Keelhaulers battled versus Army West Point

Cal Maritime held their own in a 27-13 loss against the Black Knights of Army, and honored their seniors before the final regular season game of 2018.

The Keelhaulers gave special acknowledgments to Joseph Belman, Shane Bracken, John Bulaich, Sean Carroll, Jonathan DiBacco, C.J. Ferrigno, Ricky Munoz, and Robert Yang, on Senior Night -- group that features several players with NSCRO Final Four experience.

"Senior night is always a bitter sweet moment," Head Coach Steve Hiatt said. "It's awesome to see these mature young men ready to graduate and launch themselves into rewarding careers, but its bittersweet seeing these important members of our team playing their last games with us."

Army methodically built a 10-0 lead to start the game. The Keelhaulers threatened around the 20-minute mark of the first half, but loss possession just short of a try. Cal Maritime played some of their tightest and most spirited defense of the season on Tuesday night, even handling Army's rolling maul.

The Keelhaulers again threatened, and while they couldn't punch it in for a try, they kept the Black Nights pinned on their side of the field for a good 10 minutes. But Army broke out with a long run at the 10-and-a-half-minute mark of the first half to get within closer striking distance.

Cal Maritime put up a good fight to prevent the try after the long run, before Army eventually punched it in with just over seven minutes to go in the half, and it was 17-0 Army after the conversion.

The Keelhaulers, currently ranked 9th in the country by the NSCRO, elected to try for three on a penalty kick with 1:42 remaining in the half, an a Michael Mukuru-Tumusiime attempt was right down the middle to get Cal Maritime on the board.

The Keelhaulers instantly made some noise right out of the gate to start the second half. Bracken broke through the right side just two minutes into the second half for a score that made it a 22-8 game. Later Cal Maritime would get a long run by Carter Maltese but were unable to sustain the possession and momentum.

However, Bulaich broke through the left side with five minutes left to make it 27-13, as the former Final Four MVP capped the scoring for the Keelhaulers in the regular season. Coach Hiatt felt his program gained a lot after experiencing this match.

"Army came out big and fast as expected," Hiatt said. "It's always a good learning experience for our small school to play D-1 teams and face faster, bigger competition. It was an honor to host Army at our campus, and it was fun to see cadets socializing with cadets at the post-match meal."

UP NEXT: The Keelhaulers await their match up and kickoff time for the playoffs which begin March 24-25 at home at Bodnar Field. Check back oat the Keelhaulers schedule page or follow us on twitter, facebook or instagram for updates on times.