The Army women’s lacrosse team has a golden opportunity to make a larger name for themselves starting Friday, when the Black Knights take on the University of Pennsylvania in the NCAA tournament’s first round.
The big question is whether Army, ranked 20th in national polls, will take on the No. 14 ranked Quakers with the services of junior Brigid Duffy, the team’s leading scorer. Duffy, who was named a first-team all-American by USA Lacrosse Thursday, was injured in the first half of the Black Knights’ 18-9 loss to Navy in the Patriot League semifinals last week.
Army coach Michelle Tumolo said, as of Thursday, that she was hopeful but unsure whether Duffy, who has 62 goals and 21 assists this season, would be able to play in the game Friday at 3 p.m. from College Park, Md.
Army, finished the regular season with a 12-2 record (8-1 in the Patriot League) before losing to Navy in the semifinals. But, the NCAA tournament committee gave the team a second life, picking the Black Knights as an at-large team for the 29-team national playoff.
“We are so excited,” said Tumolo. “We didn’t care where we were put in the bracket, we just wanted a chance to compete. We had a good feeling about it and I am really happy to have another week with this team.”
The Black Knights will play a Penn team that finished in third place in the Ivy League with a 5-2 league record and an overall 10-6 record for the season. The Quakers’ biggest wins of the year came against Loyola (Md.), the Patriot League regular season champion, which also got into the NCAA tournament, and Maryland from the Atlantic Coast Conference.
The Quakers lost to No. 4 ranked Florida by just one goal, 13-12, in late March.
“We’re really pumped to play Penn,” said Tumolo. “I’ve watched a ton of their games this year just because I think they are a great team. It will be a good test for us. They are well coached and have history in the tournament, so we are excited to have a shot at them.”
Army coaches are hoping that the team’s deep offensive lineup will make up for Duffy if she is unable to play. Junior Allison Reilly scored 59 goals and had a team-leading 41 assists this year. Senior midfielder Gabrielle Mirak had 24 goals, and junior Chloe Garrett and sophomore Ryan Remaly each had 18 goals for the Black Knights. Junior Lily Valentini (17 goals) and sophomore Geneva Milch Cesoni (15 goals) add more depth to the Army attack.
Junior goalie Lindsey Serafine made 121 saves for Army during the season, a respectable 45 percent save rate.
Army’s big wins this season were a 12-9 victory over No. 9 Stanford in late March and a 17-12 victory over No. 15 Navy in April.
Penn will be led by Anna Brandt, who scored a team-high 57 goals for the Quakers. She will get a lot of help from Keely Block (34 goals) and Catherine Berkery (33 goals), as well as Erika Chung, who had a team-high 49 assists.
