ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Navy men's rugby team (1-0) scored 38 second-half points to surge past visiting Queens (1-2), 50-14, on Saturday in Annapolis.
 
"Defensively, besides the two tries, we were solid throughout the entire day," said Navy Director of Rugby Gavin Hickie. "We played the right areas of the pitch, our defense was 100 percent and outstanding and our scrum defensively did really well. I have to tip my hat to Roanin [Krieger] who was outstanding yet again.
 
The Mids struck first in the 10th minute when Kade Williams finished an offload pass from AJ Young down the sideline for a 5-0 lead.
 
Queens responded quickly when it capitalized on a Navy penalty to set up a lineout near the 5-meter mark. The Royals powered over for a try in the 14th minute and added a conversion to take a brief 7-5 lead — their only of the match.
 
Navy responded with pressure to force a penalty try in the 24th minute to make the score 12-7. The penalty also led to a yellow card against Queens to give the Midshipmen a man advantage. The Mids weren't able to capitalize and went into halftime with the five-point lead.
 
The turning point came less than a minute into the second half when Krieger picked off a misplayed clearance kick and dashed through the defense for a solo try. He converted his own score to stretch the lead to 19-7. Navy continued its surge as Andrew Baublitz barreled in for his first try of the day. Krieger again added the conversion to make it 26-7 by the 44th minute.
 
Queens briefly halted the Mids' momentum in the 52nd minute as it scored on a breakaway try to cut the deficit to 26-14.
 
Krieger answered with his second try of the game in the 57th minute — matching his try total from all of last season — and added a penalty kick in the 62nd to push the lead to 36-14. The Mids refused to let up as Sean Donohue and Baublitz each added tries in the final minutes.
 
"This was just the second week of our journey, there were a lot of positive signs and we're going to regroup and focus on Mary Washington," said Hickie.
 
Up Next
The Mids will host their second-straight home game when they welcome Mary Washington next Saturday at 11 a.m., at the Prusmack Rugby Center in Annapolis.
 
Box Score
9:40 – Try – Navy – Kade Williams (5-0)
 
14:09 – Try – Queens (5-5)
Conversion kick (5-7)
 
24:06 – Penalty Try – Navy (12-7)
 
40:24 – Try – Navy – Roanin Krieger (17-7)
Conversion kick – Roanin Krieger (19-7)
 
43:41 – Try – Navy – Andrew Baublitz (24-7)
Conversion kick – Roanin Krieger (26-7)
 
51:48 – Try – Queens (26-12)
Conversion kick (26-14)
 
57:13 – Try – Navy – Roanin Krieger (31-14)
Conversion kick – Roanin Krieger (33-14)
 
61:44 – Penalty kick – Navy – Roanin Krieger (36-14)
 
73:44 – Try – Navy – Sean Donohue (41-14)
Conversion kick – Roanin Krieger (43-14)
 
80:00 – Try – Navy – Andrew Baublitz (48-14)
Conversion kick – Roanin Krieger (50-14)