The rugby club did exactly what Coach Bruce Hale wanted on Saturday.

The squad played more motivated and intense as a team while maintaining both at a high level throughout.

As a result, Penn State's A side defeated an aggressive IUP club 4-0. The only score was a try made by back Jon Nichols off a break by fly-half Chris Scala at the 10-minute mark in the first half.

That half included solid defensive play by both sides as ball possession changed several times.

The second half opened with Penn State attacking deep into the visitor's end, which only resulted in a missed penalty kick. Later, despite the miss, Penn State's kicking game proved efficient as it was able to stop several attacking threats by IUP.

"(Fullback) Scott Davis' kicking was very effective strategically . . . experience will do that," Hale said.

Compared to last week, the club played with an intensity level 50 percent higher and with a 50 percent improvement, Hale said. He added the team's second phase was better; however, it was not as good in the second half as in the first.

The match was dominated with excellent play by the forwards, back Matt Hoffman said. They took control which resulted in "a slower pace, instead of leaving (the game) wide open," he said.

Forward Chris Amoratis attributed the low score to IUP's competitive play.

"It was a tough game; they wouldn't let up," he said.

In the B side match, Penn State soundly defeated Pitt's A side, 12-4, in a game where conditioning proved to be the factor although it was not apparent at first.

After four scrums from PSU's 5-meter line, Pitt finally punched in a try to open the scoring with six minutes left in the first half.

At halftime assistant coach Kevin Oyler said, "the forwards need to raise the pressure to force mistakes."

The club responded when back Tim Grebos scored a try and scrum half Rande Ziman kicked a two-point conversion.

As the half went on, Penn State's endurance prevailed.

"They broke down in the second half," Grebos said.

The club prevented Pitt from scoring again while adding to its lead. Forward Shawn Crago recovered a punt he blocked and ran through an opening in Pitt's defense to score a try. Ziman followed with a two-point conversion.

"When you put pressure on, you get plays like that," Crago said. He added that teams tend to work hard for such rare opportunities.

The second half exemplified what effect teamwork will have on the outcome of a game, Ziman said.

Penn State's C side defeated IUP's B side, 14-3, while its D side beat Pitt's B side, 6-0.

The coaches "were impressed again for the second week in a row" with the younger sides' performances, Hale said.

A few players are being considered as potential contributors to the A or B side in the immediate future, he added.