When it absolutely needed it, a struggling and weary Army men’s lacrosse defense rose to the occasion, stopping any chance of a last-second goal by Navy and forcing overtime in a key Patriot League game.
Then, with just about everyone in attendance holding onto their seats, senior Jackson Eicher scored a goal with just less than one minute left in the first overtime to give No. 5 Army a 12-11 victory over an upset-minded Navy.
“When it mattered most, we dug in and stopped them,” said junior short stick defensive midfielder CJ Monturio. “The guys have complete faith in themselves. I think the key to the success of our defense all year is the fact that we believe in ourselves and the guys to our left and right to do what needs to be done to win the game. That happened again today and we came out with a win.”
The victory moved the Black Knights to 10-1 on the season. More importantly, Army took over sole possession of first place in the Patriot League at 5-1 with Boston University losing to Lafayette earlier in the day. With two league games left, the team that finishes in first place in the regular season gets a first-round bye in the league’s postseason playoff and hosts the tournament’s semifinal and championship rounds with the winner getting an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament in May.
“This was a great win for us,” said Army coach Joe Alberici. “Yes, we have played better this season, but it was a gutty win for us and I am really proud of the guys for the way they persevered. I have coached a lot of Army-Navy games and they are always hard to predict and things happen in this game that don’t happen in other games.”
To be certain, this was a game of spurts. Navy rushed out to a 4-2 lead midway through the second quarter, but two goals by Finn McCullough, the last with less than a second left on the clock before halftime, tied the score at four at the break. The Black Knights scored the first three goals of the third period to lead 7-5.
After taking an 8-5 lead on an unassisted goal by freshman Brayden Fountain, the Black Knights gave up four straight goals, and six of seven to Navy, allowing the Midshipmen to take a 11-9 lead with just five minutes left in regulation.
But junior Evan Plunkett, the Black Knights all-American midfielder, found net twice in less than one minute in the waning moments of the fourth quarter to knot the score at 11-11.
Navy won the ensuing faceoff and the Middies probed the heralded Army defense, which entered the game averaging just six goals against per contest, during the last 85 seconds of regulation for an opening to no avail, forcing overtime.
Each team had a chance in overtime to win the game, but it took Eicher’s shot from about 12 feet out to clinch the win for the Black Knights.
Frankly, the game would not have been this close if not for the great play of Navy goalie Dan Daly, who stopped 15 of the Black Knights 27 shots on goal in the game. Army took a total of 48 shots compared to Navy’s 28 and the Black Knights won the ground ball battle, 39-29. Army also dominated the faceoff X, winning 18 of 25 faceoffs there.
“In the end, the team came through, from Evan’s two goals in the fourth quarter to Jackson’s huge play to score the winning goal and Finn McCullough’s two key goals in the second quarter,” Alberici said. “If you look at the stats, you would really question how this was just a one-goal game, but we did not shoot very well, had a few failed clears and their goalie had an outstanding game. With Navy in our offensive zone so often, our defense was also tired and made some uncharacteristic mistakes and we dug ourselves a hole.
“But we have a lot to be proud of and the bottom line is that we got that win. It was a special day and one that the Army lacrosse family will hold onto for a long time.”
Eicher, who now leads Army with 38 goals this season, and Plunkett each scored three times for the Black Knights. Sophomore Gunnar Fellows scored twice for Army, which faces Bucknell on Saturday at Michie Stadium starting at noon.
