ORONO – The University of Maine men’s rugby team is on its way to the Northeast Rugby Union’s U.S. Regional Finals at West Point Saturday, Nov. 8, following a 44-3 Saturday playoff win over Hamilton College.

If the team wins in the next round against Fairfield University, it will earn a spot in the national finals competition, scheduled for next spring.

The coaches, Prof. George Criner and Mark Grimes, say that home-field advantage was a key to Saturday’s success.

“We scored early and kept constant pressure on Hamilton,” says Criner, who is director of UMaine’s School of Economics. “Hamilton did mount some great drives, but our defense had its game going well. Every time the Hamilton team attempted to run into our line, it was like they hit a stone wall.”

UMaine’s Campus Recreation Department oversees the rugby program, which receives campus rec. funding and funding from UMaine Student Government.