Krieger leads Navy to rugby championship

A freshman on the U.S. Navy men’s varsity rugby team helped lead them to victory Saturday in a hard-won championship match against University of California, Berkeley. In a nail-biting conclusion to the Navy’s first varsity season, Placerville local Roanin Krieger and Jesuit

School grad helped the Midshipmen overcome the Golden Bears and secure the Division I-A National Championship.

The Mids faced the largest point deficit of the season during the game, trailing by as many as 15 points behind Berkeley for over an hour, but clawed their way from behind to take their second win of the season from the Golden

Bears.

“It wasn’t until the kick went out and the final whistle was blown that I felt this match was over,” director of rugby Gavin Hickie said. “To go down, 15-0, to Cal and claw back to win this game is remarkable and this team earned the right to call themselves national champions.”

Despite a failed penalty kick at the 35th minute, freshman fullback Krieger proved instrumental in the victory, leading the team in points scored that evening and nailing a perfect 4/4 on conversion kick attempts.

Krieger established himself as an indispensable member of the Navy’s rugby program, ending the team’s undefeated season as the second-highest scorer with 113 points.