GROVE CITY, Penn. -- For the third year in a row the Franciscan University Rugby team was in the conference championship match, but for the first time did not come out victorious. They fell to Grove City College for the second time this year, ending their season with a 31-5 loss.

It was a matter of which team was going to make the fewest amount of mistakes heading into the match, according to FUS head coach Ken DeLucia, and the Barons were not that team.

"We needed to make less mistakes than we did," DeLucia, who is in his first year as the head coach of the Baron Ruggers, said. "When you make mistakes against a team of this caliber, it is hard to overcome. Grove City capitalized on our mistakes, and my hat's off to them."

With it being his first year in the program, DeLucia said he did not necessarily have any concrete expectations, but was certainly pleased with the way the season turned out.

"We had an overall record of 6-3 and we played in the conference championship, that's a pretty good season in my book," DeLucia said. "I thought this season was excellent and I am really pleased with the results of this year's team and their efforts."

DeLucia named John Manni Man of the Match for Franciscan, noting his well-rounded style of play which is so crucial in the game of rugby.

"Several guys played extremely well, including all of my usual suspects," DeLucia said, "but [Manni's] overall play today, including his intensity, tackling, support, and rucking, really stood out. We had to move him around to play numerous positions and he did that seamlessly; he is a heck of a player."

One thing that Coach DeLucia has stressed all season is the youth of his program, and he noted how important it was for the young players to remember the feeling of a loss like the one suffered Saturday.

"I told my young guys to remember the feeling in their stomachs after losing a game like this. I told them to remember this feeling and let it drive them and create that fire inside," DeLucia said.