ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The top-ranked Navy men's rugby team (17-1) punched its ticket to the national championship game for the second-straight season with a 27-17 victory over second-ranked Life (11-2) on Saturday at the Prusmack Rugby Center in Annapolis, Md. 

The Mids took an early, 7-0, lead with a try in the ninth minute. The Running Eagles scored their first points with a penalty kick in the 22nd minute. Life took its first lead by scoring a try in the 27th minute. Navy answered with a penalty kick and a try in the final eight minutes of the first half to gain a 17-10 advantage at halftime. The Mids capitalized on multiple mistakes by the Running Eagles to score another try and a penalty kick to pad their lead. Life attempted a late rally after scoring a penalty try in the 65th minute, but Navy's defense held strong for the remainder of the match.  

The Mids will make their third appearance in the national championship. Navy is seeking to win its second national title after defeating Cal, 28-22, in the finals last season. 

The Mids will meet No. 3 St. Mary's in the national championship on Saturday, May 4 at SaberCats Stadium in Houston, Texas. The match will begin at 7:30 p.m. ET.

"We're going back to Houston and that's pleasing because this is a very different team this year. We're a young team, but we also have an outstanding group of senior leaders. We had to dig deep today as we knew we would. There are very few teams that get to have a say when their last game is and it's such a privilege to be able to say that," said director of rugby Gavin Hickie. "I've pleaded with the team to maximize our time together and we've done that. It's an honor to work with these men every single day and I'm over the moon that we were able to accomplish what we said we wanted to.

"We slipped up during scrums a little bit today, but what did go in our favor was Vaughn Schmitz stealing a ton of lineouts from Life. Meanwhile, our lineouts were near 100 percent and we did very well in our lineout maul and defense. That's a testament to how hard our forwards and coach Dallas Elliston work in analyzing our opposition lineouts. Aidan Gerber also played a major role along with Landon Opp and Roanin Krieger in the kicking game. It was a complete team performance today and that's who we are. We're very thankful to have earned another two weeks together and have the opportunity to bring another title back to Annapolis."

Both teams attempted to gain an edge in field position with their kicking games. Life earned a lineout inside its offensive 22-meter zone after executing a 50-22 just before the sixth minute. Navy stole the ball by intercepting the lineout throw. Jack Aleman gained 10 meters on a carry after the turnover and JD Bengston rolled a grubber kick into the 22-meter zone. The Running Eagles booted a clearing kick back to Landon Opp at midfield and he set up the Mids inside the 22-meter zone with a 50-22. Life was issued a penalty shortly after the lineout to gift Navy a free kick. Opp sent the kick out of bounds inside the five-meter line. The Mids formed a maul after winning the lineout and forced William Webb into the try zone in the ninth minute for the first score of the match. Roanin Krieger gave Navy a 7-0 lead with a successful conversion kick. 

Krieger was charged with a penalty trying to corral a clearing kick in the 13th minute. The infraction granted the Running Eagles a free kick inside their offensive 22-meter zone. Life lined the ball out of bounds at the five-meter line. The Running Eagles secured the lineout, but the Mids didn't surrender any additional ground. Life later committed a knock-on, which allowed Navy to clear the ball back to midfield. 

The Running Eagles returned to the 22-meter zone after drawing another penalty in the 16th minute. Life found space on the right sideline and gained 15 meters on the rush attempt. Navy's defense held firm for over 90 seconds to prevent a try. The Running Eagles booted a short box kick in the air and Bengston fell on the ball in the try zone. The Mids received a goal line drop kick for recovering the ball and Krieger crushed the kick back to midfield. Life quickly countered with a big kick return to advance back into the 22-meter zone. Navy was charged with another penalty during the possession in the 21st minute. The Running Eagles chose to attempt a penalty kick and their kicker put the ball through the uprights to make the score, 7-3. 

Life received a scrum at midfield after the kickoff traveled out of the back of the try zone. The Mids were called for a penalty during the scrum to gift the Running Eagles a free kick. Life lined the ball out of bounds just outside of the 22-meter zone. Navy reclaimed possession after the official ruled the ensuing lineout throw wasn't straight. The Mids won their offensive lineout, but lost possession moments later for committing a knock-on. Life drove the scrum forward 10 meters and ran inside the five-meter line with another strong carry. The Running Eagles floated multiple passes to the right half of the pitch and their wing stretched across the try line for a score in the 27th minute. Life then took a 10-7 lead by nailing the conversion kick. 

Navy established possession in its offensive zone for the first time since its try in the 30th minute. The Running Eagles were penalized defending a maul to gift the Mids a free kick. Opp kicked the ball out of bounds between the 10 and 22-meter lines. Life was issued another penalty in the 32nd minute and coach Hickie opted to go for a penalty kick. Krieger made the kick to tie the match, 10-10. 

Opp brought it a high box kick near the defensive 22-meter line in the 34th minute and he broke multiple tackles to gain 20 meters. He then offloaded the ball to Bengston, who found more space on the edge to push the ball beyond the offensive 10-meter line. Opp put the Running Eagles deep in their defensive zone after booting a kick out of bounds at the five-meter line. Life's next lineout throw was deemed not straight to award Navy an offensive lineout near the try zone. Sean MacLaney fed a pass to Jake Cornelius out of the maul. Cornelius was initially brought down, but stood back up and dove across the try line for a score in the 37th minute. Kreiger added two more points by making the conversion kick to give Navy a 17-10 lead. 

The Mids were charged with a penalty two minutes into the second half for a hard tackle. The penalty granted the Running Eagles a free kick, which they used to move the ball into the 22-meter zone. Life worked its way down to the five-meter line, but dropped the ball forward for a knock-on. Navy won its scrum and Krieger sent the ball back to the 10-meter line with a clearing kick. The Running Eagles returned to the five-meter line less than a minute later thanks to a 25-meter carry. However, Life coughed up possession on the next ruck for not releasing. 

The Running Eagles made a great defensive play to retake possession in their offensive zone in the 53rd minute. Aleman was running down the left sideline and a Life defender rolled him out of bounds to earn an offensive lineout. The Running Eagles once again didn't execute their lineout and threw the ball right into the hands of Aidan Gerber. Krieger caught a pass at the defensive 22-meter line and he crushed a kick all the way down inside the offensive five-meter line. A short clearing kick by Life traveled out of bounds right at the 22-meter line for Navy's best field position of the second half. The Mids began to shift their attack to the left out of the scrum and a Running Eagle defender stepped in front of a pass to steal the ball back. Life sent a low kick across the pitch to its offensive 22-meter line and outran Navy to recover the ball. The Running Eagles hoped to attack the left sideline with the Mids out of position, but dropped the ball backward. Gerber then kicked the ball back into Navy's offensive 22-meter zone. Life scooped up the loose ball and Gerber immediately shoved him down to the ground. He jarred the ball free on the hit and Ian Bullock picked it up to score a try in the 56th minute. Krieger gave Navy a 24-10 lead after nailing the conversion kick. 

The Mids were awarded a free kick from their offensive 10-meter line in the 61st minute from a penalty against the Running Eagles. The play allowed Opp to send the ball inside the 22-meter zone. The referee called another penalty on Life in the 63rd minute and Navy decided to attempt its second penalty kick of the match. Krieger lined the short attempt right down the middle of the uprights to give the Mids a 17-point advantage. 

Navy's three-score lead was short-lived due to surrendering a try less than a minute after the penalty kick. The Running Eagles broke multiple tackles and gained over 50 meters on a carry down the left sideline. Life executed another two offloads to advance inside the five-meter line. Andrew Baublitz brought down the ball carrier to prevent a try, but was issued a yellow card for a high tackle. The official also gifted the Running Eagles a penalty try for the foul to make the score, 27-17. 

Life kept the pressure on Navy by gaining 30 meters with another huge carry following the kickoff. Multiple penalties granted a pair of free kicks to the Running Eagles to push into their offensive 22-meter zone. Life held possession inside the five-meter line and passed the ball out to the left. Opp was the lone defender in the way of three Running Eagles and he perfectly read a pass to intercept the ball. Krieger later kicked the ball out of the 22-meter zone to give the Mids breathing room. 

Navy continued its dominance in lineouts by stealing the next five throws from Life. The Running Eagles drove back into their offensive 22-meter zone in the 79th minute, but returned the ball to the Mids with a knock-on. MacLaney zipped a pass back to Kreiger out of the scrum and he kicked the ball out of bounds to send Navy to the national championship. 

Box Score
First Half
9:03 - Try - Navy - William Webb (5-0)
Conversion Kick - Roanin Krieger (7-0)

22:13 - Penalty Kick - Life (7-3)

27:12 - Try - Life (7-8)
Conversion Kick - Life (7-10)

32:30 - Penalty Kick - Navy - Roanin Krieger (10-10)

37:58 - Try - Navy - Jake Cornelius (15-10)
Conversion Kick - Roanin Krieger (17-10)

Second Half
56:00 - Try - Navy - Ian Bullock (22-10)
Conversion Kick - Roanin Krieger (24-10)

64:10 - Penalty Kick - Navy - Roanin Krieger (27-10)

65:00 - Penalty Try - Life (27-17)

Match Notes
• The Mids will play in the national championship for the second-straight year and third time in their history (1994, 2023, 2024)
• Navy has outscored its three playoff opponents, 62-7, in the second half
• The Mids have won all 13 of their games in Annapolis this season
• Krieger posted a team-leading 12 points in the match. He has scored in 10-straight games, which is a new program record. He made all three conversion kicks and both penalty kicks
• Webb recorded his third try in the last two matches and his sixth of the season
• Cornelius scored his sixth try of the 2023-24 campaign. He's fourth on the team in scoring with 47 points
• Bullock found the try zone for the sixth time this season