Men's Rugby Falls on the Road to St. Bonaventure

Saturday, September 23

St. Bonaventure, N.Y.

12:00 PM

Army West Point

St. Bonaventure

Men's Rugby Falls on the Road to St. Bonaventure

September 23, 2023 | Men's Rugby

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Army West Point Rugby fell to St. Bonaventure in a hard-fought 26-29 loss.

First to get on the board was St. Bonaventure with a try 15 minutes into the first half, giving the Bonnies a 5-0 lead. Army quickly responded three minutes later with a try by Pat Oglesbee and good conversion by Jonny Haley to take the lead 7-5.

St. Bonaventure went on to make two more tries before the conclusion of the first half. Going into halftime, the Bonnies secured a 15-7 lead over the Black Knights.

Seven minutes into the second half St. Bonaventure made another try and conversion which extended their lead to 22-7.

Starting 12 minutes into the second half, Army went on a three-try run. The tries were scored by Ben Richards, Matt de Frates and Mitchell Campbell, all within 16 minutes of each other. Haley was successful in two of three conversions. This sequence gave the Black Knights a 26-22 lead.

With nine minutes left in the game, St. Bonaventure scored one last try to push them over the edge for a 29-26 win. In the final minutes of the game, the Black Knights put forth a final push, but were unsuccessful and lost by a three-point deficit.

Army's next matchup is Saturday, September 30th vs. Notre Dame College. They will start at noon in West Point.

HEAR FROM THE PLAYERS

Shane Sunday: "We started off slow in the first half, got things sorted out in the second as we came out to a got start. It was a close game coming down to the end and we never stopped fighting – that result is not going to happen again."

Tiaan Mosconi (Captain): "Thank you to St. Bonaventure for a hard-fought match today. It wasn't the result we wanted, but it gives us an opportunity to look honestly at ourselves and assess how we can improve. I'm happy with how the brothers fought through the very last minute."

Matt de Frates: "Obviously not the result we wanted today, but the thing I'm most proud of it the way we fought till the end. Down to the very last minute we kept working, which I think is an awesome thing to see in a team. Secondly, I think we had some great moments, especially coming out in the second half, continuing to fight back. I'm certainly proud of that."