ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy men's rugby team (8-0, 4-0) returns to Rugby East competition to play host to Notre Dame College (5-0-1, 3-0-1) in its final home match of the fall season on Saturday at the Prusmack Rugby Center in Annapolis, Md.

Kickoff is scheduled for noon. Fans can stream the contest for free on Navy Athletics YouTube with links provided on NavySports.com(.)

"We have three must-win games left this fall and we are exactly where we want to be. We are facing an unbeaten Notre Dame College team and are fully aware of just how tough this game is going to be," said director of rugby Gavin Hickie. "With the great weather forecast, we hope to have a packed Prusmack Rugby Center for our final home game of the fall."

Notes For Traveling Fans
• There is no admission charge for rugby matches at Prusmack Rugby Center.
• Spectator parking is available in the lots on the north side of the Brigade Sports Complex (64 Greenbury Point Road, Annapolis, MD 21402). Overflow parking is available in the open space on the west side of the facility.
• Alcohol consumption is prohibited at the Prusmack Rugby Center and surrounding parking areas.

Recap of Air Force Match
Navy overcame a slow start and scored 47-unanswered points in its, 50-8, victory against Air Force last Saturday. 

The Mids took a 3-0 lead on a penalty kick from Kade Williams in the fourth minute, but the Falcons controlled the momentum for the next 15 minutes. Penalties against Navy awarded Air Force a penalty kick in the 10th minute and its kicker nailed the attempt from the 22-meter line to tie the match, 3-3. 

The Falcons gained possession in their offensive 22-meter zone after the Mids were charged with a forward pass. Navy forced the Air Force ball carrier out of bounds inside its defensive the five-meter line on the next possession to earn a lineout. A bad pass on the throw-in attempt from the Mids landed right into the hands of a Falcon to give Air Force possession inside the five-meter line. The Falcons took advantage of the short field and plunged into the try zone in the 18th minute to take an 8-3 lead.

Navy established possession inside its offensive 22-meter zone by blocking a clearing kick. The Mids charged inside the five-meter line, but then committed a knock-on penalty. Max Smith received a pass from Williams after Navy retook possession and he gained 25 meters on a carry. Edmund Soeder received a pass to the right of a breakdown just outside the try line. He found a crease in the defense to dive into the try zone for a score in the 22nd minute to regain a 10-8 lead for the Mids. 

Air Force earned a scrum deep in its defensive zone after Navy was charged with another knock-on penalty. The Falcons won the scrum and passed the ball backward to set up a clearing kick. Air Force bobbled the ball while trying to control the pass and it was corralled by Jake Cornelius. Cornelius had three defenders in front of him, but still ran over 15 meters to score a try in the 28th minute to gain the Mids a 17-8 advantage. 

A well-timed offload from Williams allowed Maximus Lear to gain 20 meters on his carry to set up Navy inside its offensive 22-meter zone again. Cornelius then kicked a grubber to the left half of the pitch to Smith. He juked out two defenders to score a try on an 18-meter carry just before the 34th minute to increase the lead to 24-8. 

Air Force was compelled to kick into the wind in the second half, which gave Navy a huge advantage in the territory battle. The Falcons were pinned deep in their defensive 22-meter zone and attempted to gain ground with a clearing kick. The strong wind forced the ball backward and out of bounds to grant Navy a lineout between its offensive 10 and 22-meter lines. Smith caught a pass out of the maul attack and spun around a tackle to charge into the 22-meter zone. Lear then received an offload from Michael Strehle and he shoved the defender off of him to score a try in the 54th minute to give the Mids a 21-point cushion.

Navy was gifted a free kick from a penalty and Williams booted the ball out of bounds inside the offensive 22-meter zone. The Mids caught the Falcons off guard with a short throw on the lineout to Soeder, who sprinted down to the five-meter line. Rob Booth then got behind Ian Bullock and pushed him into the try zone from short range in the 60th minute to extend Navy's lead to 36-8.

Avion Ganse caught an offload near the left sideline a few minutes later and he carried the ball nearly 40 meters before touching it down between the goalposts for a try to give the Mids a 43-8 lead. 

The Falcons stole the ball in their defensive 22-meter zone to go back on the offensive. Air Force hoped to kick the ball out of their defensive zone, but the strong wind made the ball land at its defensive 10-meter line. The Mids were then granted a lineout at the five-meter line after the referee charged the Falcons with a high-tackle penalty. Ryan Raimondi took the ball out of the maul and easily walked into the try zone in the 77th minute for the final score of the match. 

Navy Notes
• Saturday's match served as the first start of the season for six Mids. Additionally, 10 of Navy's 25 players who appeared in the contest have competed in two or fewer games this season. 
• The Mids commanded the gain line throughout the entire match. Navy passed the gain line on 67 of its 122 carriers (54.9), while Air Force only carried the ball over the gain line of 35 of its 87 carries (40.2). Additionally, the Falcons were tackled behind the gain line on 45 of their 87 rush attempts (51.7). 
• Navy's 50 points against Air Force marked its sixth game with at least 50-points scored this season. The Mids are averaging 59.4 points per match this fall. 
• Coach Hickie remained undefeated against Air Force, claiming his sixth victory since he became the director of rugby at Navy.   
• Since coach Hickie's arrival in 2017, the Mids have outscored the Falcons, 351-42.
• Navy won the Lt. Col. Kevin Shea Memorial Rugby Cup for the eighth time since it was introduced in 2011. 
• The Mids will play their second-consecutive match against a team named the Falcons this Saturday. Navy is 3-0 against teams with bird mascots this season, with its other two wins coming against Delaware (117-0) and Life (20-14). 

Navy Individual Notes
• Smith led the Mids with 76-meters gained on eight carries along with three line breaks. Additionally, he compiled the second-most tackles with 11 and forced two tackle turnovers.
• Ganse only played in 23 minutes off the bench, but still finished with 69-meters gained on only three carries. 
• Cornelius totaled seven points on a try and a made conversion kick in the win. He is now tied with Andrew Baublitz for third on the team in scoring this season with 30 points. The two are currently the top-scoring freshmen on Navy's roster this season. 
• Williams became just the third Mid to make a penalty kick in Navy's varsity history. He led the team in scoring against Air Force with 13 points on his made penalty kick and five conversion kicks. 
• Bullock was a brick wall for the Mids on defense. He led the team with 12 tackles and recorded two breakdown steals and a tackle turnover. 
• Roanin Krieger needs to score just two more points to reach 100-points scored this season. The sophomore didn't surpass 100 points until the Division I-A Playoff victory against Lindenwood (17 games) during his freshman campaign. Krieger has scored at least 10 points in all six games he has appeared in this fall.

Rugby East Updates
Multiple upsets last weekend shifted the overall standings in the Rugby East.

Mount St. Mary's handed St. Bonaventure its second-straight loss with a 37-17 victory. The Mountaineers earned five points toward their standing to move into fourth place. The Bonnies didn't receive any points for the second week in a row and fell to fifth place in the rankings. 

Kutztown won its first league match of the season with an impressive defensive performance against Army. The Golden Bears surrendered just seven points to claim a 27-7 win. The Black Knights are 2-2-1 in conference competition this season and dropped to sixth place. Army hadn't lost multiple games in Rugby East play since 2019. 

Life and Notre Dame College both had big offensive performances and are now tied for second place with 16-points each. The Running Eagles won a south division matchup against Queens (63-10) and the Falcons scored a season-high 78 points in their win over Southern Virginia (78-7).

The additional league matchup featured Mary Washington and Penn State. The Eagles bested the Nittany Lions by a score of 20-15.  

Fans can view the Rugby East standings HERE and this weekend's conference schedule HERE.

Scouting Notre Dame College
Notre Dame College is the only team besides Navy without a loss in league play this season. The Falcons own a 5-0-1 overall record and have gone 3-0-1 against Rugby East opponents. Notre Dame College has compiled 16 points in the Rugby East Standings and trails Navy by only two points for the No. 1 rank.

The Falcons opened their season with a pair of non-conference victories against Thomas More College (34-10) and Adrian College (22-3). NDC began its conference slate with a 9-9 draw versus Army and has since won its last three matches. The Falcons have defeated Penn State (24-19), Kutztown (19-7) and Southern Virginia (78-7) during their three-game win streak. 

Killian Burnes and Lachlan McDonald have done the majority of the scoring for the Falcons. Burnes leads the team with 20 points from six penalty kicks and a conversion kick. His six penalty kicks are tied for the most in the Rugby East with Sebastian Schefermann of Mary Washington. McDonald has contributed 19 points from eight conversion kicks and a penalty kick. 

Up Next
The Mids finish off the remainder of their fall season on the road. Navy travels to University Park, Pa., next Saturday to face division-rival Penn State. The match is scheduled to begin at 11 a.m.