ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Fresh off a win over No. 4 California, the top-ranked Navy men's rugby team (13-0, 9-0) will face Rugby East-rival Penn State (3-7, 3-6) Saturday at 4:30 p.m. The match will take place at Segra Field in Leesburg, Va., home of professional rugby club Old DC Glory.
"We are excited to continue our journey against Penn State on Saturday. We had a very tough game against them last fall and expect the exact same tomorrow," said director of rugby
Gavin Hickie. "We have started the spring pretty well, but we know we have plenty to work on over the next few weeks."
Recap of Cal Match
Navy won its match against Cal last Saturday in Annapolis by a score of 33-28.
Cal struck first with a try in the 13th minute but Navy got on the board in the 21st minute thanks to its impressive maul attack. The Mids used two mauls to move from midfield to inside Cal's five-meter line where
Jack McMahon would dive in for Navy's first score. Navy would miss the conversion kick and still trail, 7-5.
Navy took its first lead of the match on a try from
Matthew Thibodaux in the 26th minute.
Roanin Krieger made the conversion kick following Navy's second score to take a 12-7 lead. Cal answered with a try in the 39th minute, which put Navy in a 14-12 deficit heading into halftime. It marked the first time this season Navy trailed at intermission.
Navy was able to use the wind to its advantage in the second half. After a turnover by Cal during a scrum at midfield,
Lewis Gray used the wind to kick the ball down inside Cal's five-meter line. Another turnover by Cal gave Navy possession, and
Sean MacLaney scored a try in the 52nd minute to put Navy back in front. The Mids took a 19-14 lead following Krieger's conversion kick.
Continuing to win the territory battle, Navy struck for two more tries in the 59th and 65th minutes on two scores from
Matthew Thibodaux, which build Navy's lead to 33-14.
Cal quickly got back within a score after scoring tries in the 70th and 77th minutes. Navy's defense held strong over the final minutes to close out the match and defend its No. 1 ranking.
Thibodaux Named NAAA Co-Athlete of the Week
Thibodaux was honored along with women's lacrosse player Ava Yovino as the co-recipients of the Naval Academy Athletic Association Athlete-of-the-Week Award, presented by Northrop Grumman.
He scored three of Navy's five tries againts Cal, finishing with a team-leading 15 points. Along with being a factor on the scoreboard, the senior co-captain was a major contributor in holding Cal to just a 67-percent scrum win percentage. His efforts created one of the key turnovers early in the second half to help Navy retake the lead. Cal turned the ball over on a scrum near midfield caused by Thibodaux's pressure, which led to Navy's first of three-straight scores in the second half. Navy's tight head prop has scored four tries in two matches during the spring season.
Navy Notes
• Navy handed Cal its first 15s loss since April 16, 2022, when it lost to St. Mary's in the West Regional Semifinals, 35-26.
• Navy's defense recorded season highs in tackles (211) and forced turnovers (21).
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Vaughn Schmitz and
William Webb led the Mids in tackles with 24, while
Ben Haugh finished with 22.
• Last Saturday marked the second time this season Navy has had three players record 20 or more tackles in a match. The other was during Navy's contest against Mary Washington back on Sept. 24.
• Navy's kicking game proved vital in its second-half rally. Despite only having two more kicks in the match, Navy outgained Cal, 472-210, in total meters kicked.
•
Landon Opp led the Mids with 247 meters on seven kicks, while Krieger finished with 197 meters on four kicks.
• Krieger led Navy in meters gained (71) and defenders beaten (five) in the victory. The freshman also made four conversion kicks in the contest to score eight points. His scoring total against the Golden Bears moved him to second on the team with 72 points.
•
Lewis Gray did not score in a match for the first time this season, snapping an 11-match scoring streak. Gray was the only Midshipmen to score in every match he participated in prior to last Saturday.
• Navy's offense has scored at least 30 points and five tries in 10 of its 13 matches this season. Navy has scored 609 points overall, averaging 46.8 per outing.
Scouting Penn State
Saturday's match will the first of the spring season for the Nittany Lions. Penn State's last match was on Dec. 3, when it lost to Ohio State in the Hornet's Nest Bowl, 21-19.
They finished the fall season with a record of 3-7 overall and 3-6 against Rugby East opponents. Penn State finished seventh overall in the Rugby East and last in the north division standings. The Nittany Lions lost all four matchups against division opponents, which included a 39-22 loss to Navy.
Dalton Musselman finished the fall ranked fourth in the conference in scoring. The senior scored 79 points on two tries, 15 conversion kicks and a league-leading 13 penalty kicks.
Up Next
Navy travels to West Point, N.Y., for a matchup against rival Army Friday, March 24 at 7:00 p.m. The match will not count towards the Army-Navy Star Series, presented by USAA.
