The Massachusetts men’s club rugby team was stymied by the American International defensive line in Friday night’s 29-5 loss against the Yellow Jackets.

Many penalties in the Minutemen’s (1-3) favor gave them a chance to gain yards, but the size of AIC’s big forwards put an end to attempted runs by UMass’ backs throughout the game. Their defensive line stayed flat and did not allow for gaps, which rugby players look for and try to punch trough to gain yardage.

“(AIC) really didn’t make any mistakes for us to capitalize on,” UMass men’s rugby president Ben Miller said.

The Yellow Jackets’ consistency allowed them to score 12 unanswered points in the first half.

“AIC was just a little better and quicker to the break downs, retaining the ball… too often for (UMass) to mount any offensive pressure,” referee Norbert Deslauriers said.

AIC owned the second half, scoring two more tries, getting two conversions and adding a penalty kick to make the score 29-0 in the 79th minute. UMass back Tim Harvey broke through the defense in the final play of the game to put the final score at 29-5.

Several broken tackles helped Yellow Jacket’s winger Christian Adams to score two tries and impress the home crowd during Friday night’s game.

UMass travels to Boston next week to face Boston College next Saturday.

Jackson Goddard can be reached at [email protected].