Army Lacrosse finally dropped a game on the road against Boston University last Friday night. They only really played one truly bad quarter, but in that time, they fell behind 4-0, and though they scored twice right before the first period ended, they still never quite got all the way back into the game.

Friends, the Army Team lost in frustrating fashion. They created plenty of turnovers on defense but struggled to clear against BU’s ten man ride. Worse, when they did break that ride, they tended to miss shots against both an open net and from right in front of the goal mouth. BU’s goalie played well, but Army also played sloppily. The Black Knights missed passes, creating myriad unforced errors, and as talented as this team can be, they still weren’t quite good enough to overcome that terrible first quarter. Not against an experienced, veteran team that started the season ranked 18th in the nation.

What Will One Bad Quarter Mean?

We talked about this on the Army Football Show a few weeks ago. What this loss means largely depends on how the rest of the season plays out. Consistency is tough. We’ve been saying it all season. There’s a reason why the #1 team in the nation has lost five times in the last six weeks. Even so, the Black Knights have now used up whatever cushion they might once have had.

Bottom line: Army needs to win the Patriot League. 

This is true now. It’s always been true. 

If Army wins the Patriot League, then the loss to BU won’t mean much. They’ll qualify for the NCAA Tournament with an automatic bid. This has always been the team’s primary goal. But even if they can’t win the League, if they can win out the rest of the regular season, they’ll still likely make the NCAA Tournament. And again, this one loss won’t mean a whole lot.

The problems start if Army drops another game, and they can’t win the Patriot League, especially if they drop the Army-Navy Game. With two losses, the Black Knights will probably find themselves on the bubble. Maybe they get in, maybe they don’t. A lot depends on how the rest of college lacrosse plays out over the course of the rest of the season. It’s worth noting that the Selection Committee seems to put an outsized emphasis on Army-Navy, so whatever shot this team has of an at-large bid absolutely requires winning the Star. More to the point, if the Black Knights lose two more games, then they’ll 100% need to win the Patriot League if they want a shot at the Tournament.

So what will one bad quarter mean?

Ask me after Army-Navy.

Everything we want is still in front of us. pic.twitter.com/ln4JrJteSP

— Army Men's Lacrosse (@ArmyWP_MLax) March 25, 2024

Beat the Tar Heels!

UNC is 6-3 overall but just 1-3 at home, which is crazy. They started the year by beating Mercer and Fairfield — badly — but then they dropped two games in a row to Johns Hopkins, 13-9, and Princeton, 15-9. The Tar Heels then rebounded with good-looking wins against UPenn, Hofstra, Wagner, and Stony Brook before dropping their game last week to High Point, 12-11, off what can only be called a fourth quarter collapse. 

The Tar Heels started on a 5-1 run last week with goals from five different players, and they played even lacrosse after that through the game’s first three periods. Alas, they somehow allowed six unanswered in the final quarter and dropped what must’ve been a truly heartbreaking loss to an otherwise unassuming opponent.

Notably, UNC’s faceoff unit has won 65.1% of their starts despite using two different players in high-leverage situations. They’ve also successfully cleared 91.5% of their defensive stops. However, they’ve scored on just 47.1% of their man-up opportunities, which is truly surprising given the number of goal-scorers the team has overall. There’s definitely not one go-to guy when this team is on offense.

Goalkeeper Collin Krieg has made 77 saves this season (9.1/game), saving an average of 51.7% of the shots-on-goal that he’s seen. However, he hasn’t been particularly consistent. He made just 8 saves last week against High Point for a 40% average, and it looks like they pulled him against Princeton when he got pummeled relentlessly through that game’s first half.

Maybe there’s an opportunity there. Certainly, the Black Knights have seen more than their fair share of goalies who can stand on their heads of late.

Join us tomorrow at Dorrance Field for 𝑴𝒊𝒍𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒚 𝑨𝒑𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝑫𝒂𝒚!

Make sure to be in your seats early to enjoy all the pregame festivities!#FamilyAcademicsLacrossehttps://t.co/DT2n6aygEn

— UNC Men's Lacrosse (@UNCMensLacrosse) March 29, 2024

Final Thoughts

This looks like a very tough match-up against a team that can manage possessions at least as well as the Black Knights, and who can also get offensive production from a wide variety of attackers. That makes this a strength-on-strength match-up. Unfortunately, Army now needs this game in the same way that they need to breathe. 

They’d better make the most of their offensive opportunities.

The good news is that the Black Knights are on spring break this week, which means that for once they’ll play without the associated stress of being at West Point. Speaking personally, that always made a big difference for me, and if we look at the football team’s performance in bowl games, I’d have to say that it looks like not a lot has changed over the years. So whatever these Black Knights can do, we ought to really see them at their best this weekend.

Thank you to our DC Area Alumni who joined us last night for dinner as we made a stop in Bethesda, MD on our way down to UNC for Spring Break. Forever grateful for the foundation built by the men who came before us. #FamilyToughnessTradition #NOW pic.twitter.com/smo3ElBbgl

— Army Men's Lacrosse (@ArmyWP_MLax) March 27, 2024

We ought to get good weather, too. The current forecast calls for temperatures in the mid-70s under partly cloudy skies. Sounds pretty good!

The ACC Network has coverage. Faceoff goes at noon.

Go Army! Beat North Carolina!!!

Cover image via Army West Point Lacrosse on Facebook.