It was Homecoming weekend for Army lacrosse’s “Georgia Connection”, who essentially put on a clinic for their friends and neighbors in the Peach State Saturday.
Facing Michigan at a neutral site at Morehouse College in Atlanta, the four Georgians, senior goalie Sean Byrne, senior Evan Plunkett, sophomore Hill Plunkett, and sophomore Brayden Fountain were able to return home as conquering heroes.
While Byrne was simply outstanding in net, stopping 15 shots, the other three combined for six goals and seven assists to help the Black Knights defeat the Wolverines in only their second meeting ever, 13-11. The victory moved Army, ranked 11th in the nation, to 4-0 on the season, while Michigan fell to 3-2.
Most impressive was the fact that at least one of the homegrown Georgia offensive players had a goal or an assist in Army’s last seven scores of the game as the Black Knights fought back from 7-5 halftime deficit and an 8-5 shortfall early in the third quarter. On the day, Fountain scored three goals and had one assist and the Plunkett brothers each scored once and dished off three assists.
“It was a blessing to have this opportunity,” said Evan Plunkett, who said that he and Hill grew up in Roswell, about 25 miles from the site of Saturday’s game. “It was great to play in the warm weather and to get out on the road. Plus, there were so many people there that were friends and teammates from my past. It just made it that much more exciting for all of us.”
Byrne and Fountain grew up in Acworth, Ga., about 35 miles from Atlanta and also went to the same high school.
As usual, this was a team victory for the Black Knights and as usual Army came out gunning in the second half. Gunnar Fellows was again lethal on the attack, scoring four goals. The defense also played a major role, with John Sullivan hounding the Wolverine attack all day and Tommy Stines grabbing a key groundball late in the game to ensure the victory.
As important as any victory is, defeating the second Big 10 team in three weeks (The Black Knights beat Rutgers on Feb. 7) can only enhance Army’s resume come NCAA tournament time. Army faces Mercer from the Atlantic Sun Conference Monday and travels to No. 4-ranked North Carolina from the ACC on March 21 to complete its six-game non-league schedule. The Black Knights embark on their Patriot League schedule Saturday, hosting Holy Cross starting at noon.
While noting that the focus is now on beating Mercer on Monday, Plunkett said “a new season starts next weekend with the Patriot League games. We intend to hit the ground running and we are all very excited about what lies ahead.”
