Well Army fans, wins were the name of the game this week for both the Men’s and the Women’s teams. Both teams now sit comfortably in the vicinity of the 13th spot in all major polls with plenty of room for growth on the horizon.
The Women will try to continue their dominance this weekend with a game against Patriot League opponent Colgate. Of note, the Women are one of only three undefeated teams left in the Top 25 nationally.
Army's offense has been on another level this season 🔋
— Army Women's Lacrosse (@ArmyWP_WLax) March 21, 2023
16.75 goals per game ➡️ 3rd in NCAA
7.50 average scoring margin ➡️ 3rd in NCAA
35.75 shots per game ➡️ 4th in NCAA#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/LdiOTsrWYG
Rookie of the Week! Brigid Duffy claims her fourth weekly honor this season from the Patriot League after scoring eight times this past week against Siena and Holy Cross 👏
— Army Women's Lacrosse (@ArmyWP_WLax) March 20, 2023
Her 31 goals currently ranks eighth in the country.
📰 https://t.co/fW9NOia9am#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/qtVrkLVKkg
One player to watch for the Women is plebe Brigid Duffy, arguably the best two-sport athlete the Academy has produced since Rush LB/Thrower Kenneth Brinson terrorized both opposing D-Lines and Patriot League Throwers as a member of the Army Track & Field Team. Duffy has seen a similar level of athletic success, first as a standout on the Women’s Soccer team and now with more than 40 points for Army Lax with plenty of games left to go.
Can Duffy also get into Medical School?
We’re keeping an eye on this one, friends.
The Men take on the Loyola Greyhounds this weekend at Michie Stadium. The game will mark back-to-back weekends against teams in the final four from last year’s Patriot League Tournament. This is a HUGE game that may very well determine who will host the Tournament itself. Army needs a win to stay on point and put itself firmly in contention for the Tournament’s top seed.
ARMY WWWWWWINS!!!
— Army Men's Lacrosse (@ArmyWP_MLax) March 18, 2023
That's six wins in a row and Army's first at Lehigh since 2017!#GoArmy | #FamilyToughnessTradition pic.twitter.com/4qBOXeDNE4
Greyhounds Starting and Stopping
To date, this has been an up-and-down season for the Greyhounds. They started with an emphatic win over defending national champion Maryland, followed by wins against perennial standouts Johns Hopkins and Towson. They also own a pair of close victories over Patriot League foes Bucknell and Lafayette. However, they’ve also dropped two losses, to Rutgers and then to Duke in a game that got away from them.
Regardless, the Greyhounds have a very good team with an extremely high ceiling. The Black Knights will need their best stuff against a Loyola team that will surely be ready for them.
Matthew Minicus scored five of his seven goals in the second half, including a stretch of four-consecutive @LoyolaMLAX goals, in a 14-13 road victory for the Greyhounds at Bucknell.https://t.co/QVdAWnLdwV#gohounds | #patriotmlax | @Patriot_Gameday
— Loyola Greyhounds (@LoyolaHounds) March 18, 2023
Army Observation Report
Army has been consistent so far this season. They play close opening halves, make halftime adjustments, and then come out hot with emphatic third quarters. Against Lehigh, the Black Knights got down by two heading into the break but then came back and rattled off a 4-0 run in the third to put the game away.
Those consistent second halves have been key. However, this team is eventually going to have to find a way to play more effectively in the first half. With the team playing on their home turf this weekend, this is an excellent time for these guys to show that they can open it up for four full quarters of Army offense.
FOGO Will Colleti’s battle with Mikey Sisselberger did not disappoint. Although the Sisselberger came out on top overall, he earned very few clean wins. Instead, the Black Knights were able to make sure that they contested every draw until the very end. Muddying the faceoff game and bringing in hard play from the wings meant that Sisselberger was rarely able to transition to a fast break attack. Add in a couple of penalties that held over into succeeding periods, and the Black Knights overall did a very nice job preventing Lehigh from controlling possession over the course of the game. In fact, Army actually managed to stay on offense throughout most of the second half.
Colletti’s next big faceoff battle will come against Colgate in a couple weeks. Look for a potential breakout performance.
One last observation: Army’s ride has become something to behold. At this point, the early season jitters are gone. Team should be consistent with their clearing efforts. We haven’t seen that, though, because the Black Knights’s ride has been so menacing. They are creating opportunities and getting turnovers right when the other teams think they might get a breather on defense, and it’s backbreaking.
Between Coletti’s faceoff wins and Army’s ride, the Black Knights have done an absolutely amazing job controlling games and maintaining possession in the offensive end. That needs to continue this week.
Join us for a postgame autograph session following our game at noon this Saturday against Loyola!
— Army Men's Lacrosse (@ArmyWP_MLax) March 20, 2023
🎟️ https://t.co/SmSVtNZBcv#GoArmy pic.twitter.com/cEEfctHvYT
Beat Loyola!
Loyola is a well-coached team and a perennial Top 20 finisher nationally. Friends, they’ve been at the top of the Patriot League for a good, long time now.
A win this weekend will not only set Army up to potentially host the Patriot League Tournament, it will also give the team some much-needed street cred via the Ratings Percentage Index (RPI). Lax is one of those sports where blue blood reputation and the “eye test” count for a lot, meaning that if Army wants to maximize its chances of getting an invite to the NCAA Tournament, they really need a little help from the RPI. They’re not going to get the benefit of the doubt from voters with an interest in the status quo.
Moreover, without Syracuse on their schedule this year, the Black Knights really only have two marquee out-of-conference games this year — Rutgers and Cornell. A win against Loyola will provide a rare in-conference RPI boost. This is not to say that this weekend’s game is an absolute must-win, BUT we all remember when Army got jobbed in 2017 despite beating then #4 Notre Dame at Michie Stadium a week before Tournament selection.
As For Football certainly remembers. We know the deal.
ARMY WINS!!!! pic.twitter.com/6NmxzOhxSY
— Army Men's Lacrosse (@ArmyWP_MLax) May 6, 2017
So. Army needs to come out firing this week. Playing at home needs to be a huge advantage. Hopefully a little home cooking and some old-fashioned fan support will allow Army to get more comfortable quickly and drop the hammer down the stretch. Tickets to this weekend’s double-header are just $12!
Loyola will bend but not break. The final score will be close, and no matter what else happens, we’ll see a lot of fight from both teams. But this is absolute a game that the Black Knights can win.
Go Army! Beat Loyola!!!
Cover image via Army West Point Lacrosse on Facebook.
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