It is hard to believe that Allison Reilly might be just the second-best player on the Army women’s lacrosse team.
The senior attacker has scored 189 goals and dished out 162 assists in her four-year career at West Point, earning Patriot League first-team honors twice as well as an honorable mention all-American last season.
The issue, of course, or should we say the opportunity, is that Reilly plays alongside classmate Brigid Duffy, a high-scoring midfielder who is already a first-team all-American and considered by many to be amongst the best players in women’s college lacrosse the last three years.
It was Reilly’s turn to shine Thursday. Reilly scored six goals, including two crucial scores in the fourth quarter, to help the second-seeded Army knock off third-seeded Loyola, 13-11, in a Patriot League semifinal in Annapolis, Md.
The Black Knights (14-3) will play top-seeded Navy (16-1) Saturday at 3 p.m. in Annapolis for the league title. Navy, ranked sixth in national polls, beat Army, the 13th ranked team nationally, 14-8, in early April.
Reilly has been consistent throughout her career. She collected 96 points in her sophomore year, 105 last season and already has 115 point this year, including 47 goals and 68 assists.
“Allie is a playmaker, who does not just score, she is out there dishing out assists all the time too,” said Army coach Michelle Tumolo. “Tonight was one of the best games I have seen her play this season and she has been spectacular all year long. Sometimes, I think she can just score at will and is also a great passer.
“The bottom line is that she is always so focused on the game, completely locked in and has the talent, mind and focus to be a complete player at the very top level of lacrosse. It does not hurt that she also has a killer instinct for the ball.”
Tumolo is quick to add that Reilly and Duffy compliment each other on the field.
“They just know each other so well and I think part of that is that they are really good friends too,” Tumolo said. “They always looking for each other on the field. They are goal scorers and playmakers who have such strong wills to win.”
The Black Knights jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the first quarter before three straight Greyhound goals closed the gap to one, 4-3, early in the second quarter. Army then scored five straight goals and six of the next seven (four by Reilly) to take a 10-4 lead late in the second quarter.
But Loyola scored five straight to close the lead to 10-9 in the third quarter before Reilly scored her two fourth-quarter goals and Duffy added a third to give Army an insurmountable 13-9 lead early in the quarter.
“We started off really hot, but Loyola went into a zone and suddenly our shots were not falling,” added Tumolo. “They came back and I knew it was time for our players to step up. We only scored three goals in the second half, but we managed to come up with the win thanks to some great defense and good goaltending by Lindsey Serafine late in the game.”
As for Navy on Saturday, Tumolo said she is excited for her team to get another shot at the Midshipmen.
“They are one of the best teams in the country, but I felt we did not play our best game against them a few weeks ago,” she said. “I am looking forward to getting another chance at them but we know that if we want to win we must bring our ‘A’ game.”
