Men's Rugby Stays Unbeaten, Beats Penn State 43-29

Saturday, October 2

12 PM

Army West Point

Penn State

Men's Rugby Stays Unbeaten, Beats Penn State 43-29

October 02, 2021 | Men's Rugby

By: Phil Tor

WEST POINT, N.Y. - The Army West Point men's rugby team has now won its past eight matches on the 15s pitch, as the Black Knights storm past Penn State to secure a 43-29 result. The win, Coach Matt Sherman's 55th at Army, was powered by three try scores from senior Koikoi Nelligan.

Army (4-0, 3-0 Rugby East) protects its unblemished record as it heads into a month-long stretch of road contests.

HOW IT HAPPENED
Army and Penn State battled from start to finish in this contest, as the Nittany Lions came out with a tough and physical style of play. The Black Knights were able to adjust early and responded with an opening drive try score by Dom Tianga. Sean McNulty provided the conversion to give the Brothers an early 7-0 lead.

Penn State responded with a penalty kick to bring the score to 7-3. After a Koikoi Nelligan try, the Nittany Lions went on a 14-point run to take a 17-12 lead after 20 minutes of play. This was the first time Army has trailed in a contest this season.

The Brothers responded with a run of their own, scoring 14 unanswered points. Steven Rohde and Nelligan provided the scoring as Army took back the lead, 26-17 at the 42 minute mark.

PSU would find the try zone twice more, but it would not be enough to stop the high powered Army offense, as Nolan Green, Drew Dunham and Nelligan all scored tries to lift Army to the 43-29 victory.

QUOTABLES
"Penn State is by far the most physical team we have played thus far. They really tested us in collisions and around the breakdown. BUt what I loved most about the day was not that we won, but that when we saw we were down on the scoreboard, we connected with one another to go out and finish the job. There are a lot of things to work on but overall I am very happy with our game today." - Vice Captain, Larry Williams.

"We knew coming into this game that it was going to be our toughest challenge yet. Penn State is a quality side with a lot of great players. The Brothers stepped up to the challenge, preserved through adversity and ended up coming out on top. It was an excellent game and another step in the right direction." - Maxwell Sackett

SCORING RUNDOWN
1:52 - Army - Try - Dom Tianga - 5-0
2:37 - Army - Conversion - Sean McNulty - 7-0
7:16 - PSU - Penalty Kick - 7-3
8:05 - Army - Try - Koikoi Nelligan - 12-3
13:52 - PSU - Try - 12-8
14:52 - PSU - Conversion - 12-10
18:00 - PSU - Try - 12-15
18:56 - PSU - Conversion - 12-17
22:24 - Army - Try - Steven Rohde - 17-17
23:30 - Army - Conversion - Sean McNulty - 19-17
40:18 - Army - Try - Koikoi Nelligan - 24-17
41:20 - Army - Conversion - Sean McNulty - 26-17
44:12 - PSU - Try - 26-22
45:16 - PSU - Conversion - 26-24
49:52 - Army - Try - Koikoi Nelligan - 31-24
57:52 - Army - Try - Nolan Green - 36-24
64:49 - PSU - Try - 36-29
71:01 - Army - Try - Drew Dunham - 41-29
72:13 - Army - Conversion - Sean McNulty - 43-29

INSIDE THE BOX SCORE

Koikoi Neliigan's three tires and 15 total points led all players. Nelligan also extended his try scoring streak to three games
Sean McNulty added eight points off conversions to bring him to 36 total points on the year
Nolan Green found the try zone for his third score of the season
Army has now won eight consecutive 15s matches dating back to 2019-20