Army West Point Athletics
Men's Rugby Goes Down To The Wire But Falls In Star Match Against Navy
November 10, 2023 | Men's Rugby
West Point, NY -Â The Army men's rugby team (3-4-1) battled hard but ultimately came up short against Navy (11-0).
How it Happened
The Black Knights opened up the scoring just seven minutes into the game to take an early 7-0 lead. Senior VC Dom Tianga scored the first try of the match while fellow senior Jonny Haley scored the conversion. These would be the only Army points in the first half, as Navy went on to get the next five scores through the next 30 minutes. The Midshipmen would get a penalty kick halfway through the first followed by a try and a successful conversion to take a 10-7 lead with just over ten minutes remaining in the first half. As time ticked away, Navy put up one more try and conversion in the final 3 minutes. The Black Knights headed into the break down 17-7.Â
The intensity picked up for Army in the second half. The Black Knights scored the only tries and conversions in the second half as the defense held Navy to just two penalty kicks. The freshman Benjamin Kemp came up big scoring a try just four minutes in. Haley got his second conversion of the match and the Black Knights cut the Navy lead down to 3, 14-17 with 36 minutes left to play. Senior Pat Oglesbee scored another Army try to retake the lead 19-17 as Haley soon made it 21-17 with a conversion. The defense for Army would play tough through the second half, but in the final minute, Navy would score two penalty kicks and walk away with the 23-21 win.Â
Following the intense match senior Tiaan Mosconi shared his thoughts saying:Â
"Tough final seconds to end the game there but credit to Navy for a hard fought match. We walk away from this performance knowing what we are capable of. I am proud of every single guy, not just the ones who were fortunate to wear the jersey. All 60 brothers were out on that field tonight. I am grateful to be surrounded by such great men."Â
Follow Along
For complete coverage of Army West Point Men's Rugby, follow the Black Knights onÂ
Twitter: @ArmyWP_rugby
Instagram: @armywp_rugby, and online at www.goarmywestpoint.com.
Players Mentioned
