Princeton did it again. Lindenwood remained perfect. American International College made a winning start to life in the National Intercollegiate Rugby Association (NIRA) Division I, and Army finally broke through for its first victory of the fall.
Six NIRA games were played on Saturday, September 19, with Princeton producing the biggest score of the weekend in a 91–0 victory over West Chester.
Elsewhere, Lindenwood defeated Southern Nazarene 48–12, AIC pulled away from Navy for a 32–17 victory, Army beat Sacred Heart 24–17, La Salle held off Mount St. Mary’s 25–17 and Davenport defeated Frostburg State 58–5.
Three weekends into the 2026 fall season, several early NIRA storylines are beginning to take shape.
Princeton Does It Again: 91–0
Once was remarkable.
Doing it again seven days later made Princeton’s start to the season impossible to ignore.
The Tigers defeated West Chester 91–0 at Rickerson Field, exactly the same score they produced against LIU the previous weekend.
It was Princeton’s second consecutive 91–0 victory and matched the program records for points scored and largest margin of victory that the Tigers had established only a week earlier.
Princeton scored 15 tries against West Chester. Malinka Kwemo led the way with a hat trick, while Myah Natorp, Annie Huettel, Maizy Miller and Hazel Pron each scored twice. Lehua Harris, Charlie Wolfe, Sara Zavieh and Ana Alfaro also crossed.
Yet Princeton led only 31–0 at halftime.
West Chester had periods of possession and created opportunities during the opening 40 minutes, but Princeton’s defense kept the Golden Rams scoreless. The Tigers then exploded for 60 unanswered points after the break.
Princeton has now scored 234 points in three games, opening with a 52–17 victory at La Salle before consecutive 91–0 wins over LIU and West Chester.
The Tigers are 3–0 and travel to Frostburg State next Saturday.
Lindenwood Improves to 3–0
Lindenwood’s perfect start continued with a 48–12 victory over Southern Nazarene.
Kanani Watts and Ava Reuter each scored twice for the Lions, who established a 22–5 halftime advantage before pulling away in the second half.
Watts and Reuter supplied the opening tries as Lindenwood raced into a 12–0 lead inside 11 minutes. Southern Nazarene responded with a try, but Watts crossed for her second before Aries Popoali’i added another late in the half.
Southern Nazarene struck first after the restart and converted to reduce Lindenwood’s advantage to 22–12.
That was as close as the Crimson Storm would get.
Lindenwood shut Southern Nazarene out for the remainder of the match while Gianna Veetutu, Ashley Misch, Jasmine Fehoko and Reuter crossed during the second half. Gianna Diaz added two conversions after the break.
The result improved Lindenwood to 3–0 overall this fall.
Head coach Trevor Locke said the weekend gave his team opportunities to continue developing and connecting as a group.
Next comes a significant weekend in Annapolis. Lindenwood faces Navy on Friday before meeting Brown on Sunday.
AIC Wins Division I Debut Against Navy
American International College’s first NIRA Division I game became one of the most competitive contests of the weekend.
Navy had the defending back-to-back NIRA Division II champions tied at 10–10 early in the second half in Springfield before AIC took control.
Camryn Henderson opened the scoring for AIC with a try and conversion. Navy responded quickly through Arica Spencer, whose try reduced the Yellow Jackets’ advantage to 7–5.
A Henderson penalty made it 10–5 at halftime.
Then Navy drew level.
Ellie Pierson crossed early in the second half to make it 10–10, leaving the game there for either side.
AIC’s response decided it.
Naomi Dodd restored the Yellow Jackets’ lead before Henderson scored her second try. Kiyanah Edwards followed with another score and Dodd crossed for her second as AIC produced 22 unanswered points and opened a 32–10 advantage.
Navy continued to attack and Lindsey Romero scored in the closing minutes. Meagan Alvarez converted to establish the final score.
AIC 32, Navy 17.
Henderson finished with 17 points from two tries, two conversions and a penalty.
For AIC, the victory was a successful first step at a new level after winning consecutive NIRA Division II national championships.
Navy, meanwhile, gets another major test immediately when unbeaten Lindenwood visits Annapolis on Friday.
Army Breaks Through Against Sacred Heart
Army entered Saturday still looking for its first victory of the season.
The Black Knights found it against Sacred Heart.
Army won 24–17 at West Point behind two tries from sophomore Gabby Woenker and two conversions from Emily Steen.
Woenker crossed after only three minutes and Steen converted to give Army an early 7–0 advantage.
Sacred Heart responded before Woenker scored her second try to make it 12–5. Molly Kennedy then added Army’s third try, sending the Black Knights into halftime with a 17–5 lead.
Sacred Heart reduced the deficit to 17–10 shortly after the restart, but Chloe de Leon crossed for Army in the second half. Steen’s second conversion pushed the Black Knights’ advantage to 24–10.
The Pioneers weren’t finished and responded with a converted try of their own.
Army protected the seven-point margin from there to secure the 24–17 victory and its first win of the season.
The Black Knights travel to LIU next Saturday.
La Salle Builds the Lead, Then Holds On
La Salle did most of its damage before halftime and then survived a Mount St. Mary’s comeback to secure a 25–17 road victory.
Alyssa Williams led the Explorers with a hat trick.
Paisley Davey opened the scoring with the first try of her collegiate career, and Jocelyn Terry converted to put La Salle ahead 7–0.
Williams then crossed twice as the Explorers stretched their advantage to 17–0.
Mount St. Mary’s responded with a try before Terry kicked a penalty, sending La Salle into halftime leading 20–5.
Williams completed her hat trick after the break and pushed the advantage to 25–5.
That score proved important.
Mount St. Mary’s responded with two tries and a conversion, cutting the deficit to eight points, but La Salle held on.
La Salle 25, Mount St. Mary’s 17.
Williams accounted for 15 of La Salle’s 25 points, while Davey scored her first collegiate try and Terry contributed five points from the tee.
La Salle returns home to face Temple next Saturday.
Davenport Rolls Past Frostburg State
Davenport completed the September 19 NIRA results with a commanding 58–5 victory over Frostburg State.
Unlike several of Saturday’s other games, detailed verified scoring information was not available at publication time.
Rather than reconstruct a match narrative without sufficient primary-source reporting, RFC is recording the confirmed final result and will update its coverage if additional match details become available.
Davenport 58, Frostburg State 5.
By the Numbers
Princeton’s Start
through three games
combined over the last two games
AIC Takes Control
Game tied
Unanswered
AIC over Navy
Camryn Henderson points for AIC
Lindenwood Stays Perfect
over Southern Nazarene
Around NIRA
What Comes Next
The next round provides an immediate follow-up to several of this weekend’s biggest stories.
Princeton takes its unbeaten start to Frostburg State after scoring 182 unanswered points across its last two matches. The Tigers have gone from a 52–17 opening victory over La Salle to consecutive 91-point performances.
Lindenwood heads to Annapolis for two games, beginning against Navy on Friday before facing Brown on Sunday. It should provide another test for a Lions team that has opened the fall 3–0.
Army travels to LIU after securing its first victory, while La Salle returns home to face Temple.
For AIC, one question has already received an early answer. After moving into Division I following consecutive Division II national championships, the Yellow Jackets opened their new chapter by beating Navy 32–17.
There is plenty of rugby still to come, but three weekends into the fall, the 2026 NIRA season is beginning to take shape.
