League Tournament Bye On The Line Friday Night

WEST POINT, N.Y. - The 20th-ranked Army West Point men's lacrosse team heads to No. 9/11 Loyola for a Friday night tilt on CBS Sports Network with a bye in the Patriot League Tournament on the line at 7 p.m. at Ridley Athletic Complex.

HOW TO FOLLOW
TELEVISION • CBS Sports Network • Channel Finder
RADIO • None
VIDEO • None
LIVE STATISTICS • LoyolaGreyhounds.com
GAME NOTES • Army Notes • Loyola Notes
TWITTER • ArmyWP_MLax

THE OPENING FACEOFF
The Army West Point men's lacrosse team looks to claim the second seed in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament with a visit to Loyola on Friday night for a 7 p.m. faceoff on CBS Sports Network. The Black Knights are in the third spot in the standings, one game behind the Greyhounds. The winner of the showdown under the lights will earn the bye into the league semifinals at Navy on April 29. Loyola jumped ahead of Army in the standings thanks to a late comeback against Boston University with a 7-2 run in the second half to earn a 13-12 victory. Both teams enter Saturday's game ranked in each national poll with the Greyhounds earning a top 10 spot in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA)/Nike National Poll.

LAST TIME OUT
It was another Army-Navy lacrosse classic last Saturday at Michie Stadium. The Mids came out on top in overtime with the 11-10 victory after Casey Rees scored the golden goal. The game featured six ties and six lead changes, and the Black Knights had a chance for the win at the end of regulation, but couldn't get a shot off. Ted Glesener and Nate Jones led the way for Army with three goals each, while AJ Barretto had nine saves between the pipes. The man-up game for the Black Knights was very successful last week. Army was a perfect 3-for-3 with the extra man. Glesener tallied two of the goals and Jones had the other.

THIS WEEK'S STORYLINES
The isn't much more to say then win and you get a bye into the Patriot League Semifinals, but lose and you host a game on Tuesday night in the league quarterfinals. This is Army's third game this season against a ranked team and second-straight contest versus a top 10 squad after facing No. 9/10 Navy at West Point last Saturday. The teams played an epic game last year in the Patriot League quarterfinals with Army storming back with seven goals in the fourth quarter to advance with a 12-11 victory.

WHAT'S UP NEXT?
The Patriot League Tournament is up next for the Black Knights. The semifinals and championship will be hosted by Navy after its win at West Point last Saturday. That is all that is set in stone for Army heading into the weekend as Friday night's result will sort everything out from earning a bye to hosting on Tuesday night.

MILESTONE ALERT
Head coach Joe Alberici is a win away from 100 in his career. He is 99-80 in 12 seasons as a head coach and 91-74 overall with the Black Knights. He has two 10-win seasons under his belt in his career at Army, including last year's 10-7 mark. He has at least eight victories in his last four seasons.

LOOKING AHEAD
Army West Point is 6-10 in Patriot League Tournament games since the playoff format was established in 2004. Having qualified for 12-straight Patriot League Tournaments, the Black Knights own the league's longest active streak for playoff appearances. The Black Knights made their first appearance in the quarterfinals last season against the Greyhounds. Army was the first team to make the championship game as a sixth seed.

STAYING PUT
The Black Knights remained in the national polls this week. Army statyed put at No. 20 in both the Cascade/Maverik Media Poll and the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association National Poll. Army was joined by fellow Patriot League schools Navy and Loyola in the Cascade/Maverik poll. The Mids are at the 11th spot, while Loyola comes in at No. 9. Navy jumped to No. 7 in the USILA/Nike poll, while Loyola came in at No. 11 this week.

MR. JONES
Nate Jones enters Saturday's game with a team-high 32 goals, which is the highest total for a rookie since Garrett Thul '14 had 41 as a rookie during Army's run to the 2010 Patriot League title. He had a season high five goals against Boston University and has tallied at least a hat trick in seven of the 12 games played this season, including three against the Mids on April 16.

JOHNSON ON A ROLL
Cole Johnson has enjoyed his best offensive stretch of his career with 46 points in his last eight games, including seven points at Colgate on March 26. He is currently riding a 32-game point streak, which is the 12th longest stretch in the country. He has 31 goals and 28 assists for 59 points and leads the Black Knights in all three categories. Johnson's 59 points are a career high for a single season. He eclipsed his mark of 53 in 2015 after four points against the Terriers.

HISTORIC SEASON
The 59 points Johnson has this year is tied for 13th on the single season list. He is tied with former two-time First Team All-American Bob Miser '60 and Steve Heller '93. He is looking to chase down John Glesener '15 and his 61 points in 2013, which ranks 11th all-time. Tom Cafaro '71 owns the record with 85 points in 1971. Johnson's 28 helpers ranks in a tie with Miser and Heller for 14th on the list for assists in a single season.

SCOUTING THE GREYHOUNDS
Loyola enters Friday night's game against the Black Knights with a 9-3 overall record and a 6-1 mark in Patriot League play. The Greyhounds sit one spot ahead of Army in the conference standings and are in the running for the second bye in the tournament. They are coming off a pair of one-goal victories against Lehigh and Boston University. Loyola needed comebacks in both games, including a 7-2 run to finish the game against the Terriers last week.

Rookie Pat Spencer has been great for the Greyhounds this season with 52 points on 27 goals and 31 assists. He posted six helpers last week in the win over the Terriers and leads Loyola in all three offensive categories. Brian Sherlock is next on the list in total points with 27 on the year, while Zach Herreweyers isn't putting up huge numbers, but was on the spot for the gamewinner against the Terriers. He has 18 goals and six helpers for 24 points. Graham Savio is the top faceoff specialist with a .513 winning percentage.

In net, Jacob Stover has taken over the starting spot and has started five of his six games played this year. He has a 7.00 goals against average and a .589 save percentage. He took over for Grant Limone, who has started seven games.

SERIES HISTORY
This will be the fifth meeting between Loyola and Army since the first meeting back in 1943. It is the fourth meeting as members of the Patriot League. The series is tied at 2-2 with the Greyhounds leading in conference matchups at 2-0. Army has the lone win in the postseason between these two teams and that was last year's come-from-behind win in the quarterfinals of the Patriot League Tournament.

League Tournament Bye On The Line Friday Night

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Players Mentioned

AJ Barretto

John Glesener

Ted Glesener

Cole Johnson

Nate Jones

Army West Point Athletics