Men’s Rugby Wins Cannon Cup in Regular Season Finale

Saturday, March 21

West Point, N.Y.

12:00 p.m.

Army West Point

Guelph

Men’s Rugby Wins Cannon Cup in Regular Season Finale

March 21, 2026 | Men's Rugby

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Army West Point men's rugby finished the regular season in style, with a 45-31 win over the Guelph Gryphons to capture the Cannon Cup over its Canadian rival.

Saturday was the second leg of the inaugural Cannon Cup between the sides. Each year, Army and Guelph will square off in a home-and-home, two-match series. Army visited the Gryphons in Canada to open the regular season back on September 6. The series name comes from the presence of cannons of both squads' campuses, including Guelph's 'Old Jeremiah.' Each year, the series winner will retain the cup. Army won the opening meeting between the teams and secured the trophy with its win Saturday.

The Black Knights finish the regular season 9-3, and 4-2 vs. Rugby East foes.

"Overall, it was a good win and a strong response after a tough finish and result last week. I thought we got back on track with our focus on performance and the processes that drive it. It was especially pleasing to see some of the younger guys step up, play well, and put their hand up—both in terms of building depth and raising the overall standard across the group," said head coach Matt Sherman.

All seven of Army's tries were scored by different players. Jacob Bottarini and Wyatt McAlexander each recorded their first tries of the season, and Richard Corbett III made a career-high five conversions.

Guelph took a brief 12-7 lead inside 11 minutes after Bottarini's try opened the scoring Saturday, but Army answered with 31 unanswered before going into halftime with a 38-12 lead, thanks to tired from Liam Walsh, Chance Loudenback, Porter Kuebler, Wyatt McAlexander and Matt Leslie, with the last two coming in the final two minutes of the opening half.

Dylan Liskey was Army's sole try scorer of the second half as the Gryphons made some ground up in the second half, but not nearly enough to threaten Army's cushion down the stretch.

Match Scoresheet

3' | Jacob Bottarini – Try                                                                                     5-0
Richard Corbett III – Conversion                                                               7-0

8' | Guelph – Try                                                                                                        7-5
Guelph – Conversion                                                                                           7-7

11' | Guelph – Try                                                                                                     7-12

14' | Liam Walsh – Try                                                                                          12-12
Richard Corbett III – Conversion                                                               14-12

26' | Chance Loudenback – Try                                                                  19-12

31' | Porter Kuebler – Try                                                                                   24-12
Richard Corbett III – Conversion                                                               26-12

38' | Wyatt McAlexander – Try                                                                      31-12

40' | Matt Leslie – Try                                                                                            36-12
Richard Corbett III – Conversion                                                               38-12

53' | Guelph – Try                                                                                                     38-17
Guelph – Conversion                                                                                           38-19

61' | Dylan Liskey – Try                                                                                        43-19
Richard Corbett III – Conversion                                                               45-19

67' | Guelph – Try                                                                                                     45-24

72' | Guelph – Try                                                                                                     45-29
Guelph – Conversion                                                                                           45-31

Next Up

Army will await its first-round site and opponent in the CRAA D1A Men's Rugby Playoffs. The fixture will occur the weekend of April 11.

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.