Osama Shayeb was pleased with the aggressiveness of NIU men’s rugby in the early going of its match against Grand Valley State.

“Daniel Pammer got a try in the first 10 minutes, so immediately [Grand Valley’s] heads were down,” Shayed said. “From then on out, we played our game, [and] they couldn’t stop us.”

The Huskies (7-0) used that momentum to propel them to a 28-9 victory over the Lakers (6-2) in the first round of the Midwest East Regional of the National Rugby Tournament.

Shayeb said the fact that the Huskies were playing in an earlier opponent didn’t bother them.

“It really wasn’t,” Shayeb said. “Our defense did an excellent job of moving the ball around. They were more competitive, but we stepped up to the plate and really performed well.”

Pammer, who plays scrum half, was awarded the Man of the Match honor and had two tries in the victory.

Later that weekend, NIU won 50-15 over Central Michigan, advancing it to the Midwest regional in Cottage Grove, Wis. in two weeks. This is the farthest run in the rugby program’s history.

“We stopped contesting rucks on defense and waited for them to make mistakes and capitalized on them,” Shayeb said.

The Man of the Match honor went to senior Chris Graeber.

“Chris was a big part of our turnovers,” Shayeb said, “In the last two minutes of the game, we were on a goal line defending, and he still found it in him to steal the ball and turn it over.”

Up next for NIU will be the semifinals which will be held in Wisconsin Nov. 12.

The Huskies will take on Ohio, and if they defeat it, they will qualify for Nationals and play for the Midwest Championship on Nov. 13.