Army West Point Athletics
This Week In Army Athletics
August 29, 2013 | General
Aug 29, 2013
Dear Friends,
Another exciting year of Army Athletics is here! We hope you had a great summer, and are excited as we are about the 2013-14 season. We achieved our highest winning percentage in eight years last season, and we are primed for even greater success this year.
In early July, we welcomed the Class of 2017 to West Point, and once again it is a terrific crop of young men and women with the potential to do great things on and off the athletic field. We are eager to see what this new group of standouts will bring to not just our program, but the Academy as a whole.
Our new cadets won't have to look far for role models. For the second straight year, the First Captain of the Corps of Cadets is a corps squad athlete. This year's leader is Lindsey Danilack, a member of our track & field team. A native of Montville Township, N.J., Lindsey is just the fourth female to serve as First Captain. She is responsible for the overall performance of all 4,400 of our cadets.
There are four other corps squad athletes in the brigade chain of command, including fellow track athlete Ian MacPherson who will serve as the Fourth Regimental Commander. A third member of the track team, Alexandra Sutherland will serve as the Brigade S4 which oversees logistics for the Corps of Cadets. The football and baseball teams are also represented. Football captain Thomas Holloway will lead the Brigade Student Athletic Advisory Council which is a group made up of team captains from the NCAA sports, while baseball's Jon Crucitti will handle responsibilities as the Third Regiment Command Sergeant Major.
While our cadets are proving themselves leaders in the Corps, we recently announced contract extensions for two of our leaders on the fields of friendly strife. Both women's basketball coach Dave Magarity and men's basketball coach Zach Spiker signed deals that will keep them on the sidelines at West Point through the 2017-18 season. Coming off record-setting seasons, we wanted to continue the momentum and ensure the stability of both programs for years to come.
We would also like to congratulate GEN Raymond Odierno, the 38th Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army, for receiving the National Football Foundation Distinguished American Award. GEN Odierno is a 1976 Academy graduate and a great supporter of West Point and Army Athletics. The award, which recognizes, "an outstanding person who has maintained a lifetime of interest in the game and who, over a long period of time, has exhibited enviable leadership qualities and made a significant contribution to the betterment of amateur football in the United States," will be presented at the 56th National Football Foundation Awards Dinner in New York City on Dec. 10.
We started the competition schedule this past week, splitting a pair of women's soccer matches. New head coach Marcia McDermott got the year off on a good note with a 1-0 home win against Fairfield before losing a hard-fought, 3-2 contest to Rutgers, an NCAA participant last season.
This week brings even more action as three more of our teams start their seasons. On Friday, the men's soccer team makes their 2013 debut against VMI at Clinton Field. The game will serve as a precursor to the football's teams kickoff against Morgan State at 7 p.m. Tickets are still available online at www.goARMYsports.com or by calling the box office at 1-877-TIX-ARMY. There is a full slate of events planned including Black Knights Alley, a halftime fireworks show and the recognition of the latest Medal of Honor recipient U.S. Army staff sergeant Ty Carter.
The volleyball team serves up its season on Saturday with a pair of matches. The team hosts Seton Hall at 10 a.m. in Gillis Field House and returns to the court at 7 p.m. against Alabama. The Sunday schedule includes a volleyball match with Washington State at 1 p.m. and the women's soccer team's contest at Massachusetts.
Thank you again for all of your support of Army Athletics. To find out more about the Army A Club and how you can enhance the cadet-athlete experience, click the following link: http://www.goarmysports.com/boosters/army-a-club.html, call (845)938-2322, or email armyaclub@usma.edu.
We appreciate all of your contributions to our success. Be well.
Go Army!
Boo
For all current information regarding Army Athletics and its 25 varsity programs, please visit www.goARMYsports.com.
Cross Country
• The team opens the 2013 season on Friday, Sept. 6 when it hosts the Army Open.
Football
• Army opens its 124th season of competition against the Morgan State Bears Friday night. It is the first time the two teams have met on the football field.
• The Black Knights are starting a season at home for the first time since facing Temple in 2008. That game was played on a Friday night as well, marking the earliest game in Army football history (Aug. 29). Friday's contest is just the second time Army has taken the field prior to September.
• The Black Knights return 58 letterwinners from last season, including 14 starters. The Army offense, coming off Academy-record performances in both rushing yards and total offense, will have someone other than Trent Steelman under center in the season opener for the first time since 2008. Junior Angel Santiago will take the first snap, but both Santiago and A.J. Schurr will see action against the Bears.
• Army has led the nation in rushing the last two seasons and returns six of its top eight rushers from 2012. Raymond Maples has rushed for more than 1,000 yards in each of the last two seasons, including 1,215 during his junior season.
• Defensively, Army returns three of its top five tacklers, including Geoffery Bacon. Bacon racked up 136 tackles last season, the ninth-highest total in Academy history. Bacon will make his first start free safety after moving from middle linebacker during spring practice. Robert Kough is back anchoring the defensive line after recording 9.5 tackles for loss as a yearling.
Golf
• The golf team welcomes three talented newcomers to the roster that will mix with a solid group of returnees that includes last year's Patriot League Rookie of the Year Marcus Plunkett.
• The team starts its fall schedule on Sept. 7 at the Colgate Invitational.
Men's Soccer
• Army opens its 2013 season on Friday when it hosts VMI. Kickoff at Clinton Field is set for noon.
• Cows Sean Mogan and Tommy Jaeger are among the top returners after making 14 starts each last season.
• Goalkeper Winston Boldt returns as well. He started all 17 games a season ago while posting three shutouts and a 1.46 GAA.
• Jason Lewis returns as the only senior to a Black Knights' squad.
Women's Soccer (1-1-0, 0-0 Patriot League)
• Army opened the season with a 1-0 defeat of Fairfield in first-year head coach Marcia McDermott's debut Friday evening. It is the second straight year and 16th time Army has opened its season on a winning note and extended Army's shutout and win streak, dating back to 2012, to three.
• Army scored on a penalty kick, while plebe goalkeeper Jordan Cassalia made all three of her saves the second half, including two key stops over the final two-plus minutes of the game.
• Army fell to Rutgers, an NCAA participant last year, 3-2, on Sunday. The Black Knights rallied from a 3-0 deficit with a pair of late goals by Kim An and Joey Molacek (PK). Army's freshman keeper recorded a career-high seven saves in the loss
Volleyball
• The Army volleyball team will host its season opener this weekend against Seton Hall on Aug. 30 at the Black Knights Invitational. During the tournament head coach Alama Kovaci will be debuting four incoming freshmen as well as new assistant coach Brigette Slack. Freshmen include, Olivia Fairfeild, Dana Robertson, Janaya Simmons and Alexandra Bell.
• W the Black Knights were preparing for the upcoming events, the Patriot League Preseason Poll ranked Army as coming in second with five first-place votes. Firstie co-captain Margaux Jarka and cow Mary Vaccaro were voted onto the Preseason Patriot League team while Jarka was also named Patriot League Preseason Player of the Year.
