Coming off its worst loss of the season, Army Men’s Lacrosse heads into both Senior Day and their regular season finale tomorrow at home against Colgate.  The team is badly in need of a little momentum.  The Men went down 9-4 in Annapolis on by far their worst performance of the season this past weekend.  The defense played well, especially early, but after not seeing Navy for two full years, the team as a whole looked unnerved in the moment, both by the scope of the game and by the presence of the now-unfamiliar crowd.  

The game itself proved eerily similar to Army Football’s game at Tulane this past season.  Looking at the overall stats, we can only ask, “How did Army lose to these guys?” But with mistakes compounding one another early, the game itself became a slow-rolling disaster.  Once desperation set in, things got really out of hand.  Maybe the Black Knights were due for a letdown game, but having that game at Navy proved incredibly frustrating.

 

Colgate & the Patriot League Tournament

The Colgate Red Raiders are 2-5 overall, 2-3 in the Patriot League-North.  With that record, this team is not a threat to knock Army out of the Patriot League Tournament, nor should they really threaten the Black Knights on the field.  However, they’ve played the Black Knights tough in recent years, and anyway, this Army squad is suddenly in desperate need of a spark, especially on offense.  

Star Attacker Brendan Nichtern has looked sluggish now in two of his last three games.  He and the rest of the offense need to get that sorted immediately.  After Friday, Army will be in playoff mode throughout whatever remains of this season.  The loss to Navy means that Army must win the Patriot League to be assured a spot in the NCAA Tournament.  An at-large bid remains possible, perhaps, but it’s suddenly become rather more unlikely.

As the winners of the North Division, the Black Knights will play the winners of the Patriot League-South Quarterfinal on Friday, May 7th, at 7 pm.  The tournament will be held at Lehigh, and friends, there is a good chance that we’ll see Navy again.  It’s either gonna be them or Loyola, and frankly, the Mids have looked like the better team down the stretch.

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Our Senior Day game against Colgate originally scheduled for May 1, has been moved up to this Friday, April 30, at 2 PM at Michie Stadium. #GoArmy | #FamilyToughnessTradition pic.twitter.com/LhxG5KUSpn

— Army M.Lacrosse (@ArmyWP_MLax) April 25, 2021

 

Army’s Women Blast Bucknell

The Army Women finished the regular season strong, blasting Bucknell, 19-8.  In fact, despite their shaky start, the Women find themselves in exactly the place as the Men, atop the Patriot League-North and awaiting the winner of next week’s South quarterfinals.  The Women will face Lehigh or Navy, either of which will be a tough draw.  Still, the Women have improved every week and could win this thing as easily as the Men.  They just have to keep playing their best every time they hit the field.

Meanwhile, Army’s Men need to get right.  That starts Friday at home against Colgate.

Dominated at home yesterday ?#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/CMxsrQWqqq

— Army W.Lacrosse (@ArmyWP_WLax) April 25, 2021

Go Army!  Beat Colgate!!!

 * Editor’s Note: Donna Tamasitis is the official photographer for Army Men’s Lax.  If you like Army Lacrosse, follow her for much, much more.