Service Academy Lax Goes 5-0 This Weekend

Navy Men

Navy Lacrosse hosted the UMBC Golden Retrievers on Friday night at Navy Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Mids easily handled UMBC on the way to their 800th victory in program history. Navy is only the 4th team to achieve this prestigious milestone.

The final score read 11-6, but the Mids had the match well in hand by halftime. After allowing 3 goals in the first quarter, the stout Navy defense and keeper Ryan Kern only allowed three more over the next three quarters, including a 4th quarter shutout. Kern had a save percentage of .700 on the evening. Kern also recorded the first assist for a Navy Keeper since a 2009 assist by Navy great Tommy Phelan against Duke in the NCAA tournament.

The real star of the show was sophomore attackman Christian Daniel who had a spectacular night as well. He scored 5 goals, collected 4 groundballs, forced 2 turnovers, and provided 1 assist. Ryan Wade was the only other mid to score multiple goals with 2, and he also provided 1 assist.

The Mids also won the ground ball battle and edged out UMBC 40-29; Navy more than doubled up UMBC for ground balls 27-11 in the second half.

Navy is off to a 2-0 start this season, but the road starts to get really tough next weekend. The Mids play host to the #3 Maryland Terrapins who are also undefeated this year. Navy hasn’t defeated Maryland since 2009 so Greyson Torain and company will have their work cut out for them.

Navy Women

Navy Lacrosse hosted Saint Josephs on Sunday and won in a battle to the end.

Navy went into the half with the lead, but the visiting hawks scored 6 of the first 7 goals in the second half. The Mids went on to score the final 5 goals of the game, over a 2 and a half-minute span to seal the victory 12-11.

Kayla Harris and Annalise Heyward had banner days for the Mids. Heyward scored 4 goals and provided 2 assists; while Harris put 3 in the back of the net as well. The Duo teamed up to score 4 of the Mids final five goals, with Heyward scoring three times and Harris sealing the deal to put the Mids ahead for good.

The Mids will be back in action against Towson next Saturday in Annapolis.

Army Men

Army pulled off the most impressive victory of the week for service academy lacrosse.

The Black Knights traveled to New Jersey to face #8 Rutgers. This is the second week in a row Army has defeated a ranked opponent, indicating the Black Knights are gearing up to make an impressive run this season.

Army took a one-goal lead into halftime, and they were able to keep pace with the Scarlet Knights through the third and fourth quarters in order to hang on for the 1 goal decision.

Brendan Nichtern was the main effort in this one, as the Freshman attackman scored 3 goals, including the decisive one, and also provided an assist.

AJ Barretto had a big day in between the pipes as well, delivering 13 saves, including 8 in the second half.

The next game against Marist is a quick turn for Army. The Red Foxes will travel to West Point for Army’s home opener at Michie Stadium on Tuesday.

Army Women

Army Women’s Lacrosse absolutely dominated the Hartford Hawks by a score of 22-5 on Saturday. The Black Knights scored more goals in the first 8 minutes of the game than the Hawks would score the entire contest. The 17-point margin of victory is the largest in program history, and led to Army’s 3rd straight win, the best start for the program in its short history as well.

Junior midfielder Samantha Stewart had quite the performance scoring 4 goals on just 5 shots. Sophomore midfielder Jackie Brattan was close behind with a hat trick of her own. 12 other Black Knights scored at least one goal.

Army will go on the road to face Siena on Wednesday.

Air Force

Air Force defeated Marist 12-6 in their home opener this weekend.

Junior attackman Trey Lervick led the Falcons with 4 goals on the day. Matthew Schwartz and Quincy Peene contributed 2 goals apiece as well; another 4 other Falcons also contributed goals. Sophomore keeper Brenden Host tallied 6 saves on the afternoon as well.

The Falcons’ next matchup will be in the Denver Face Off Classic next weekend. Air Force will take on Cleveland State and Utah, on Saturday and Sunday respectively.