The Loyola men’s rugby team tookthe new Sean Lugano Memorial Field field against Frostburg University at noonon Saturday, March 13. Sean Lugano thecaptain of Loyola’s club rugby team in 1995, died in the Sept. 11, 2001, WorldTrade Center attack, and friends and family of Lugano raised over $1 million tothe name the field after him. The SeanLugano Memorial Field is now the new home of the Loyola club rugby team.

Frostburg did not provide anychallenge for the Greyhounds, who won the match 37-0. The new turf field, on the other hand,proposed a small challenge for the Greyhounds, who were used to playing most oftheir home games on grass. The daybefore the match, sophomore wing Sean Kearney did not know what to expect ofthe new pitch. “I was a little moreuneasy about switching to the turf than some of the other guys,” said Kearney. “I prefer the grass, the dirt, the mud, andgetting dirty while I play. The turfjust doesn’t do it for me. But I stilldo my thing.” Sean also said the newfield gave his knee some trouble towards the end of the match. Not all of the players were skeptical aboutthe new field; some felt the turf was a satisfactory change. Freshman 8-man Sean O’Keefe thrived on thenew playing surface, scoring two tries in the match against Frostburg. After the match, O’Keefe said he knew thatplaying at the Ridley Athletic Complex was going to be a smoothtransition. “It felt great to be movingout there on the new field,” said O’Keefe. “It didn’t hurt our game. Infact, it may have improved it. I couldtell we were moving faster and with more agility.”

With the win against Frostburg,Loyola opened up their spring season with a 1-0 record. The Ridley Athletic Complex is located at2221 West Cold Spring Lane in Baltimore. The Loyola Club Rugby plays next Saturday March 30, at West ChesterUniversity.