West Point is looking for a Rugby East championship, and Stony Brook is looking for an Empire Conference, and both will start that journey on Friday.

For Stony Brook, losing out to Syracuse in the Empire Conference last year sticks with them and the Seawolves will want to get back to the top, But, they have some rebuilding to do, having graduated 15, including eight starters. Those starters - the likes of Phil Salter and James Sheridan - have been gamers for Stony Brook for some time.

“We do have a lot of kids who have been in the program for a couple of years and now it’s time to step up,” said Stony Brook Head Coach Jerry Mirro. “We have a lot of numbers. We’ve got 80 guys out right now. But we still have to see how the kids handle it and how our coaching staff handles it all.”

Mirro said the returning players, including the 2015-16 2nd-teamers, know what they have to do.

“West Point is a really good barometer for us,” said the Stony Brook coach.

Leading the way for Stony Brook are co-captains Rob Maloney at No. 8, and Bryan Michel, who can play all over the backline, but looks settled at flyhalf.

The Seawolves also have some useful new and young players. Scrumhalf Pornprom Tauthong had a solid summer playing 7s and looks to be in control of the scrumhalf position. That leaves freshman Adam Freeman - a cousin of St. Joseph’s standout Jimmy Wolfer - free to play fullback and roam the field. Freeman grew up with the game in England and could be an interesting X factor for Stony Brook. Joey Mullen was a breakout performer at center last year, and Mirro said he expects some improved performances by other players.

The Black Knights, meanwhile, were on top of the American rugby landscape early last season, but faltered late in the fall before rebounding with some impressive spring results. This is only the second season under Head Coach Matt Sherman, and he runs a fairly senior-heavy team.

Army finished 9-5 last year, 5-2 in the Rugby East and made it to the Varsity Cup quarterfinals. They return try-scoring sensation Jake Lachina, and try-scoring wing Luke Heun, Hooker Ryan Moshak could well be a crucial returner. Flyhalf Andrew Fargo is out with injury and will miss the fall.

The game kicks off at 6pm local time on Friday at West Point.