over Northeastern and St. Bonaventure to reach the final four of the Collegiate Rugby Championship National 7s Premier Cup, before falling to Indiana, 26-5, in the semifinals Saturday at the Maryland SoccerPlex in Boyds, Md.
 
The Golden Bears were to play Belmont Abbey for third place, Sunday, but late Saturday night the call came in from National Collegiate Rugby (NCR) that due to the poor forecast for Sunday, they'll only have use of the stadium field for the four championship men's matches across different classifications. All remaining consolation matches have been canceled.
 

---

SECOND ROUND
Kutztown 19, Northeastern 12
 
Kutztown and Northeastern squared off for the second time this spring. While the second meeting looked to be following the script of the first, a 35-0 Golden Bear victory at the Monumental 7s CRC Qualifier, the Huskies battled back late to make a match of it before falling short, 19-12.
 
Quick starts proved to be a hallmark of Kutztown's during this tournament. This second round matchup proved to be the perfect case study of that as P.J. O'Reilly (Springfield, Pa./Cardinal O'Hara) offloaded to Augustus Dellinger (Hollidaysburg, Pa./Hollidaysburg) and Dellinger beat a defender for a try down the right side in the first minute for a 5-0 KU lead.
 
After a bit of back-and-forth play, Lasha Asanidze (Tbilisi, Georgia/Blackrock College) carried defenders with him towards goal line before offloading to Aidan Smith (Trumbull, Conn./Trumbull). Smith broke two ankle tackles and put it down between the sticks for a try in the sixth minute. This time O'Reilly's conversion was good and the Maroon and Gold took a 12-0 lead to the break.
 
Kutztown took the opening kick of second half, quickly switched fields and Mate Kvirikashvili (Kutaisi, Georgia/Monroe Woodbury (N.Y.)) busted free from near his own 22-meter line for a long try run in the opening minute. O'Reilly added another conversion, extending the Bears' lead to 19-0
 
With KU down a man for yellow card, Northeastern got on the board with a try in the 12th minute and added another with a conversion in the 14th to close within 19-12. The Huskies got possession back off the kick, but the Bears held and ran out the clock to move onto the quarters.
 

---

QUARTERFINALS
Kutztown 21, St. Bonaventure 12

In a rematch from the Monumental 7s CRC Qualifier semifinals which St. Bonaventure won 24-12, Kutztown was able to extract some revenge, but it didn't come easy.
 
The Bonnies scored first with an early try to take a 5-0 lead.
 
Kutztown forced a turnover near the SBU 10-meter line and turned it into quick points. Smith offloaded to Brock Stinson (Colorado Springs, Colo./Coronado) and Stinson scooted into the try zone between the sticks to tie it. O'Reilly added the conversion for a 7-5 KU advantage.
 
St. Bonaventure was on the move into KU territory when a penalty put possession back with the Bears. Off a scrum, Smith got the ball beyond his own 10-meter line, eluded a tackle at midfield and outran the Bonnies to the try zone for another between the sticks. That set up an easy conversion for O'Reilly as the Bears took a 14-5 lead at the half.
 
The Bonnies took advantage of a KU penalty just over two minutes into the second half to hang seven on the board and close the gap to 14-12.
 
Kutztown intercepted a line out by the Bonnies near midfield with three minutes to play and worked it deep into St. Bonaventure territory. With bodies sprawling all over the pitch, Smith delivered a tremendous offload to Stinson just before taking a huge hit in the middle of the field. Stinson found the try zone on the left side in the 12th minute. O'Reilly knocked a critical conversion through to make it a two-score lead, 21-12.
 
The Bonnies were out of answers and time as Kutztown moved through to the semifinals to face Indiana.
 

---

SEMIFINALS
Indiana 26, Kutztown 5
 
The national semifinal pitted the top seeds in the Midwest (Kutztown) and West (Indiana) Regions.
 
Facing the Hoosiers for the first time since a hard-fought 26-24 victory at last year's Gavin Gill Memorial 7s in Columbus, Ohio, Kutztown came out ready to earn a return trip to the national championship match.
 
Already not at full strength heading into the tournament and playing for the third time Saturday, the Bears saw starter Cameron Thurtell (London, England/Pearson Edexcel) banged up in the early going. Thurtell dug deep to remain in the match and off a scrum in the opening minute, Smith took it to the try zone for an early 5-0 Kutztown lead.
 
Unfortunately, the remaining 13 minutes belonged to Indiana.
 
The Hoosiers, quarterfinalists and fifth place finishers in last year's CRC Premier Cup bracket, came into the semis outscoring their opponents 85-10. Once they got going in this one, they couldn't be stopped.
 
IU used a 5-meter scrum to record a try in the fifth minute and added the conversion to go in front 7-5. The Hoosiers then seized momentum with another try and conversion in the final seconds of the half to push their lead to 14-5.
 
Kutztown couldn't come up with a loose ball that found its way to IU's Noah Brown for a try in the 11th minute, allowing the Hoosiers to tack on five more, 19-5.
 
With the Bears in desperation mode, the Hoosiers forced a Kvirikashvili turnover and sealed the deal with a try run from beyond midfield in the 13th minute. The conversion was true, accounting for the 26-5 final score.
 
Indiana will look to capture the title against Mount St. Mary's, Sunday, at 12:15 p.m.