Saint Mary's Visits Navy in Much-Anticipated Cross-Continental Clash

10.23.2026College Men

Navy and Saint Mary's. Photos David Hughes and Jeff Dalton.

Author: Alex Goff

In a rematch of the 2024 D1A final, Saint Mary's College of California visits the US Naval Academy Saturday in a cross-continental season opener for the Gaels.

In any situation this game would be a challenge, but certainly after the death of beloved teammate Dominic Peterson, the Gaels still have much on their minds.

"We lost not only an important player for us
Bit a great teammate and a huge part of everything we're trying to do here," said Saint Mary's Head Coach Tim O'Brien.

The Navy program understands that.

"We are really looking forward to this game and we’re grateful to St. Mary’s for making the trip to Annapolis, especially with the tragic passing of Dominic Peterson," said Navy DOR Gavin Hickie. "We appreciate it’s early in St. Mary’s XVs season so while they probably won’t be at their peak, they are a very good team with plenty of experience. They have a formidable pack with a very dangerous backline, intent on attacking poses a great challenge for our defense and one we are looking forward to."

Saint Mary's has the very deserved reputation as a team that plays wide open and takes risk, but O'Brien also wants to see his team play smart rugby.

"Still on my mind is the two games against Cal last season when we were very undisciplined," said O'Brien. "We're playing the best or maybe #2 team in the country. I want us to be disciplined and tighten it up a bit. We need to take care of possession. Of you are undisciplined against Navy they will destroy you."

The Gaels have been playing 7s this fall, and this long weekend is often used as a team weekend up in the mountains in Yosemite National Park. It's snowing there now and its sunny and mild in Annapolis, so this trip is a massive challenge and

"We expect to see different attack shapes which will test our defense," said Hickie. "We do not take this game lightly. I don’t think we’ve ever beaten Saint Mary’s so we see this an opportunity to test ourselves against one of the very best.We are preparing our Midshipmen to be able to accurately execute and expect to win not just in rugby, but more importantly in their Navy and Marine Corps careers. Motivation to execute and to win is never lacking within the Navy team."

This game, then, is a huge test for both sides. It will be a bit of a trial by fire for Saint Mary's, but they traveled to Annapolis on Thursday to acclimate and with their best side available they will bring a fresh look for Navy. Meanwhile, back home on Northern California, the non-traveling Gaels players will be in Slugfest at UC Santa Cruz, and will open that tournament with a match against Cal Poly.