Air Force defeats Navy, retains Shea Cup

Even with half of the West Conference schedule being played out in the fall, Air Force’s most important match of the semester is the battle of the Shea Cup against Navy, which took place this past Friday. To the thrill of the home crowd at the Terrazzo on the Air Force Academy campus, the Zoomies refused to relinquish the Shea Cup by overtaking a powerful Navy squad, 38-26.

The rivalry between Air Force and Navy is one of the very best in college rugby, and the importance of the annual encounter has only increased since the creation of the Shea Cup. Named after Lt. Col. Kevin Shea, who had ties to both the Air Force and Navy rugby programs and lost his life serving his country in Iraq in 2004, the Shea Cup will remain in Colorado Springs following Air Force’s 12-point win.

Loose forwards Garrett Jameson and Greg Search combined for four tries to lead the Air Force attack. The win moves the Zoomies to 3-0 and pushed the first-place team out of the West to No. 7 in D1A’s Top 20.

Air Force’s women’s side made it a complete sweet of the Naval Academy on the weekend with a decisive 47-22 win. For the men, Air Force’s next challenge comes way of an afternoon trip to Boulder to face reigning West Champion Colorado Oct. 11.

Article by Alex Solomon | Originally published at d1arugby.com