The Eastern rugby team extended its winning streak to 21 games Saturday by defeating Minnesota 49-0 in Minneapolis. Even in the cold weather and the rain the Panthers were still able to keep their hopes of an undefeated season alive.

The Panthers (5-0) were led by senior wing Crystal Jones, who converted three trys to give her a team-best 16 for the season. Scoring her first try as a Panther was freshman prop Jazmine Moore. Also with an impressive game was sophomore scrumhalf Narissa Ramirez, who controlled the ball well under poor weather conditions.

“We got a nice game out of Narissa Ramirez; I think she played very solid today.” Eastern head coach Frank Graziano said. “In the scrumhalf position that she is playing, it was a difficult day to handle the ball, with it being muddy all day long.”

With the ball slipping out of everyone’s hands, the Panthers needed all players to be at the top of their game. When the ball would slip out of someone’s hands there was always someone there to pick it up again, Graziano said.

With players slipping all over the field the Panthers needed backup from their teammates and a strong defensive front and that is just what they got. The defense stood its ground when it needed to and also helped put the offense in good position. When the defense causes pressure and forces turnovers, it gives the offense less of a distance to score.

“We played good team pressure defense,” Graziano said. “We put pressure on the opposition when conditions were not conducive for handling the ball real well. I think we caused a lot of Minnesota turnovers and forced them to make mistakes under wet conditions.”

The Panthers succeeded while missing several players because of injuries, and posted their third shutout of the year. The Panthers also wanted to makeup for last weeks close victory against Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

“We played as I had anticipated,” Jones said. “We knew going into the game that we might have to shuffle some people around. I was very pleased to see that we did not get flustered knowing that we had people in new positions. I think we played well and bounced right back from last game. I think we picked our confidence back and stuck to the minor details and just played like we new how.

The Panthers will return home Saturday as they face Northern Iowa at Lakeside Rugby Field. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

Bob Shaughnessy can be reached at 581-7944 or rrshaughnessy@eiu.edu