Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
2-0
VMI
0-2
Offensive Outburst Lifts #20 Lacrosse Past VMI
February 09, 2015 | Men's Lacrosse
WEST POINT, N.Y. - The 20th-ranked Army lacrosse team scored the first 10 goals against VMI and cruised to a 24-3 win at Foley Athletic Center on Monday afternoon in the Black Knights' home opener.
It was the first regular season game at the Foley Athletic Center after the game was moved inside due to weather. Head Coach Joe Alberici was very appreciative of the work of the administration and facilities crew at West Point in allowing the contest to be shifted.
"I can't say enough about the administration and facilities staff here at West Point," Alberici said. "It was a bad weather day and the quick change was exceptional. The facilities folks, headed up by Mike Rubbino and Brad Brown, I can't thank them enough for getting everything running smoothly. It was the first game in Foley and it was a good one to get."
Army (2-0) had 14 different goal scorers as Alberici emptied his bench and every dressed player saw action on the field. Connor Cook led the way with a career-high four goals on seven shots, while Cole Johnson kept his offense going with three goals to give him seven in two games. Jimbo Moore chipped in with three points, while John Glesener and Andrew Michalowski added a career best three points on two goals and an assist apiece.
All five goalkeepers got playing time as Sam Somers started the game and made three saves in just over 36 minutes of action. Paul Newbold appeared in net for 13 minutes and stopped two shots in his collegiate debut. Also making their first appearances was Matt Isnardi and John Quinn, while Jackson Tamasitis got time in the fourth quarter and made a nice save.
Sean Jollota was the leader on defense with four caused turnovers and four ground ball pickups. Jimbo D'Aprile caused a couple of turnovers as well.
"I was really impressed with our enthusiasm right out of the gate," Alberici said. "Secondly, I was impressed by our tenacity, especially in the middle of the field. We dominated the ground ball play and suffocated them in our riding game. We basically were playing defense in the midfield and into our offensive end for much of the game. So I was really impressed with that."
The Keydets (0-2) had a quick turnaround from yesterday as they were defeated by Navy on Sunday afternoon. VMI got goals from Brad Nardella, Mike DeBlasio and Dan Bull in the loss. All three goals were unassisted. Evan Windisch earned the start and made nine saves in the first half. He was relieved by Joe Riccadonna, who stopped seven shots in the final 30 minutes.
Army came out on fire with the first 10 goals of the contest, including all four in the first 15 minutes. Moore got things started just over a minute into the game with an assist to Gunnar Miller. Cook followed up with the first of four on the day with Glesener adding the assist. Johnson and Shea Mullins ended the first quarter with back-to-back goals with Luke Poulos getting a helper on Johnson's tally.
The Black Knights kept it up in the second with Poulos, Glesener and Cook each scoring in the opening 2:26 of the quarter to push the Army lead up to 7-0. Moore got his second on the day with 8:20 left in the half with a man-up tally, followed by two more from Johnson and it was 10-0 with 5:13 remaining in the first half.
The Keydets got on the board at the 4:12 mark of the second quarter as Bull ended the long Army run with an unassisted tally to close out the first half.
The third quarter was all Black Knights with all eight goals coming from an Army stick to increase the lead to 18-1. Glesener netted his second of the night just 29 seconds into the stanza with Moore assisting. Other highlights from the third came from Michalowski, who potted two goals, while Cook had a pair and Michael Larrabee and Conor Glancy added to the scoresheet with scores.
VMI scored two of the first three goals to start the fourth to make it 19-3 with 9:36 left in the game. Army then finished off the game with a run of five-straight. Ehret Faircloth had a career-high two goals during the stretch and in the game. David Symmes, Jimmy TenBrink, Ryan Morgan and Avery Littlejohn each had their first collegiate tallies in the fourth quarter to help Army win the game 24-3.
The Black Knights held a 54-19 edge in shots, while picking up 52 ground balls and winning 20-of-29 faceoffs. They also forced the Keydets into 29 turnovers. Alex Daly finished 6-of-10 at the "x" and John Ragno impressed with seven wins in eight chances.
"We were able to get every healthy player in the game," Alberici stated. "I was very pleased with how the level of play really stayed at a high level. We also played very unselfish and that has been a trademark of this team."
The Black Knights are back in action this coming Saturday at the Moe's Southwest Grill Lacrosse Classic in Jacksonville, Fla., on Saturday at 12 p.m. at Milne Field.
Game Notes: Army remains unbeaten against VMI with a 7-0 record, all under Alberici ... this was the first home game in the history of Army lacrosse to be played indoors ... 24 was the most goals scored in the history of the series ... The last time Army had 24 goals in a game was against Wagner on Feb. 15, 2012, in a 24-7 win ... Somers held his opponent to single digit goals for the 12th-straight start ... Johnson has the early lead in the Patriot League with seven goals ... Glesener improves his point-scoring streak to 31 games ... Moore tied a career high with four points ... first 2-0 start to a season since 2007 when Army beat Marist and No. 2 Syracuse ... Army will not return to West Point until Feb. 28 when the Black Knights take on Lafayette in its league opener.
