Everybody knows all about Brigid Duffy and Allison Reilly, the Army women’s lacrosse team’s two powerhouse offensive juggernauts for the last three years.
You may want to also start paying more attention to their classmate Lily Valentini. The senior attacker and co-captain scored five goals and added two assists Friday night to help the Black Knights knock off host Rutgers, 19-14 in both team’s season opener.
Played indoors at the Hale Center in Piscataway, N.J., because of the cold weather, Rutgers jumped out to a 5-2 lead early in the second quarter. But five consecutive goals by Army, including two each from Valentini and and Ryan Remaly, gave Army a 7-5 lead.
After Rutgers scored three straight to retake the lead, Army scored five straight goals, to take a 12-8 lead midway through the third quarter.
“It was an awesome day for Lily Valentini,” said fifth-year Army coach Michelle Tumolo. “That’s exactly what we needed from our captain. She was extremely relentless out there and put the ball away when we needed it most. She was very dynamic, scoring in different ways each time. We’re so proud of the day she had. She was our game changer.”
Of course, Duffy and Reilly were up to their unusual tricks and remain the backbone of this team. Duffy scored five goals and had one assist and Reilly had three goals and had two assists. Remaly, a junior who is also being counted on to add more offense to the Army team, finished with four goals. Highly-touted freshman Thais Jackson had two goals in her college debut.
“I think Rutgers took the first punch and we had to get settled a bit slower than anticipated,” added Tumolo. “They are a great, aggressive team so we handled it well and played a full 60 minutes.
Tumolo earned her 50th career win, becoming the first coach in program history to reach the mark.
“It’s always great to start your season off with a win against a great opponent,” Tumolo said. “This gives us confidence and also makes us better as we were challenged in many different ways. I’m proud of our team and the full 60-minute fight we gave.”
