“It happens.”

That was the only thing Saint Louis University Rugby coach Bill Brandt could say after Saturday afternoon’s trouncing to Central Missouri State University at the annual RuggerFest held at Forest Park.

After an impressive 17-0 win against Loyola University-Chicago in the first round game, the Billikens could not seem to get their game together, as they fell 20-0 to the Mules in the tournament’s first semi-final match.

“It was almost a men’s team. They were much more experienced than us. They only had a few college guys on the team. But we played our hardest.

“It’s tough getting a good game together when we are playing with a split squad,” said sophomore eight-man Eric Munninghoff.

The Billikens were forced to play with less than a split squad. In fact, the game looked more like an Ace Bandage convention. SLU was left without senior team captain Isaac Beal due to a deep thigh bruise, while the squad’s other captain, junior Peter Kowalski, sat out after he suffered a bruise to his pelvic bone.

Munninghoff, who suffered a deep cut above his left eye, joined them on the sidelines. All three were injured during the Loyola match.

“To have to play a team like that is unfortunate. It is not the way the game is meant to be played. It was just a clash of two different styles of play and that hurt us,” Munninghoff said.

Despite the injury-stricken lineup SLU gave a great effort. With a number of starters out many players were forced to step up and take over.

Junior center Nick Miofski was able to dance his way through several defenders on his way toward a great run that ended just short of the try line.

That was as close as the Billikens came to scoring. Freshmen Caleb George filled in for the injured Kowalski at fly half and did an impressive job leading the backs.

“With Munninghoff and me out it allowed guys like Caleb and Ryan McCauley to really step up. They definitely filled in some voids. It was very assuring to see a good performance from our younger players,” said Kowalski.

According to Kowalski, SLU was not accustomed to the dirty style of CMSU.

“We didn’t know how to react,” he said.

The Billikens had no trouble reacting to Loyola in the first game of the tournament as they routed their Windy City rival 17-0. SLU dominated the game from the very first possession.

Senior forward Matt Brannan pummeled his way through defenders for the game’s first score and followed it up with another quick score in the left corner of the try zone.

“We beat them in every phase of the game. We had stronger rucks, and we just had superior forwards.

“Guys like Brannan just had their way with Loyola from the very start,” Munninghoff said.

The Billikens fought their way through the injuries of some key players and enjoyed a quality victory. Junior back Ben Cappoccia just came back from a knee injury.

“It felt good to be back in action. We played so well against Loyola it was very encouraging. We were bigger, faster and stronger. Those are some good advantages to have against a rival,” said Cappoccia.

SLU came into RuggerFest with a two-game winning streak and a 3-3 record.

With wins over Division-I Marquette University and the Saint Louis University Alumni “S.L.O.B.S.”, the Billikens’ confidence was running high on Saturday as their record amounted to 4-4 for the season and 8-7 for the year.

“We went into the tournament with high expectations simply because we have played so well of late. We really came prepared for Loyola and it showed,” Kowalski said.

For the Billikens, the spring season has been a roller-coaster ride according to Kowalski.

“We have had the tendency to play to the level of our opponents. We went up to a tournament at Southern Indiana to play a good Division-II team in Eastern Illinois and we played the best game we had all year.

“Then we go back and get smacked by Missouri in the Landenberg Cup. We just haven’t gotten into a groove yet,” Kowalski said.

SLU failed to qualify for the national tournament when they lost the Landenberg Cup, but the intensity of SLU rugby is still running high for the Billikens. They close out their season on Saturday April 21 against Principia College.

“We look forward to playing Principia. It should be a good game for us, and hopefully we can end our season on a good note,” Kowalski said.