LSU and Notre Dame won their respective matches to set up the Challenger final.

LSU's Cody Cadella stiff arms in a previous match. (Photo Steve Mitchell)

LSU and North Carolina went head to head in the first Challenger semifinal of the 2011 CRC. It was a relatively one-sided match, with LSU putting up 24 points to UNC’s 7.

LSU’s Allen Allongi owned the first half, scoring all of the Tiger’s points with two tries and one conversion. His first try came early in the first half off a breakaway and he missed the conversion, but soon after pounced on a loose ball close to the Tar Heels line and dove over for his second try, which he successfully converted.

LSU kept up their impressive play in the second half when Mike Bordes crossed for a try and Allongi slotted the conversion, making it 19-0 to the Tigers.

North Carolina came back right off the kickoff and scored after some great passing and interplay. Gregor Maclennan made the conversion to cut into LSU’s lead, 19-7.

LSU put the game away when Jeff Levasseur scored an unconverted try to slam the door shut.

“It feels great and it has been a challenge,” LSU’s head coach Julie McCoy said. “We’ve been trying to take it one game at a time. I am so proud of this team for scratching and clawing their way back into something that’s meaningful. We weren’t dejected; we just set new goals for ourselves.”

Sizing up the Challenger bracket of the USA 7s CRC, Notre Dame looked to be the best team not participating in the Cup division. Navy did its best to prove critics wrong, but the Irish held onto the 12-10 semifinal win for a spot in the final against LSU.

Notre Dame can sidestep and work an overload as well as anyone in the field, but Navy's size advantage disrupted the Irish's flow somewhat. Not enough, however, to deter Tyler Plantz from going about 65 meters and 5-0 lead.

Navy answered when Matt Bova stutter stepped around Bobby Manfreda and sprinted to the try line for a 5-5 score at halftime.

Notre Dame scored the next try through Sean Mitchell, which was converted to give the Irish a 12-5 lead.

Navy came very close to tying the match up when Seamus Siefring bulled over from a quick tap, but Carid Scovill missed the conversion with no time left.

The semifinal match between Army and Utah was one for the ages. Both teams played some of the best rugby seen over the course of the CRC and Army ended up on top, 12-7.

Army's Latu Vaha'i tackles a Utah player in their semifinal match. (Photo Steve Mitchell)

Utah started off very well with a long shifty run into the Army half but eventually were called for not rolling away. Army was called for a penalty of their own for entering from the side and Utah used the opportunity to kick to touch inside Army’s 22-meter line. The lineout throw wasn’t straight and Army was awarded a scrum from which they drove deep into Utah’s half. The move was stopped when Utah’s Tonata Lauti tackled high and was yellow carded.

The sin binning showed just how physically and aggressively both teams played, even though it sometimes got them in trouble.

Utah later got the ball off a lineout and Don Pati made a big run all the way to Army’s 5-meter line even with a shortage of numbers due to the yellow card. Army’s David Geib was then yellow carded for a penalty in the ruck and Utah’s Cameron Loser slipped past two defenders to score. Blake Miller made the conversion for a 7-0 score at halftime.

Utah kicked off the second half and both sin-binned players rejoined the action soon after. Army’s Will Holder made a big run and was supported by his teammates to inch closer to line. Latu Vaha’i finished the move by breaking a tackle to score under the posts. Geib added the conversion to tie the match.

In Utah’s next possession, hard Army tackling forced Don Pati to knock on. Army counterattacked and looked dangerous with slick passing but the Army ball carrier was tackled into touch inside Utah’s 22-meter line. Geib got the ball off the lineout and passed to Ben Leatigaga who sprinted just past the Utah defender for the winning try. Geib’s conversion was no good but it didn’t matter as Army won, 12-7.

“It was kind of like the pinnacle of all we’ve worked for,” David Geib said. “We kept playing our game because you can’t control what the other team does. We knew they came off a big win against Cal but anybody can win at any time, that’s the beauty of 7s.”

Army coach Justin Hundley said, "Yesterday we played our better game in the second game of the day and I think it was the same today. They just played really composed, disciplined 7s... We’ve got some great leaders out there, a couple of graduated lieutenants and they didn’t get down they took charge, which is what they’re going to be doing in a few months time."

Utah's Blake Miller was disappointed after the loss. "In the quarterfinal everyone thought Cal would win, and I’m proud of what we did, but it’s frustrating to go out like that," he said.