ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The top-ranked Navy men's rugby team (16-1) dominated both sides of the ball once again to defeat No. 8 Arkansas State (10-3), 57-5, in the Collegiate Rugby Association of America (CRAA) Division I-A Playoff Quarterfinals on Saturday at the Prusmack Rugby Center in Annapolis, Md. 

The Mids built a 12-0 lead with a pair of tries from William Webb in the seventh and 13th minutes. Ben Haugh added a try in the 35th minute to make the score, 19-5, at halftime. Navy tacked on five more tries in the final 40 minutes and made a penalty kick to outscore Arkansas State, 38-0, in the second half. 

The Mids will battle No. 2 Life in the semifinals next Saturday at the Prusmack Rugby Center for a spot in the national championship game. The match will begin at noon.

"We're exactly where we want to be and now heading to the semifinals in the DI-A Playoffs. This is where we envisioned ourselves at this point of the season and the most pleasing thing from our perspective is that we've earned another week together," said director of rugby Gavin Hickie. "We're not ready to say goodbye to each other yet, particularly to our big group of seniors we have this year. From a tactical perspective, I think we were fortunate again to play into the wind in the first half. We were very clinical in the first 40 minutes. We did give up five points on a missed kick chase, but we played the conditions very well to build a lead at half. We said we have to be ruthless in the second half and I think we showed that. Very pleased with our overall performance and excited to fight for another week."

Arkansas State held an early edge in the field position battle with Navy having to play against the wind. The Mids were unable to clear the ball out of their defensive 22-meter zone with a pair of kicks. The Red Wolves charged down to the five-meter line in the third minute, but turned the ball over attempting to force a pass between a pair of defenders. Landon Opp gave Navy breathing room by kicking the ball back to the 10-meter line. 

Opp sent another kick downfield in the sixth minute and Arkansas State's returner jumped up to retrieve the ball at the 22-meter line. The Red Wolves were called for a knock-on penalty out of the next ruck to gift the Mids a scrum just outside the 22-meter zone. Roanin Krieger zipped a pass to Andrew Baublitz out of the scrum and the freshman bolted through the defense to gain 20 meters. Baublitz then handed the ball off to Opp, who was tackled a meter away from the try zone. Webb punched the ball across the try line moments later for the first score of the match to give Navy a 5-0 lead. 

Arkansas State committed a knock-on attempting to scoop up a clearing kick in the 11th minute. The penalty granted the Mids a scrum near their offensive 22-meter line. Jack Aleman brought in a pass from Krieger and he slipped out of an ankle tackle to advance the ball inside the five-meter line. Webb found the try zone from short range again in the 13th minute for his second score of the contest. Krieger then put his first conversion kick through the uprights to give Navy a 12-point lead. 

A big runback on the ensuing kickoff by Jake Cornelius quickly established possession in the offensive zone. The Red Wolves were penalized on the following carry to award the Mids a free kick. Opp lined the ball out of bounds for a lineout inside the 22-meter zone. Navy won the lineout and used its maul attack to establish possession near the try line. Sean MacLaney forced his way into the try zone, but was held up before touching the ball down. Arkansas State used the wind to boot its clearing kick across the midfield line. 

Navy continued its aggressive attack to regain territory. Krieger launched a kick in the air at the offensive 10-meter line to continue to move the ball further up the pitch. The ball was forced backward by the wind and took a big bounce into the hands of an Arkansas State player. He broke out of one tackle and ran 50 meters before being perused at the 22-meter line. The ball carrier was able to offload the ball to a teammate and the Red Wolves made another two passes to score a try in the 21st minute to make the score, 12-5. 

Multiple turnovers and knock-on penalties halted the Mids from answering the score until late in the first half. JD Bengtson stripped the ball free to force a knock-on against Arkansas State at midfield in the 33rd minute. Navy received a scrum from the penalty. A pair of strong carries from Aleman and Baublitz gained 30 meters to drive into the 22-meter zone. Arkansas State converged on Baublitz and forced him out of bounds to retake possession. Vaughn Schmitz stole the ball back during the following lineout. Cornelius took advantage of the Red Wolves being out of position to charge inside the five-meter line. Haugh found a crease in the defense and bulldozed his way through two defenders to score a try just before the 36th minute. Krieger posted the final points of the first half with a successful conversion kick to give the Mids a 19-5 cushion. 

Navy took full advantage of Arkansas State having to kick against the wind in the second half. A deep kickoff forced the Red Wolves inside of their defensive five-meter line. Arkansas State's kicker sent a short clearing kick out of bounds at the 22-meter line. Opp pinned the Red Wolves inside the five-meter line again by bouncing a grubber out of bounds. Austin Taylor tapped the ball backward during the lineout jump into the hands of Aidan Gerber. He immediately sprinted up the middle of the pitch to move the ball inside the five-meter line. Haugh then shoved a defender out of his way to score a try from close range in the 43rd minute. Krieger extended the lead to 26-5 by making the conversion kick. 

The Mids were gifted a lineout inside their offensive 22-meter zone just seconds after the kickoff. Arkansas State's kick returner had to run backward to attempt to catch a deep kick from Opp. He misread the kick and dropped it out of bounds. Navy won the ensuing lineout and drew a penalty while mauling up the pitch to earn a scrum. MacLaney threw a pass to Krieger out of the scrum and he used a full head of steam to run through the defensive front to score a try in the 46th minute. Krieger added another two points to the scoreboard with his fourth conversion kick to put the Mids ahead, 33-5. 

The Red Wolves mishandled another kick return in the 53rd minute and the ball rolled out of bounds inside their defensive 22-meter zone. Navy won the lineout and two strong carries by Webb and Avion Ganse advanced the ball to the five-meter line. The Mids slowly inched their way closer to the try line and Taylor eventually dove in for a score in the 54th minute. Krieger lined his conversion kick through the uprights after the score to make it a 35-point game. 

Arkansas State was charged with a knock-on trying to catch a drop kick near Navy's offensive 10-meter line in the 61st minute. A powerful run from Max Smith drove the Mids into the 22-meter zone. Another big carry by Smith later in the possession set up Navy just outside of the try zone. Edmund Soeder was then shoved across the try line by a pair of teammates for a score in the 63rd minute. Krieger put the Mids in front, 47-5, with his sixth conversion kick of the game. 

Ian Bullock was subbed into the match following Soeder's score and he immediately made an impact. Arkansas State overthrew a lineout at Navy's offensive 10-meter line. Bullock picked up the loose ball and gained 25 meters before lobbing a pass to Ganse, who juked out three defenders before running into the try zone in the 65th minute. Krieger continued his excellent kicking performance by making his seventh-straight conversion attempt to make the score, 54-5.

Krieger accounted for the final points of the match after sending a penalty kick through the uprights in the 79th minute. 

Box Score
First Half
7:52 - Try - Navy - William Webb (5-0)

13:15 - Try - Navy - William Webb (10-0)
Conversion Kick - Roanin Krieger (12-0)

21:46 - Try - Arkansas State (12-5)

35:59 - Try - Navy - Ben Haugh (17-5)
Conversion Kick - Roanin Krieger (19-5)

Second Half
43:09 - Try - Navy - Ben Haugh (24-5)
Conversion Kick - Roanin Krieger (26-5)

46:20 - Try - Navy - Roanin Krieger (31-5)
Conversion Kick - Roanin Krieger (33-5)

54:47 - Try - Navy - Austin Taylor (38-5)
Conversion Kick - Roanin Krieger (40-5)

63:16 - Try - Navy - Edmund Soeder (45-5)
Conversion Kick - Roanin Krieger (47-5)

65:25 - Try - Navy - Avion Ganse (52-5)
Conversion Kick - Roanin Krieger (54-5)

79:03 - Penalty Kick - Roanin Krieger (57-5)

Match Notes
• The Mids have outscored their two playoff opponents, 98-12
• Navy's 52-point win is its eight-largest margin of victory in its history
• The match marks the 10th time the Mids have totaled 50 or more points this season
• Krieger finished with 22 points in the win, which is tied for the sixth-most points scored in a single game in program history. He has surpassed the 20-point mark four times this season
• Krieger's effort helped him become the first mid to score more than 200 points in a single season (219)
• The sophomore nailed seven conversion kicks to surpass 100 made attempts in his career (101)
• His seven conversion kicks are tied for the fourth-most makes in a single game in team history  
• Additionally, Krieger scored his 10th try of the season
• Haugh is tied with Krieger for second on the team with 10 tries after finding the try zone twice in the victory. He has scored multiple tries in a game three times this season
• Krieger and Haugh's 10 tries are tied for the fourth most in a season in program history
• Webb scored a try for the first time since his hat trick against Notre Dame the first week of the season. He increased his season total to five with his two scores
• Ganse recorded his seventh try of the season, while Soeder and Taylor each tallied their third tries of the 2023-24 campaign