ANNAPOLIS, MD. – Navy men's rugby (8-0, 6-0) heads to Kutztown, Pa., for its third straight road match, as the Mids face off against Kutztown (2-3, 2-3) this Saturday at 1 p.m.
 
"After eight games we are exactly where we want to be and are very excited for the final three games of our fall season," said director of rugby Gavin Hickie. "We know the next few weeks will be extremely tough but we have put ourselves in a good position and look forward to traveling to Kutztown this week for a massive challenge against the Golden Bears."
 
Recap of Virginia Tech Match
Navy went with a much younger lineup in its last match versus Virginia Tech but still had its way with the Hokies en route to a 50-10 win.
 
Austin Taylor gave Navy an early score with a try in the sixth minute and Michael Strehle's first conversion kick of the season gave Navy a 7-0 lead. Jacob Haley added his first score of the year in the 25^th minute and a try from Nick Janowsky three minutes later put Navy up by three scores. Virginia Tech scored its first try in the 36^th minute as Navy went into halftime ahead by 14.
 
Navy stretched its lead to 21 on Janowsky's second score of the afternoon in the 50^th minute and Dale Sturdifen's try in the 54^th minute put Navy up 31-5. The Hokies scored their second try in the 63^rd minute but the Mids shutout Virginia Tech for the remainder of the contest. Janowsky, Haley and Sturdifen all added another try in the final ten minutes to give Navy its eighth win of the season.
 
Janowsky Adds Name to Record Book
After not scoring a try in four consecutive matches, Nick Janowsky scored three tries in Navy's win over Virginia Tech to become the fifth player to score at least three in a match this season. The Junior is now sixth in the Rugby east in tries scored with four and 14^th in total points with 20. Janowsky is tied with William Webb with the fourth most tries on the team with five.
 
Young Lineup Shines
Navy opted to rest most of its starters against Virginia Tech, giving an opportunity for many of Navy's younger players a shot at their first varsity action. Four Mids (Daniel McMoore, Dean Neeley, Trevor Swier and Austin Taylor) made their first varsity appearance, and McMoore, Swier and Taylor joined Xavier Sturdifen, Dale Sturdifen, Jacob Haley, Michael Strehle and Ryan Luetjen in making their first starts of the season. Haley and Dale Sturdifen both scored two tries for their first scores of the year, while Taylor scored his first career try for Navy's opening score.
 
Navy Finds Another Kicker
Coach Hickie found another reliable kicker on Navy's roster in Michael Strehle. The freshman made five conversion kicks against Virginia Tech to finish the match with 10 points. Strehle's five made kicks are tied as the third most by an individual player in a match this season.
 
Haley Gains Ground for Navy
Virginia Tech had no answer in trying to stop Jacob Haley from advancing the ball. Haley finished the match with 201 meters gained, which is the second most by a Mid in a match this season. Lewis Gray has the most meters gained in a single match with 243 against Southern Virginia. Navy gained 892 meters in the match, the third most in a contest this season.
 
Scoring Fast
Austin Taylor scored Navy's first try at the 6:54 mark last Saturday, which stands as the second fastest try score for Navy this season. Navy has scored a try in the first 10 minutes three times this season with its fastest score coming at the 2:28 mark against The Citadel.
 
Updated Rugby East Standings
Navy's win over the Hokies added five points to its conference ranking, but Army also added another five points with its 34-0 win over Mount St. Mary's to stay one point above Navy in the standings. St. Bonaventure claimed a 57-30 win over Penn State for its fourth conference win to keep its spot as the third best team in the league. Notre Dame College won a thriller over Kutztown, but the Golden Bears still earned two points in the match to stay in fourth place in the north division. Queens dominated Mary Washington 49-15 to earn five points and take over as the top team in the south division.

Scouting Kutztown
The Golden Bears are 2-3 in the Rugby East this season but haven't won a match since Sept. 24. Kutztown started the year 2-1, earning wins over Penn State (31-17) and Southern Virginia (27-26), and playing Army close in its season opener in a 25-17 defeat.
 
Kutztown is coming off a heartbreaking 40-39 loss to Notre Dame College. Kutztown led 39-33 with no time remaining but allowed the Falcons to score a try before the match officially ended. Notre Dame College nailed a tough conversion kick to win one of the most thrilling collegiate rugby matches this season.
 
PJ O'Reilly is the top scorer on the Golden Bears roster. The senior has scored 31 points this season, which ranks ninth in the Rugby East. O'Reilly has scored one try, made 10 conversion kicks and two penalty kicks. He's one of seven players in the Rugby East with at least 10 made conversion kicks this season.
 
Up Next
Navy comes back to Annapolis for its biggest match of the season. Navy hosts rival Army next Saturday, Nov. 5 at the Prusmack Rugby Complex at noon. The match will not count towards the Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA but bragging rights and potentially a conference championship will be on the line.