The U.S. Naval Academy has never featured in a USA Rugby Division I 15s championship – not when there’s a national champion and not since the competition separated into fall and spring titles. That will change on Dec. 8 when the Midshipmen face the U.S. Air Force Academy for the DI fall title.
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“We didn’t set the final as a goal,” Navy head coach Murph McCarthy said of the berth. “The team worked on getting better each week, watching film, getting a little better at this or that. We didn’t have a ton of good scouting reports on the teams we played, so we focused on ourselves and were able to adjust to teams at halftime. We didn’t even start talking [about playoffs] until the week before we were supposed to play Notre Dame. We got a call saying that, if we wanted, we could have a play-in game.”
Navy piqued attention when it beat Davenport back in September and consequently shot up the rankings. It was only fitting then that the two teams met in Saturday’s DI quarterfinals. Davenport coach Greg Teliczan hailed Navy’s fitness (read more), and McCarthy supported the notion that his players’ conditioning is a difference-maker.
“We’re a first-half team but we’re a second-half team, too. We just keep coming,” McCarthy said. “The players made an edict at the beginning of the season that they were going to be in the best shape possible this season, and they held themselves to it. … They have morning workouts three times a week, and there isn’t a lot of standing around at practice. It’s all about getting reps and touches.”
Navy took the first lead through wing Clara Enninful, and then Davenport fullback Megan Bird tied it up. Outside center Kate McKinley then scored the first of her three tries, and Nicole August’s conversion provided the 12-5 edge. The Panthers engineered a lead change with back-to-back scores from back rows Bethany Gable and Ashleigh DeWitt, but in the final minutes of the half, McKinley broke through for a second try that August converted: 19-15 Navy into halftime.
“I thought we did a good job of also possessing the ball,” McCarthy pointed to strengths other than fitness. “We didn’t try to do anything too crazy with ball in hand. The support was strong. Not a ton of turnovers – and I’m basing that on the fact that Davenport is a good team that will go get the ball if you leave it sitting out there. So we paid extra attention to that. The forward play was well organized, too, and the back line played consistently.”
McCarthy didn’t highlight a turning point in the match but rather a steady chipping away at the defense and finishing opportunities. At the 50-minute mark, McKinley scored again, and then August followed with a converted try. Fullback Ana Olszewski dotted down near the 60-minute mark, and then a yellow-card advantage helped Enninful score again. The Panthers closed out the game with a try in the 45-22 finale.
“Hats off to Davenport. They’re a tough team. It was a strugglefest all the way through,” the coach said.
It was a good win for Navy and set up a Sunday semifinal with UCONN, which beat Pittsburgh 67-5 in the quarterfinals.
“They scored a lot of points on a lot of teams this fall, so team defense was a large part of the discussion. Their one wing [Kelsey Fisher] scored a bunch of tries, so we expected to see one from her,” McCarthy said of UCONN planning. “They poached a lot of ball [Saturday], so we knew support needed to be locked on. We had to come up on defense and not give them room in the backline.”
Unfortunately for Navy, its backline took an influential hit on Saturday.
“We had some adversity: Our starting center [Audrey Hollis] broke her clavicle early in the first half [Saturday], so that was a setback for us. She handled a very painful injury like a champ, so it didn’t rattle the team as much as an injury like that could have. She’s played the most minutes at that center position, so we subbed in one of our newer players and she stepped up – made some key tackles, distributed well. We missed Audrey, but that’s one thing the team said it would get better at: When one person goes down, then someone else has to step up.”
The weather, however, took away that back game, as wet, frigid conditions marked the day. Both teams went to the forward-oriented attack, and the strugglefest resumed.
“For us, it is hard not to get it out to our 10, Gabby [Ebersole], and have her go because she’s been such a force all fall, but we experimented with [back play] and when we got it out there, the footing just wasn’t good and we couldn’t get the pace we wanted,” the coach explained. “You’re more isolated than when you have forwards in a pod. They were getting the gainline consistently, so why mess with something that’s working?”
UCONN consolidated its efforts into the pack and pushed the pick-and-go game that Navy was rallying around. The Huskies were rewarded with the game’s first try.
“UCONN adapted to the conditions, and hats off to them, they are a very good rugby team,” McCarthy said. “Both teams played well considering the conditions. … But it was our fitness in second half that gave us a little bit of an advantage. Remember, everyone on that pitch had frozen extremities.”
The Navy forwards bulked up its performance and helped produce the next three tries.
“It was very strong all around,” McCarthy credited the entire pack. “Everyone was coming onto the ball with pace and getting to the gainline and staying on their feet and getting the ball back.”
In particular the coach called out senior prop Grace Rovira, who had a big steal and tackle to pump up the team; flanker Ann Tom, who put in a stellar 70 minutes; flanker August, who put is always strong; and No. 8 Sarah Skinner for leadership off the back.
UCONN scored a final try to close out the game: 17-10 to Navy.
“They went nuts, running onto the field. We couldn’t get through our ‘three cheers’ fast enough,” McCarthy said.
And the prospect of facing Air Force in the final?
“It’s perfect. It’s ideal,” McCarthy said. “Someone asked me how I’d want it to end, and this is it.”
The all-academy final will occur Dec. 8 in Matthews, N.C. Stay tuned for more info.
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