FAIRFIELD, Conn. – The Sacred Heart University women's rugby team celebrated Senior Night on Friday evening, suffering a 40-17 loss to a tough Army program at Park Ave Field. 

The Black Knights held control of the match early on, leading 14-0 after 20:20 after two trys and two successful conversions. In that stretch, a red card issued to a SHU player at 15:30, further put the Pioneers behind the eight-ball, as they played the rest of the game a woman down. 

Despite the adversity, the Pioneers continued to fight. Maria-Jean Paulino used her speed to break free across the left side of the try line for SHU's first points, cutting the lead to 14-5 at 29:30. 

Neither team scored by the end of the first half, as the Black Knights clung to a 14-5 advantage. 

Coming out of the break, the Pioneers got on the scoreboard first with a thrilling try from Carrie Coyer-Westerberg at 43:37. Viola Koning started the play with a beautiful kick up the field, when a SHU bounce found a Coyer-Westerberg on the right side of the field that allowed her to soar to the try. After back-to-back Sacred Heart trys, the Pios trailed by just four, 14-10, in the second half. 

Unfortunately for the Pioneers, battling down a player for so long caught up to them, as Army scored the next 26 points. A Black Knights' conversion at 78:31 gave the visitors an insurmountable 40-10 lead. 

However, SHU did not give up, scoring a try in extra time. Reese Torticill capped the play with a conversion to set the final score at 40-17. 

The Pios hit the road for their next match on Saturday, Oct. 11, when they play at Harvard at 2 p.m.