In a matchup between two of the premier programs in the Midwest and the United States, the Saint Ignatius A-side rugby squad emerged with a victory. 

The Wildcats bested the Cathedral Royal Irish of Indiana, one of the best club teams in the country, 27-13, at Obetz in Columbus on Saturday afternoon.

The matchup, a potential preview of another heavyweight matchup with Cathedral at the Midwest Championships next weekend, proved to be a fun one.

The game was defined by its radically different halves. In the first, the Royal Irish dominated and controlled the ball. In the second, the Wildcats romped to five tries by five different men for a decisive 27-13 victory.

"We had the wind in the second half so we had to play ball in hand most of the first half," Head Coach Dan Arbeznik '00 told the Goff Rugby Report. "We had five different guys score tries."

Sean Soeder, Aidan Gill, Juan Pen, Alex Schum, and Tommy Lavelle each reached the try zone for the Wildcats. Declan Boldy tabbed one conversion on a windy day in Columbus. 

As the Goff Rugby Report wrote of the Cats: 

"Lock forward Sean Soeder was a force defensively in the lineout and because of that Royal Irish had a lot of trouble launching from that aspect of set piece. Flanker Nick Zolikoff was also very active on defense. Flyhalf Sean Whalen operated a nice attack for Ignatius, and made a few breaks to open things up."

The Wildcats advanced to 8-3 with the wonderful win over Cathedral. But as Arbeznik and the Cats know, the road to success is not at its end. The Rugby Cats will travel to the MooserRugby Grounds in Indiana next weekend for the Midwest Tournament, featuring the best of the best from the Midwest area. 

More Success: The Wildcats' B-side squad also picked up a win over Cathedral in Columbus, 22-0. The developmental game was cancelled.