The Penn State women's rugby team could taste victory. Coming out of halftime, the Lady Ruggers sprinted to two successive tries, breaking open a closely contested finals match against long-time rival Navy in the Mid-Atlantic Rugby Football Union tournament on Sunday.

Then, as quickly as the Ruggers had collected the lead it was washed away by Navy, as it put the Ruggers on the defensive in route to scoring two late tries and a conversion to earn a come-from-behind 36-34 win.

So, what happened?

"I think there were two things," Penn State women's rugby coach Peter Steinberg said. "Our mental preparation wasn't good and we kind of played not to lose."

The latter of the problems gave Navy the energy it needed to make the comeback, Steinberg said, and by the time it was all said and done, the Ruggers did not have the energy to make a comeback.

"We got complacent and we started to play defensive when we were ahead," Lady Rugger Katie Gloyer said. "We kind of let our guard down a little bit."

The Ruggers had their problems dealing with the Navy backline, which caused problems by switching sides constantly. With the Ruggers slow to react, Navy was able to get outside and outrun the Ruggers for tries.

When the Ruggers were able to contain Navy, they struggled to gather and maintain possession. Steinberg said that Navy came out more motivated, citing last year's final four, where it was the Ruggers who stole the match from Navy.

"I don't think our heads were in it," Lady Rugger Jenny Lui said. "They came out with more desire then us."

These problems have some ties to Mother Nature, which has prevented the team from getting into its normal outdoor routine and has forced the team to scramble for practice facilities.

"I do think the weather has affected our preparation," Steinberg said. "We are probably less fit than we normally are at this time of year."

Despite the defeat, Steinberg is confident his team can turn things around.

He noted how close the game against Navy was despite the team not putting forth one of its better efforts.

"What is good about the game is we didn't play well but only lost by two points to a good team," Steinberg said.

With Sweet 16 nearing before the championship round, the Lady Ruggers will have this weekend's tournament in West Chester and two weeks of practice to right the "ship," so to speak.

"We have a lot of work to do," Lui said.