ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The second-ranked Navy men's rugby team (12-1) will play its second-straight road contest when it travels to Emmitsburg, Md. on Saturday to face seventh-ranked Mount St. Mary's (7-4). Kickoff is set for noon at Echo Field.
Live Video
A link for the free live video stream can be found at NavySports.com.
Last Time Out: at No. 14 Penn State
The Midshipmen went on the road for the first time this spring and defeated No. 14 Penn State 29-26 on March 1.
The Mids opened the match with a quick score when
Trevor Gayron found the try zone in the fourth minute. It was Gayron's first try of the season. The Farmingdale, N.Y., native led the team with 19 tackles.
The Nittany Lions responded with two tries in a span of 10 minutes to take a 14-5 lead.
Navy answered back with a pair of tries of its own by
Avion Ganse and
Andrew Baublitz.
Ganse recorded his fifth try of the season and the first of the spring 17:50 into the match. He totaled 12 broken tackles on seven carries.
Thirty-four seconds later, Baublitz added his first try of the spring and extended his team-best tries scored on the season to 14 to give Navy a 15-14 lead.
Neither team would score the rest of the half, as the Mids clung to the one-point lead at the intermission.
Ian Bullock extended Navy's lead to six at 20-14 with his first try of the season in the 48
th minute.
Penn State would come right back with two tries in a span of six minutes to take a 26-22 lead in the 58
th minute.
Sophomore center
Jake Cornelius scored what proved to be the match-winning points in the 66
th minute.
The Navy defense was stout the remainder of the match to hold on for the 29-26 victory.
Navy Notes
- Gayron's try at the 3:10 mark against Penn State was the fastest try scored by Navy in a match this season.
- Roanin Krieger, Navy's primary kicker, is the Mids' leading scorer with 145 points. He has made 41 conversion kicks and 21 penalty kicks.
- Krieger's 145 points are the third most in program history for a single season and needs 22 points to pass Lewis Gray for second. Krieger is four points away from 500-career points.
- Navy will face its third-straight Goff Rugby Report (GRR) ranked opponent on Saturday. The Mids defeated No. 4 California (27-3) and No. 14 Penn State (29-26).
- The Nittany Lions recorded 26 points against the Mids, marking the fourth time this season Navy has allowed more than 20 points in a match.
- Navy is averaging 42.5 points per game and allowing only 15.4.
- Baublitz scored his 14th try of the season against Penn State and is the only Mid to score 10 or more tries this year.
Scouting Mount St. Mary's
- The Mountaineers enter the contest ranked 14th in the GRR power rankings with a 7-4 record.
- Mount St. Mary's opened the spring with a 45-24 loss to Lindenwood on Feb. 8. The loss snapped the Mount's five-match winning streak dating back to the fall.
- The Mountaineers' last victory was against Arizona (45-20) to close the fall on Dec. 8.
- Mount St. Mary's also defeated Southern Virginia (52-14), St. Bonaventure (36-28), Belmont Abbey (41-32), Mary Washington (44-35), Penn State (26-22) and Air Force (41-12).
- The Mount finished fourth in the Rugby East conference with a 5-2 record.
Navy vs. Mount St. Mary's Series
- The Mids and Mountaineers will face each other for the fourth time as varsity opponents with Navy controlling the series 3-0.
- Navy won the last meeting in the fall, 36-8. The Midshipmen had a big second half, scoring 28 points thanks to a pair of tries from team captain JD Bengston.
- Saturday's match will be first in Emmitsburg, Md., as the previous three meetings were contested in Annapolis.
- The Mids have scored at least 30 points in each of the three matches against the Mount, including a series-best 59 in the inaugural match in 2022.
