Timing is everything and with the weather warming up and postseason tournaments right around the corner, Army senior goalie and all-American Sean Byrne really likes what he is seeing from his team.
In front of a record-breaking Michie Stadium crowd of 15,156, the Black Knights played a picture-perfect game on a picture-perfect day against archrival Navy. Utilizing impressive ball control, accurate shots and a stifling defense, anchored by Byrne’s 13 saves in the net, Army defeated the Midshipmen, 14-9, in a crucial Patriot League game.
The Black Knights simply played their best game of the year, and possibly their best game in recent years, to overwhelm a good Navy team and position themselves to gain a crucial bye and possibly the right to host the semifinal and final rounds of the Patriot League postseason tournament early next month.
Notching its fourth straight victory over Navy, dating back to the 2023 season, No-15-ranked Army improved to 9-3 overall and 4-2 in the league with two games left, while the Middies dropped to 7-5 over and 3-3 in Patriot League play.
“I think we are catching fire at the right time and everybody is starting to really contribute the best they can,” said Byrne, who was named an all-American last season and again, midway through the current campaign. “I think it was an all-around team effort. Everybody came together and played their best when we really needed it the most. I am really happy for our guys and for everyone who contributed.
There is little doubt that the crowd, the largest across college lacrosse this season, helped bring out the best in the Black Knights. Frankly, it seemed that everyone, from starters to substitutes, contributed to the win.
Besides Byrne being his usual confident and steady self, the defense led by senior John Sullivan, kept the Middies, who came into the game averaging nearly 14 goals a game, away from the net. In fact, the Black Knights held Navy to just one goal from midway through the first quarter to very late in the third quarter to break open a 3-3 game and give Army an insurmountable 11-4 lead.
“I am just grateful to be a part of this team,” added Byrne. “Hats off to the defense and the guys who are in front of me. They gave me everything I needed to do and sometimes, when things go south, I have got to be able to return the favor for everything they have done for me.”
Offensively, the Plunkett brothers accounted for 11 points, with senior co-captain midfielder Evan scoring two goals and adding three assists and sophomore attacker Hill scoring four goals and adding one assist.
“It is really great for me,” said Evan Plunkett. “(Playing with my brother) is one of the best parts of being at this school and one of the greatest things is I am playing at the next level (of competition) with my brother.”
Sophomore attacker Brayden Fountain scored three goals and sophomore attacker Aidan Weisenborn had two goals for Army. Senior attacker Gunnar Fellows and freshman attacker Gus Bell each scored once for the Black Knights.
Army even dominated the faceoff X, a position where they have had some difficulty earlier in the season, particularly through a three-game losing streak in March. Junior Robert Simone won 14 of 23 faceoffs he took at the X against his Navy counterparts who entered the game winning about 55 percent of their faceoffs.
“I thought right from the opening whistle we were very competitive and felt like we played very free,” said Army coach Joe Alberici. “We talked all week about mind over emotion and the guys were able to execute that and do what needed to happen. From an offensive perspective, we were really good with late clock (goals). I bet you there were six or seven goals scored in the last 20 seconds of the shot clock. That is huge because you are making them play more D and also giving our own defense a break.”
Army’s defensive effort also impressed Alberici.
“I thought our defense did a terrific job and when you are talking defense it is a 10-man defense,” Alberici said. “That means ball control and ball security and our guys were exceptional at that. It means being outstanding at the faceoff X and Robert Simone did a terrific job and we were great at the goal as usual as Sean gave us the game we needed. John Sullivan was great, too. There were not many easy goals out there for them.”
As important as it was for Army to win the Star game against Navy, the victory positions the Black Knights to control their own destiny in terms of the upcoming six-team Patriot League tournament, where the winner gets an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament in mid-May.
Victories at first-place Loyola (6-4 overall, 5-1 in league play) next Saturday and Colgate at home on April 24 will guarantee Army a first or second place finish and a first round bye in the Patriot League tournament. Two wins and a Boston University loss would give Army the regular season title and the right to host the semifinal and final rounds of the tournament.
“We went through a tough stretch there, but this was the third straight game where we scored 14 goals, all in league,” added Alberici. “I feel really good about that part of it. We are starting from zero on Saturday. We don’t get any bonus points because we played well today. We are counting on our senior class (against Loyola) because as much as I was riding them to get over those losses, now I need them even more to get them to help the team focus on the rest of the season.”
