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Army's Fast Start Leads to Fourth Straight Win

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The No. 7/8 Army West Point men’s lacrosse team jumped on Holy Cross from the opening whistle and downed the Crusaders, 13-3, at Michie Stadium in Patriot League action on Saturday afternoon.



Army (4-1, 3-0 Patriot League) had a 10-1 lead at halftime thanks to eight-straight goals over a 21-minute stretch to expand the advantage. Brendan Nichtern had a game-high six points on a goal and five assists, while Bobby Abshire tallied a hat trick to help the Black Knights to victory.



In all, Army had nine different goal scorers on the day and in net Wyatt Schupler earned the win with nine stops. Stevie Grabher was dominant at the faceoff, winning 14-of-18 draws on the day.



“I was concerned for us being away for three weeks,” head coach Joe Alberici said. “We tried to prepare for the last eight days with scrimmaging to have us ready. But I don’t think I could’ve anticipated a 6-1 start at the beginning of the first quarter and 10-1 at halftime. A lot of credit to our guys and our leadership.”



The Black Knights came out firing with Abshire and Grabher finding the net in the first 1:05 of the game and Army was off and running.



Army ended up scoring 10 unanswered and held the Crusaders scoreless for over 42 minutes of game action to build up a 12-1 advantage into the fourth quarter.



In addition to Abshire’s hat trick, Nickolas Edinger and and Bailey O’Connor added two goals each and Aidan Byrnes had a pair of assists for a multi-point game.


The Black Knights earned a 24-18 ground ball edge and the defense for Army was up for the task holding the Crusaders scoreless on seven man-up opportunities.



“Defensively, I thought we really put a strangle-hold on them and why we were up for the task today,” Alberici said.



Army hits the road next Saturday for a huge matchup at Lehigh at 1 p.m. The Mountain Hawks are 3-0 heading into it’s game on Sunday at Colgate.



HIGHLIGHTS & NOTES:

Army returned to action for the first time since March 6.
The 10 goals in the first half tied a season high for a half with the other coming at Syracuse.
The Black Knights are currently on a four-game winning streak.
The one goal allowed in the first half was a season low allowed for Army.
The winning margin of 10 goals was a season high and the three goals allowed was a season low for Army’s opponents.
The five assists by Nichtern were a season-high and he has at least five points in all five games played this season.
Abshire now had multi-goal games in his last four games.
Bailey O’Connor scored his first two goals of his Army career in the win.

Grabher has now won double-digit faceoffs in three games this season.