Th US Naval Academy put in one of their best defensive efforts Saturday and seem to have turned the corner as they shut out Dartmouth 29-0.

After giving up 151 points in three straight games either side of the Winter Break, Navy held Clemson to ten points on February 19 and now have a shutout to point to.

This was, however, Dartmouth's first game of the New Year, and so they weren't at mid-season form by any stretch of the imagination, but Navy still has begun to put together some strong results.

"They are Dartmouth," said Navy Head Coach Mike Flanagan. "They move the ball and attack from anywhere. They are very hard to pin down. We again had a good defensive performance. The guys fronted up all day."

The back row of Kevin Kirchmer, Mike Galvan, and Connor McNerney made a series of positive-grade tackles and knocked Dartmouth's runners backwards. In the second half Dan Tilghman came on for Galvan and was a terror for Navy in the breakdown, forcing turnovers.

"We kept Dartmouth moving backwards most of the day," said Flanagan.

Navy led 17-0 at halftime playing with the wind, and then scored two tries against the breeze. Their scrum was excellent and the lineout helped give Navy the lion's share of the possession. Ben Johnston, Gordon Livermore, McNerney, Mike Samaniego, and Garrett Smith scored tries and McNerney converted two. 

Flanagan added that his team cleaned up some of the ballhandling errors they suffered against Clemson. With captain Kirchmer back from injury and scrumhalf Gardy Lebon also back, they have received a significant boost just in time.