ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy men's rugby team (5-0, 2-0) plays its first true road match of the season at Life (1-0, 1-0) on Saturday in Marietta, Ga.

The Mids and Running Eagles will face each other for the first time as conference foes at 1 p.m. at Lupo Family Field.

Fans can stream the match on FloRugby (subscription) with links provided on NavySports.com(.)

"We are looking forward to our trip to Marietta, Ga., to face Life tomorrow," said director of rugby Gavin Hickie. "We know we will be tested in all areas of our game so we need to ensure we are accurate in our execution on attack and continue to work hard on our defense. We have to take any opportunities we create or are given tomorrow."

Recap of Kutztown Match
A strong second half propelled Navy to a 55-15 victory against Kutztown for its first win over a Rugby East North Division opponent this season. 

An early turnover by the Golden Bears gifted the Mids possession in their offensive zone. Ben Haugh drove Navy down to the five-meter line on a 30-meter carry. His effort set up a score for Andrew Baublitz in the sixth minute to give the Mids a 5-0 lead. 

Navy made a series of key defensive plays to maintain its lead over the next 19 minutes. Haugh helped the Mids end their scoreless streak with a try in the 25th minute to make the score, 12-0. 

Navy was put in excellent field position again in the 34th minute after Kutztown committed a knock-on penalty at the 10-meter line. The Golden Bears were later issued an offsides penalty to grant the Mids a chance to attempt a penalty kick. Roanin Krieger made the kick 25-meters out in the 37th minute to extend Navy's lead to 15-0. 

Kutztown responded with a linebreak to push into its offensive 22-meter zone, but lost possession due to a knock-on penalty. The Mids charged back up to the field to the 10-meter line on their offensive side of the pitch. Landon Opp then booted a clearing kick inside the 22-meter zone and the ball was scooped up by JD Bengston. Bengston slipped by the lone defender in his path and scored a try just before the 40th minute. The score gave Navy a 20-point lead at intermission. 

The Golden Bears went down a player in the 42nd minute after being accessed a yellow card. Opp took advantage of the defense having one less player by finding a big hole during his attack to score a try in the 44th minute to give the Mids a 27-point advantage. 

Kutztown got on the board with a penalty kick in the 47th minute, but Navy was quick to answer. Baublitz advanced the Mids into their offensive 22-meter zone with a big carry after recovering a short kickoff. Opp caught the Golden Bears off guard with a pass to Tanner Russell, who ran the remaining 15 meters for a try just 52 seconds after the penalty kick.

Multiple penalties against Navy helped Kutztown to score its first try in the 55th minute to cut the lead down to 34-8.

Sean MacLaney and Michael Kalalau both provided a try from close range in the 59th and 67th minutes to put the Mids back in control with a 40-point lead. 

Avion Ganse made the play of the match in the 72nd minute. The freshman caught a clearing kick near Navy's defensive 22-meter line and broke through the defense for a carry of over 50 meters. Ganse then offloaded the ball to Baublitz, who took it the remaining distance for a try to give the Mids a 55-8 lead.

The Golden Bears added a try in the 78th minute for the final score of the game. 

Navy Notes
• The Mids haven't taken more than seven minutes to score their first try in a match this season. Navy's fastest score came against Notre Dame just one minute into the match.
• Although the Mids were held to a season-low 55 points against Kutztown, the offense is still averaging 78 points per game and 12 tries per contest. 
• Navy once again made it difficult for its opponent to finish tackles. The Mids forced 43 missed tackles last Saturday and have compiled 40 or more broken tackles in all five matches this season. 
• A vital piece to Navy's defensive success was keeping the ball out of its defensive zone. Kutztown was only able to keep the ball in its offensive half of the pitch for 36 percent of the match. The Mids have kept the ball in their offensive zone for 60 percent or more of a game four times this season. 
• Navy was excellent at lineouts for the second-straight week. William Webb was successful on 10 of his 11 throw-in attempts and Ryan Raimondi finished a perfect 3-3. The Golden Bears converted just eight of their 14 lineouts and surrendered three lineout steals. 
• Saturday's match against Life marks the first true road game for Navy since March 25 at Army. The Mids finished with a 6-0 record on the road and won both neutral site contests last season. Navy's only game away from Annapolis this fall was its season opener against Notre Dame in Dublin, Ireland. 

Navy Individual Notes
• Kutztown had no answer in stopping Haugh when he had the ball. Navy's team captain posted 84-meters gained on nine carries and led the team with 10 broken tackles. The senior scored his team-leading seventh try of the 2023-24 campaign and has accounted for 21 tries since the beginning of last season.
• Krieger led the Mids with 15 points against the Golden Bears to raise his scoring total to a team-leading 78 points. The sophomore is also the leading scorer in the Rugby East with 41 points in conference play. 
• Bengston, Haugh, Opp and Russell all scored a try for the third-straight contest last Saturday. Haugh and Lewis Gray hold the record for the longest try-scoring streak in Navy's varsity history at five-straight matches with a try.  
• Baublitz's two tries against Kutztown increased his season try total to six. He surpassed Krieger (four) for the most tries scored by a freshman in a single season. 
• Rob Booth returned to the starting lineup last weekend and led the Mids with 10 tackles. 

Rugby East Updates
St. Bonaventure defeated Penn State, 21-15, to claim another key victory in the north division. The Bonnies now lead the Rugby East overall standings and North Division standings with 14 points. 

Navy stands in second place in the conference rankings with 10 points. 

Army and Notre Dame College posted the first tie of the season. The two squads battled through muddy conditions to end in a 9-9 tie. 

Life took on Mary Washington in its first game as a member of the Rugby East and won the contest by a score of 40-21. 

Queens bounced back from its big loss to Navy with a 52-28 victory against Southern Virginia to claim its first conference win. 

Fans can view the updated Rugby East standings HERE and the upcoming weekend schedule HERE. 

Scouting Life
Life opened its season last Saturday with a 40-21 win against Mary Washington in its inaugural match as a member of the Rugby East. 

The Running Eagles joined the Rugby East after previously competing in the Mid-South Conference (now the Midwest Rugby Conference) with Arkansas State, Davenport and Lindenwood. They compete in the south division with Mary Washington, Mount St. Mary's, Queens and Southern Virginia. 

Men's rugby was made a varsity program at Life in 2010 and has since become one of the premier teams in the country. The Running Eagles played in the national championship match for seven-consecutive seasons (2013-19) and claimed four titles (2013, '16, '18, '19). Life's four national championships are the second-most won by a single program behind California's 26. Additionally, its eight trips to the finals are tied with Air Force for the second-most appearances. 

The Running Eagles ended the 2022-23 regular season ranked sixth in the country and earned the No. 3 seed in the Division I-A East Playoff bracket. After an 82-0 blowout win over Texas A&M in the opening round of the playoffs, Life fell to Lindenwood, 29-8, in the quarterfinals. 

The Running Eagles return junior Adam Chadwick and senior Donovan Law to their squad. Both players collected CRAA DI-A All-America accolades for their production last season. Additionally, sophomores Logan Ballinger and Leon Best were selected to compete on the USA Rugby U20 Team over the summer. 

Navy last met Life in the first round of the 2022 CRAA Division I-A Playoffs. The Mids took a 13-12 lead in the second half, but the Running Eagles scored the final 14 points of the contest to post a 26-13 win. 

Up Next
Navy returns home to take on St. Bonaventure next Saturday in a match that will have major implications on who will win the Rugby East North Division title. The Mids and Bonnies will kickoff at noon at the Prusmack Rugby Center in Annapolis, Md.