SOUTH EUCLID, Ohio – Notre Dame College men's rugby had their first home game on Saturday. On Mueller Field, the Falcons played Penn State University but after an intense battle, PSU snuck by with a 31-25 victory.

Both teams came into the contest as top tier rugby programs, with Penn State ranked eighth and Notre Dame ranked 18th, by D1A College Rugby.

In a back and forth contest, Matthew Smith was able to score for the Falcons within the very first minute of the game using a great pass from Christian Olsen. The Nittany Lions were able to get points on the board not long after the Falcons try.

Penn State was then able convert a penalty kick later in the first half, but the Falcons came back and made one as well. Before the halftime break, Notre Dame was able to take advantage of a bad pass and Olsen stole the ball and ran in for a try to tie the game.

In the second half, the game went the same way with good ball play and defense. NDC was able to take advantage of a yellow card that sent a player off from Penn State as Fadzai Mushonga scored a try.

In the late moments of the game, Mushonga gave the Falcons the lead with a penalty kick conversion. However, the Nittany Lions were able to take advantage of a mishap in the scrum and scored a try. Those points portrayed the final score.

The Falcons were given a chance with a few minutes left on the clock to run down the field. Notre Dame moved down the pitch and was close to scoring, but the ball was stripped and kicked out to end the game.

On Wednesday, D1A Rugby announced that Notre Dame had moved from No. 18 to No. 14 in the Week 3 Rankings, because of the strong performance. They were one of three teams (St. Bonaventure and Kutztown) to move up in the rankings. (Rankings)

On September 21st, the Falcons will be traveling to play No. 13 St. Bonaventure in a battle of two teams in the Rugby East Conference. The game will be streamed on ESPN+.