Navy Men Over Penn State in Rugby East Action
Navy Men Over Penn State in Rugby East Action
Navy overcame some little miscues and an early Penn State try to defeat the Nittany Lions 35-10 in Rugby East Conference play Saturday in Annapolis, Md.
Penn State scored the first try of the game, putting Navy under some pressure and seeing prop Cole Stoeppelwerth power over for the opening points, Flyhalf Jake O'Donnell converted.
Navy answered with a Roanin Krieger penalty, and eventually found some space to score. Able to essentially pin Penn State in their half for a good period of time, Navy's outside backs countered on a kick with Avion Ganse linking with Drew Baublitz, who passed to Jake Cornelius only to get the pass back and race in for a sensational try.
A big break form Ganse set up a quick-tap for Michael Strehle, and while O'Donnell added a penalty at the end of the first half, Navy held on to a 17-10 lead.
the expectation was that Navy would slowly build their lead and then explode for tries in the final 15 minutes. The first bit happened. Krieger was stellar, contributing three conversions and a trio of successful penalty goals, one from over 50 meters. That kick made it 23-10 and gave Navy a bit of a cushion.
Penn State looked to test Navy with the boot, but the Midshipmen were up to the task with Krieger and Ganse handling the kicks well. Baublitz and Tanner Russell scored tries to make it 35-10.
But a couple of prime try-scoring chances went begging as, late in the game, Navy's lineout, and really their overall execution, suffered a little.
At the same time, Penn State never quit on defense and made several key defensive plays, notably Hunter White at fullback, hooker Adian King, and center Lachlan Treister foiling Navy with tackles, turnovers, and some smart clearance kicks.
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For Navy noteworthy performances included AJ Young’s robust ball carrying and Ian Bullock’s hard work in the No. 8 role. Ganse’s evasive maneuvers at fullback, creating numerous scoring opportunities, was a big part of the Mids' day.
The Navy players and coach expressed a blend of satisfaction and constructive reflection post-match. Krieger remarked on the intensity of the competition, stating, "It was a battle to the end. Shout-out to those boys from Penn State. They gave us a challenge, especially in the front row and lineouts."
Avion Ganse was one of several players who felt that there were too many 50-50 offloads.
"We've got to take care of the ball. The ball's our treasure. So it comes down to discipline."
Head Coach Gavin Hickie was mostly satisfied: "We had one big goal here which was to win with four tries, and we did that. We have some things to work on but Penn State are a very tough team."
Penn State is now 0-2 in Rugby East play but showed significant improvements, while Navy is now 3-0 in-conference.
