ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The Navy men's rugby team (10-0, 6-0) looks to conclude its fall season undefeated for the second-straight year when it battles Army (3-3-1, 2-3-1) in the inaugural Star Match on Friday at the Anderson Rugby Complex in West Point, N.Y. The Star Match is part of the Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA.
The contest will kickoff at 6 p.m. and can be streamed for free on The Rugby Network with links provided on NavySports.com(.)
"We believe we have grown a lot as a team this fall and are very excited to have one more opportunity to take the field together. What better way to close out our fall campaign than to play Army at West Point, especially on the 248th birthday of the United States Marine Corps and on Veterans Weekend," said director of rugby
Gavin Hickie. "We know we will be tested in all areas of our game and we have to be accurate in our execution on both sides of the ball."
Recap of Penn State Match
The Mids secured the Rugby East title with a 53-5 victory at Penn State last Saturday.
Roanin Krieger scored the first 10 points for Navy. He found the try zone in the eighth minute and nailed the conversion kick to put the Mids ahead, 7-0. The sophomore added another three points with a penalty kick in the 19th minute to increase the lead to 10-0.
Tanner Russell scored Navy's second try of the match right as the clock hit the 28th minute. Krieger made the ensuing conversion kick to make the score, 17-0.
The Mids struck for another two tries in the final four minutes of the first half to take all the momentum into the locker room.
Sean MacLaney crossed the try line in the 36th minute and the third conversion kick of the game for Krieger gave Navy a 24-point advantage.
Max Smith extended his scoring streak with a try in the 39th minute to put the Mids in front, 29-0, heading into intermission.
Navy immediately put pressure on Penn State to begin the second half. Multiple penalties against the Nittany Lions resulted in the Mids being awarded their first penalty try of the season. Navy earned seven points from the penalty try to gain a 36-point lead.
Freshman
Andrew Baublitz provided another score just 1:10 after the penalty try to put the Mids up by 41 points. He scored his second try of the contest in the 49th minute to broaden Navy's lead to 46-0.
Coach Hickie began pulling his starters with the big advantage on the scoreboard.
Ryan Raimondi took advantage of the playing time by scoring a try in the 59th minute.
Jake Cornelius put his first conversion kick of the match through the uprights following to score to give the Mids a 53-point cushion.
Penn State avoided a shutout by marching into the try zone in the 79th minute for the final score of the match.
Navy Notes
• Navy improved to 3-0 against Penn State as a varsity team. The Mids have outscored the Nittany Lions, 100-15, in the last two matchups.
• Navy held Penn State to a season-low five points. The Nittany Lions scored their fewest points in a 15s match since their, 34-3, loss to Life in the 2019 Division I-A Playoffs.
• The Mids have allowed five or fewer points in five of their 10 matches this fall. Opponents are averaging just 12.1 points per game against Navy.
• The main reason Penn State was limited to five points was it had very few offensive opportunities. The Mids controlled possession for 64 percent of the game and totaled 20 attacking minutes. The Nittany Lions finished with only 11 attacking minutes and had to play in their defensive zone for 69 percent of the contest. Additionally, Penn State didn't drive into its offensive 22-meter zone the entire match.
• Navy surrendered just 210-meters gained in the win. The Mids have allowed less than 250-meters gained in six matches this season.
• Limiting turnovers continues to be a focal point for coach Hickie. Navy has ended with more turnovers than its opponent in four-straight games. The Mids totaled 17 turnovers against the Nittany Lions, but did force 14.
• Navy compiled 10 line breaks last Saturday, marking the sixth time it has ended with 10 or more in a match. Additionally, the Mids surrendered just three defensively and have conceded three or fewer line breaks in a game six times during the 2023-24 campaign.
• Navy surpassed the 50-point mark for the third-consecutive game. The Mids have scored 50 or more points in eight matches this season.
Navy Individual Notes
• Krieger led Navy with 14 points against Penn State. He increased his career scoring total to 250 points. The sophomore scored his seventh try and is tied with
Ben Haugh for the second-most tries scored on the team this fall. Additionally, he has scored six of his tries against league opponents. The Placerville, Calif., native is tied with Queens' Hilton Olivier for the second-most tries scored in conference action.
• Krieger's effort raised his scoring total to 100 points in conference games this season. He joins
Lewis Gray as the only two players to score 100 or more points in Rugby East play in the last two seasons. Gray led the league in scoring last fall with 108 points.
• Krieger and MacLaney both scored the 11th try of their careers, which ranks third all-time in Navy's varsity history.
• Baublitz passed Haugh as the team leader in tries scored this season with his two scores. The freshman has struck for eight tries, which is the fourth-most by a Mid in a single season. Additionally, Baublitz has scored the second-most points (40) for Navy this season.
• Smith produced a try for the third-consecutive match. His try-scoring streak is tied for the third-longest in team history. He has found the try zone five times in only five appearances. The sophomore was Navy's top rusher with 90-meters gained on nine carries (10.0).
• Russell has scored three tries in the last two matches and six total this season. He led the Mids with 12 rushes and ended with 74-meters gained (6.2).
•
Avion Ganse was still a huge contributor offensively despite not scoring. He ran for 79 meters on eight carries (9.9) and led the team with nine broken tackles.
•
Landon Opp played a vital role in kicking and passing. He finished with a team-leading 555-meters kicked on 15 kicks (37.0). The Green Cove Springs, Fla., native also led the Mids with three line break assists and two try assists.
•
Dalton Sand played an important role during lineouts in the absence of
William Webb. He was successful on six of his eight lineout throws (75.0). Sand also compiled six tackles and a lineout steal in his collegiate debut.
Army-Navy Notes
• The Mids and Black Knights will meet with both teams at varsity status for the fourth time.
• Navy is 3-0 in its varsity history against Army.
• Last fall, the Mids defeated the Black Knights, 27-14, in Annapolis. The match ended Army's 18-game winning streak and helped Navy win the Rugby East championship.
• The Mids ended their 2022-23 regular season with a 34-26 win at West Point. The match was the first home loss for the Black Knights since 2019.
• The two service academy rivals met for the third time in the Division I-A Playoffs in Annapolis. Navy used a dominant defensive performance to claim a 30-6 victory. The Mids didn't surrender a try in the contest, which marked the first time the Black Knights didn't score a try against a U.S. school in their varsity history.
• Navy never trailed in any game against Army last season.
• A key for the Mids in all three matchups was their kicking game. Navy averaged 1,070-meters kicked, while Army averaged only 815.3. In the playoff game, the Black Knights totaled just 482-meters kicked.
Video Preview With Coach Hickie and Sean MacLaney
Navy director of multimedia Luke Slabaugh sat down with coach Hickie and
Sean MacLaney to preview the first Star Match in men's rugby history. Fans can watch the preview story
HERE.
Hear From Assistant Director of Rugby James Willocks
Pete Medhurst spoke with assistant director of rugby
James Willocks this week on the Navy Sports Magazine. Fans can watch the interview
HERE.
Army-Navy Star Series
The Army-Navy Star Series presented by USAA is an annual competition between Army and Navy where a team can earn a Star by winning a game/match/meet against one another. The annual showdown between the two rivals in each sport is deemed the Star Game/Match/Meet with the athletes from the winning team receiving a Star for their letter sweaters. The school who finishes an academic year with more Star wins is the winner of the Star Series that season. For those sports who face Army multiple times in a season, the Star Game is designated prior to the start of the year. With both men's and women's rugby being added to the Star Series, there are now 26 total Star competitions.
Navy has dominated the Star Series over the last 45 years, owning a 39-4-2 record. The Mids won the 2022-23 Star Series, 14-10.
Navy leads the all-time overall series against Army, 1162-883-45 (56.7), including a 178-121-3 (59.4) mark over the last 10 years. Additionally, the Mids own a 128-76-3 (62.5) advantage in the Star Series over the last 10 years.
The Black Knights lead the 2023-24 Star Series, 1-5-1. Fans can view the full 2023-24 Star Series schedule HERE.
Scouting Army
The Black Knights enter the match with a 3-3-1 record. Army currently stands in seventh place in the Rugby East standings with a 2-3-1 league record. A loss on Friday would mark the first time the Black Knights ended conference play with a record below .500 since it became a varsity program. Since losing to Navy during the 2022 fall season, Army has compiled just a 5-8-1 15s record.
After playing a hard-fought exhibition match against Trinity College Dublin, the Black Knights opened the regular season with a 26-6 victory against Penn State. Army suffered its first loss the following week to St. Bonaventure (29-26) and then tied Notre Dame College (9-9). After bouncing back with a win over Queens (26-7), the Black Knights dropped their next two games to Kutztown (27-7) and Life (39-24). Army won on the road last week against Air Force, 22-17.
Jonny Haley is eighth in the Rugby East in scoring this season. Army's fly half has made 13 conversion kicks and four penalty kicks to amass 38 points.
