The looks on their faces said it all. All of the sacrifice and all of the determination had finally paid off with a trip to the national final four.

"This team has a real purpose about what they want to do, and I think that this team is so close that they don't want to let each other down," Penn State women's rugby coach Pete Steinberg said. "That bond is keeping them on the field and not letting them leave."

Penn State defeated Army, 17-12, yesterday morning in the round of eight at the East Fields, fighting off injuries and Army's offensive attacks.

Going to nationals is nothing new for the Lady Ruggers. This will be their 14th appearance in the last 15 years, and Steinberg feels that the victory shows how this program has longevity and is consistently able to do things at a high level.

After defeating school rival Ohio State Saturday morning, 19-5 in their first match, the Lady Ruggers took on Army to decide who would be going to nationals and who would be going home.

While it may have been early in the morning, the atmosphere in the crowd was at a fever pitch. Army supporters came out in full force for this match, including a man dressed in a Viking helmet and draped in the Army flag who shouted throughout the entire match.

Before the match, the Army squad chanted "We declare war," but Penn State brought the fight to them. Penn State started getting long runs and capped them off with two tries. Army came back however, scoring a try right before the end of the first half.

Penn State once again took early control of the half with another try, but the second half was Army's.

Army picked up the pressure and intensity, and with the momentum slipping away, the Lady Ruggers found themselves against their own try line throughout as Army cut into the deficit with another score. The Lady Ruggers just could not get out of their own zone.

With the lead in jeopardy, several Lady Ruggers sustained injuries but refused to be taken out of the game, and ultimately helped preserve the win.

Throughout the season, when the team got in trouble, it relied on its stingy defense to save the day, and that defense was there when they needed it the most. Multiple times, Army pushed for the try line only to find a wall of defenders. At the end of the half the Lady Ruggers were able to go on a long run to ease the pressure and seal the 17- 12 victory.

"I think we showed a lot of heart," said Steinberg. "We played really well in the first half. But I think Army came out and had a great second half and we were just holding on. I think the fact that we kept working and kept working is some of the stuff you can't coach."

Steinberg also acknowledged what a great team that Army was, saying that he had nothing but the utmost respect for them and how they fought back and just wouldn't relent.

The Lady Ruggers get two weeks to rest up before nationals in Palo Alto, Ca, the weekend of May 4.