Army West Point Athletics
Saturday, March 21
West Point, N.Y.
12:00 p.m.
Army West Point
vs
Guelph
Photo by: Walter Schmidlin
Men’s Rugby to Looks to Capture Cannon Cup in Regular Season Finale
March 20, 2026 | Men's Rugby
WEST POINT, N.Y. – Sometimes, the roads lead right back to where they started.
For Army West Point men's rugby, the pursuit of a trophy spanned the entire 2025-26 season. But with the final regular season fixture on the horizon, so is its chance to lift the hardware.
After dropping last week's match to defending national champion California, the Black Knights close the 2025-26 regular season Saturday against Canadian foe Guelph. Kickoff is at 12:00 p.m. at Anderson Rugby Complex and live on YouTube. Army has been tested over the course of the season by rivals, perirenal powers and the defending national champion. But the Canon Cup serves as the final chapter hurdle before postseason play commences.
"Last week, when we got away from our process and performance standards, we became average, and a really good team punished us. The lesson is clear—results are driven by our ability to maintain an inward focus and be at our best moment to moment, regardless of the score or situation. Our leadership group has done a great job refocusing the team on that, and we know we have the capacity to compete with anyone. Now it's about consistency in our performance and processes," said head coach Matt Sherman.
Saturday is 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 can win the cup with a win Saturday. A Guelph win would force a point differential tiebreaker to decide the cup's winner.
In the opening match this season, the Black Knights responded to a second half deficit with 19 unanswered points in the second half of its season-opener at Guelph, on its way to a 38-28 win Saturday over their Canadian rivals.
Down two scores, the final 12 minutes saw three Army tries as the side stormed back to ultimately win by 10. Andrew Bardak found the try zone to cut the deficit to two points, before Chance Loudenback took an offload to score in the 75'. The ensuring conversion put Army ahead 33-28 and kept the lead permanently.
George Hemmen received the ball from Howie Heller and scored in the 78' to create late separation for Army in the September 6 match.
Army enters Saturday with an 8-3 overall record and a 4-2 mark against Rugby East opponents.
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.
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.
For Army West Point men's rugby, the pursuit of a trophy spanned the entire 2025-26 season. But with the final regular season fixture on the horizon, so is its chance to lift the hardware.
After dropping last week's match to defending national champion California, the Black Knights close the 2025-26 regular season Saturday against Canadian foe Guelph. Kickoff is at 12:00 p.m. at Anderson Rugby Complex and live on YouTube. Army has been tested over the course of the season by rivals, perirenal powers and the defending national champion. But the Canon Cup serves as the final chapter hurdle before postseason play commences.
"Last week, when we got away from our process and performance standards, we became average, and a really good team punished us. The lesson is clear—results are driven by our ability to maintain an inward focus and be at our best moment to moment, regardless of the score or situation. Our leadership group has done a great job refocusing the team on that, and we know we have the capacity to compete with anyone. Now it's about consistency in our performance and processes," said head coach Matt Sherman.
Saturday is 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 can win the cup with a win Saturday. A Guelph win would force a point differential tiebreaker to decide the cup's winner.
In the opening match this season, the Black Knights responded to a second half deficit with 19 unanswered points in the second half of its season-opener at Guelph, on its way to a 38-28 win Saturday over their Canadian rivals.
Down two scores, the final 12 minutes saw three Army tries as the side stormed back to ultimately win by 10. Andrew Bardak found the try zone to cut the deficit to two points, before Chance Loudenback took an offload to score in the 75'. The ensuring conversion put Army ahead 33-28 and kept the lead permanently.
George Hemmen received the ball from Howie Heller and scored in the 78' to create late separation for Army in the September 6 match.
Army enters Saturday with an 8-3 overall record and a 4-2 mark against Rugby East opponents.
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.
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.
Players Mentioned
Hooker
/ Men's Rugby
Scrumhalf
/ Men's Rugby
Prop
/ Men's Rugby
Center
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