ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy men's rugby team (2-0) begins to defend its back-to-back Rugby East crown at St. Bonaventure (0-0) for its first divisional and road matchup of the season.
The match is set for a noon kickoff at the Tom 80' and Michelle Marra Athletics Field Complex and will be live on ESPN+. ESPN+ is a subscription-based streaming service that requires patrons to sign-up for monthly or yearly plans prior to tuning into the contest.
"We cannot wait to begin our defense of our Rugby East title. We know St. Bonaventure will again prove to be a very stern test for our young team and we are expecting a physical and fast paced game against Bonnies," said director of rugby Gavin Hickie. "We are continuing to build depth in our squad and we expect a performance from all 23 players in our match day team."
Perfection in Rugby East
Heading into its third season Navy has a perfect 16-0 record against Rugby East opponents. The Midshipmen averaged 39.1 points per match against Rugby East opponents while only giving up 10.7 points per match during their dominant run.
The closest Rugby East match for Navy came in last season's two-point victory in the Army-Navy Star Match, 23-21. The Mids trailed, 21-20, in extended time and Roanin Krieger nailed a walk-off penalty kick to end the match.
Marek Enters Hat Trick Performance
Junior center Marek Enters became the 10th player in program history to score three tries in a match in the 62-14 victory over Maryland. He is the first Mid to score a hat trick since Krieger against Notre Dame College last season.
Enters led the attack scoring a pair of tries in the 46th and 72nd minute marks. The Lake Zurich, Ill., native entered the match with two career tries.
Navy vs. St. Bonaventure
Saturday will be the third meeting between the two schools where Navy leads the all-time series, 2-0. In last season's rainy meeting, the Midshipmen were held to their lowest scoring outing against a Rugby East foe, 15-3, in Annapolis, Md. Jacob D'Amico and Krieger lifted the team pass the Bonnies with tries of their own.
All-Time Series Matchups vs. St. Bonaventure
Nov. 12, 2022 (A): Navy 28 – St. Bonaventure 8
Oct. 14, 2023 (H): Navy 15 – St. Bonaventure 3
Scouting the Bonnies
St. Bonaventure is coming off its third-straight winning season with a 6-4 record. The Bonnies went 4-3 against common opponents in 2023 with victories over Kutztown (44-22), Army (29-26), Penn State (21-15) and Mary Washington (12-8). The three loses came to Mount St. Mary's (37-17) and Notre Dame College (28-19, 35-10).
Saturday's match is the season opener for St. Bonaventure.
Last Time Out: vs. Maryland
The Navy men's rugby (2-0) team scored early and often as the Mids rolled through Maryland (0-1), 62-14, at the Prusmack Rugby Center.
Navy opened the match explosive scoring six tries in the first 30 minutes with four different Midshipmen striking the ball in the try zone. Senior Tanner Russell scored a pair of tries, Russell found the endzone first for Navy at the seven-minute mark. His second try would come off a Maryland turnover inside its own 22-meter zone, the Mids took advantaged and executed a pick and go play to land Russell his second try of the match.
A trio of Mids scored their first collegiate in the first half, freshmen Waylon Davis, Max Cornelius and sophomore Chase Dixon. Davis showed off his power running ability refusing to be taken down in the attacking 22-meter zone as he shook off five Terps for his first collegiate try. Cornelius also got into the try zone in his debut, Navy took advantage of a Maryland knock-on penalty inside the attacking zone. Mids efficient passing pushed the offense attack to the Terps 5-meter zone, where a pass to Cornelius opened him up to the goal line. Dixon, made his second career start for Navy, Masino located Dixon for a pass and went untouched for the five points.
Sophomore Eric Wrzyszczynski made his Navy debut and scored his first career try running half the length of the field.
Up Next
Navy will be back on its home pitch when it welcomes Penn State on Saturday, Sept. 21. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at the Prusmack Rugby Center.
