WEST POINT. N.Y. -- The Army West Point Men's Rugby team opened the 2024-25 season with a commanding 54-7 victory over Indiana Sept. 7 at Anderson Rugby Complex.
Six different Black Knights contributed to the scoring, resulting in a well-rounded team performance.
HOW IT HAPPENED
A quick off-sides call on Indiana in the first minute set the tone for the Black Knights, leading to a strong drive toward the try zone. This resulted in a penalty try just three minutes into the match, giving Army an early 7-0 lead.
The Black Knights maintained their momentum, quickly regaining possession after the kickoff. Junior Gabe Savage drove in for a try, with sophomore Howard Heller successfully converting to double the lead.
Army's defense quickly stifled the Hoosiers' attempts to retain possession. In the 11th minute, Jacob Bottarini broke free to extend the lead to 19-0.
The Black Knights continued to dominate defensively, preventing Indiana from making any significant progress. After drawing another Indiana penalty, Heller bounced back from an earlier missed conversion, adding a penalty kick to extend the lead to 22-0.
Indiana's defense managed to hold off Army for six minutes before sophomore Dylan Liskey broke through to score another try. Heller converted successfully, expanding the Black Knights' lead to 29-0.
The Hoosiers struggled to contain Army's offense, and in the 27th minute, Nate Gould broke free from Indiana defenders and found TJ Rotello for a try, bringing the score to 34-0.
The Black Knights continued to apply pressure as the half wore on. In the 35th minute, Gould once again broke free, setting up Rotello for another try. Heller converted, sending Army into halftime with a commanding 41-0 lead.
Army's dominance continued after the break. In the 43rd minute, Heller successfully converted a penalty kick, extending the lead to 44-0.
Indiana finally broke through in the 45th minute, scoring their first try of the match with a successful conversion to follow, making it 44-7.
Both defenses held strong for the next 20 minutes, with neither team able to add to the score. It wasn't until the 65th minute that Rotello broke free for his third try of the day, stretching Army's lead to 49-7.
Despite a strong effort from Indiana's defense, the Black Knights continued to press. With just one minute remaining, Joey Knight scored a final try, sealing the 54-7 victory for Army.
Rotello led the team with three tries, accounting for 15 of the Black Knights' points. These were the senior's first recorded points on the A-side.HEAR FROM THE TEAM"Great team win for us today, a great challenge to start off the season. We've been focused on our climb as a team, and this game was just a building block for us to continue to stack days. Great start to the season for us and we will continue to improve daily and hunt for the next team." -TJ Rotello "Very proud of the team's performance. It was a great way to start the season, but we have a lot to build on heading into the meat of our schedule. Good to see our offense show its explosiveness." -Jacob Bottarini