On Nov. 2, against University of North Dakota, Macalester’s men’s club rugby won 10-5, officially winning the developmental league in the Northern Lights Conference, confirmed by the release of final league results on Friday, Nov. 8.
In what has already been a landmark season for Macalester’s Black Bears rugby squad, a chilly Saturday morning clash on Nov. 2 against North Dakota presented them a simple task: win by four or more to win the league.
“We knew it was gonna be an electric game going out there in front of the home crowd for senior day,” CJ Yoon ’28 said. “Win or loss, all we could do is give 100% off that kickoff.”
Although the Black Bears have struggled previously with energy in the early game, it wasn’t an issue for them on Saturday, even on a cold morning where warming up can be more complicated.
“We’ve had a little bit of a problem this year of not being physically and mentally locked in on kickoffs and getting scored on early in games,” Gwen Reoch ’25 said. “And so we didn’t this time, and that was a really great indicator that we’ve grown as a team, but also that everyone took the warm-up seriously and was really ready to go.”
The game continued as a defensive struggle, both sides offering clinical rugby. Around 20 minutes in, a chance to score appeared for the Black Bears on a penalty restart.
“Our first [try] was scored by Makhai [Hunt ’27],” Reoch recalled. “It was off of a penalty play … we were near their goal line. I did a quick restart because I realized that they didn’t have their heads up as they were backpedaling. And I dished it to Kai and trusted him that he would beat three or four guys to the end zone, which is a specialty of his.”
The Macalester side continued to stay focused with a lead. Despite another try that upped the lead to 10-0, this time via Xander Hall ’26, North Dakota remained a threat. Holding onto a precarious advantage, the Black Bears fell back on their preparations in the preceding week and what they had practiced.
“A two-score lead is super dangerous, especially because we needed to win by at least four,” Reoch said. “We were really locked in all week on how to stop them from breaking through and making our defense scramble, because that’s when [we] and any other team falls apart. And we did a really good job of stopping that, stopping the explosive plays and staying organized on defense, which was our key the whole time.”
“I think we came together really well at the late end of that first half to pull together a score and have everyone just be a cohesive team,” Yoon added.
Although North Dakota pulled back a try in the second half, they couldn’t convert their kick so the lead stayed at five points, just above the Black Bears’ magic number of four.
In the final 10 minutes, the Black Bears dominated the game, looking to hold onto their lead and provisional conference-winning position. They held onto possession for long stretches, and virtually locked the game in their attacking half. Despite one line-break play where their opponent threatened to change the tide of the game, the Black Bears held firm.
Reoch noted the team’s increased ability in executing chasedown tackles, as well as development of fullback Ben Gulmann ’28, whose role places him as the last line of defense and charges him with frequently making one-on-one tackles. Those both were instrumental in holding off North Dakota in the late phase of the game.
Late-on, the Black Bears recovered possession and continued to threaten a try to ice the game. Although they were never able to score in the game’s final minutes, they never allowed their opponents an opportunity to come back. The clock went to all zeroes as the Black Bears prepared an offensive scrum. One more effort from the forwards allowed Reoch to recover the ball out of the scrum and kick it out of play to end the game.
The win was particularly special for seniors, who had played their last game in front of a home crowd.
“We always preach that this [team] is a family,” Reoch said. “So that was our last time at home with our family. And so we really, before the game, tried to hone in on like, let’s do it for the seniors. Let’s do it for us. Let’s do it for our fans.”
Black Bear coach Jacob Hill’s first words to his team after the win were audible from the stands. Having previously told his players to play that game like it was their last, he referenced the fact that the journey with this team will continue: “I lied; there is a tomorrow!”
‘Tomorrow’ for the Black Bears will come on Nov. 23 at 2 p.m., in St. Louis. They’ll play the Midwest Region Heartland Bowl, where they’ll face Grove City College from the Pennsylvania city of the same name, who play their rugby as part of the Allegheny Rugby Union. It’ll be a one-game postseason, a one-off bowl game-style contest to end the season.
The Black Bears will host a watch party at Macalester to cheer on the squad traveling to Missouri. Reoch also noted an upcoming bake sale to fund the journey. Regardless of the outcome against Grove City, it will mark the end to a memorable season that portends further growth in the future for this team.
“This team means so much to me,” Yoon reflected on their first year on the squad. “It was really the first place I felt like I fit in here at Mac … The team’s really just one big family. And I emphasize that every single day that we go out there and we’re like, ‘hey, today we’re going to give it all we have and put in all the work we can and be the best team that we can be.’”
