Men’s Rugby Wins on Senior Day vs. Arizona

Saturday, March 8

West Point, N.Y.

12:00 PM

Army West Point

Arizona

Men’s Rugby Wins on Senior Day vs. Arizona

March 08, 2025 | Men's Rugby

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Army West Point Men's Rugby concluded their regular season home slate with a 24-19 win over the Arizona Wildcats at Shea Stadium Saturday.

With the win, Army moves to 10-1 overall in 2024-25.

Dakota Wagner got Army on the board first, with a try less than seven minutes into the game. After the Wildcats took a 7-5 lead later in the half, Jacob Bottarini and Howard Heller put the Black Knights back in front with a try and conversion respectively. Another Heller conversion followed a Chance Loundenback try with five minute to play in the opening half, and Army took a 19-7 lead into the break.

The Black Knights led by as much as 17 points, after a Dylan Liskey try four minutes into the second half. Army's cushion was enough to withstand a 12-0 run from Arizona the remainder of the fixture, and the Black Knights walked off the field as winners for the seventh consecutive match.

Coach's Corner

"I was proud of the team for a very strong first half performance and for the effort put forth defensively to survive an inaccurate second half. We are capable of being more accurate and consistent and must be going forward to reach our potential. Thank you to Arizona for coming out, and we wish them well with the remainder pf the year," said head men's rugby coach Matt Sherman.

Cadets' Corner

"It was a hard-fought game. And through discipline and violence in contact we earned the right to come out on top. There is a lot of room to grow but we are continuing to develop an identity of climbing rapidly and playing dominantly," said Elijah Manges.

"I believe that this game was won in the forward pack. We were smashing them at every breakdown and that's what opened up opportunities outside. Moving into this week we still need to continue to build our attritional identity for a full 80 minutes and playing smarter in our own half of the field," said Matt Leslie.

"Thankful we had a good challenge going into the next week. Proud of our boys for completing a strong 80 minutes. Need to make some changes here and there, but overall, I'm very happy with the team's performance. On to Cal," said Bottarini.

Next Up

Army heads to the West Coast next for a pair of matches. The Black Knights will face California in Berkeley March 15, with first touch slated for 1:00 p.m. PT / 4:00 p.m. ET. That match will be followed by Army's regular season finale on Wednesday, March 19 in San Luis Obispo at Cal Poly.

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 baseball and other programs at goarmywestpoint.com.