Men’s Rugby Leans of First Half, Defensive Performance in Win at The Mount

Saturday, October 25

Emmitsburg, Md.

12:00 p.m.

Army West Point

Mount St. Mary's (Md.)

Men’s Rugby Leans of First Half, Defensive Performance in Win at The Mount

October 25, 2025 | Men's Rugby

EMMITSBURG, Md. – Army West Point men's rugby didn't score in the second half at Mount St. Mary's (MD) on Saturday, but it didn't need to, relying on a stern defensive showing to knock off the Mountaineers, 24-15.

Isaac Gamboa added a pair of tries and Howie Heller was 4-for-4 on kicks as 19-point halftime lead was more than enough to secure the win, moving to 5-1 on the season and 3-1 vs. Rugby East foes.

"We're happy to earn a road victory against a good team. In the first half we played really well in all facets consistently. In the second half we didn't execute well in some key areas resulting in us needing to defend the entire time. While I was pleased to see our defense stand up to the continued pressure, we will need to improve to not put ourselves in those positions," said head coach Matt Sherman.

"It was a hard-fought match against a great opponent in Mt. St. Mary's. We felt that we started off strong but had more to give in the second half. We'll get back to work Monday and focus on finding an elite 80 minutes," said Gamboa.
With the win, Army remains unbeaten all-time vs. the Mountaineers, fresh off its Round of 16 playoff win a season ago.
George Engels got Army on the board first, finding the try zone inside five minutes, with Heller quickly following with the conversion to make it 7-0.

An Army punt in the 11' paid off when Gamboa sprinted ahead to recover the football and land in the try zone, putting the Black Knights ahead permanently by multiple scores.

After Mount St. Mary's made it 14-5, Gamboa recorded his second try of the afternoon in the 32', and Heller followed with a successful penalty kick as the first half clock expired, making it 24-5.

The Black Knights played methodically on defense all game long, keeping enough breathing room to overcome 10 unanswered in the second half from the Mountaineers. At no point in the second half did the margin close to more than nine points.

Match Scoresheet

5' | George Engels – Try                                5-0
Howie Heller – Conversion                          7-0

11' | Isaac Gamboa – Try                            12-0
Howie Heller – Conversion                          14-0

13' | Mount St. Mary's – Try                       14-5

32' | Isaac Gamboa – Try                            19-5
Howie Heller – Conversion                          21-5

40' | Howie Heller – Penalty                         24-5

60' | Mount St. Mary's – Penalty                   24-8

69' | Mount St. Mary's – Try                       24-13
Mount St. Mary's – Conversion                    24-15

Sending Our Congratulations

Army men's rugby sends a huge congratulations to our women's team, who handled arch rival Navy 84-0 at West Point on Saturday. The Black Knights lead the Midshipmen 4-2-1 in the Star Series presented by USAA.

Next Up

Army is back in action after this weekend with a Halloween matchup at rival Air Force in Colorado Springs. Army will then return home on November 7 when they take on Penn State.

Follow the Black Knights

Follow Army Men's Rugby on X @ArmyWP_MRugby and on Instagram @armywp_rugby. Fans can also like Army West Point Athletics on Facebook and learn more about men's rugby and other programs at goarmywestpoint.com.