After finishing as the top collegiate team in the Washington Irish Tournament, the rugby club A side lost 3-0 to the Carlisle men's club in Penn State's first home match of the season.

The club, which finished third at the tournament, could not take advantage of several second-half scoring opportunities deep in Carlisle territory.

Three times in the second half, Penn State reached the Carlisle end line, but each time the visitors took possession of the ball and kicked it away, forcing Penn State to start again from midfield.

Terry Overly, with a strong wind behind him, scored on a penalty kick five minutes into the first half to give Carlisle a 3-0 lead. Neither team scored after that.

"Penn State has a very good reputation," Carlisle's John Lyons said. "We thought if we could stay close we could win."

Saturday's severe weather seemed to be the reason for such a low scoring match, Coach Bruce Hale said. A strong wind blowing from the southwest disrupted the kicking game and kept the ball in the east end of the field most of the game.

With about five minutes left in the game, the squad had an opportunity to tie on a penalty kick. But Penn State chose instead to make a run at the end line and were once again turned away by Carlisle.

The players, who wanted a win more than a tie, made the decision on the field, on-field captain Terry Ryland said.

"I've got to give them credit for going for the win," Lyons said. "A 3-3 tie doesn't prove anything for them. Fortunately I didn't have to face that decision."

In the B side match, Penn State could not hold a first half lead and lost the match to Lock Haven's A side, 15-7.

The team led 3-0 at halftime on a penalty kick by scrum half Rande Ziman.

In the first five minutes of the second half, Penn State drove down the field quickly and scored again on a try by Dino Cruciani to take a 7-0 lead but missed the conversion.

Five minutes later, Lock Haven responded with a try of its own but missed the conversion to cut Penn State's lead to 7-4.

Then with 15 minutes left, Shawn Crago was ejected for a late hit, leaving the club one man short. Lock Haven took advantage and scored twice more on tries and once on a penalty kick to take a 15-7 lead.

"Our guys were standing around like they didin't know what they were doing," Hale said. "They (Lock Haven) wanted the game more."

Penn State's C side was the only team to win as they beat Carlisle's B side 12-0. The D side finished close to Lock Haven D but came up short, losing 4-3.

"The C and D side played well considering they haven't been playing together very long," Hale said.

Although they came away with only one win, Hale said the weekend match would have a positive effect on the team for the rest of the season.

"I'd rather lose in the first weekend than the weekend before the tournament," Hale said. "This weekend should wake some of the players up. I hope it was a learning experience for them."