#16/18 Army Set for Colgate on ASN

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The No. 16/18 Army West Point lacrosse team takes its four-game winning streak to Colgate to faceoff in Patriot League action on Saturday at 1 p.m. on the American Sports Network.

HOW TO FOLLOW
TELEVISION • American Sports Network
RADIO • None
VIDEO • Patriot League Network
LIVE STATISTICS • colgate.statbroadcast.com
GAME NOTES • Army Notes • Colgate Notes
TWITTER • ArmyWP_MLax

THE OPENING FACEOFF
Army hits the road for the first time in a couple of weeks with a visit to Colgate for a 1 p.m. faceoff on American Sports Network. The Black Knights enter the game in the national rankings for the first time this season at 6-2 overall and a 3-0 mark in conference play. The Raiders welcome Army with a 3-5 overall record and a 1-2 mark in Patriot League play. They were last in action against Fairfield and dropped a 12-7 decision to the Stags on March 19. Colgate had an 11-10 overtime win against Bucknell to kick off its league slate, but have lost its last two league games at Lehigh and Boston University.

LAST TIME OUT
The Black Knights extended their winning streak to four games with a 16-7 victory over Holy Cross on March 19. Cole Johnson led the way with a career high eight points on four goals and four assists, while rookie Nate Jones chipped in with four goals in the win. Army dominated in faceoffs, winning 23-of-27 against the Crusaders, which led to the win. Dan Grabher won 11-of-12 draws, while Alex Daly was 9-of-11. It was the 25th win over Holy Cross since the series began and it came after the Crusaders won their first game of the all-time matchup a season ago.

THIS WEEK'S STORYLINES
There is a connection between the two head coaches at Army and Colgate. Head coach Mike Murphy joined the Raiders after spending seven seasons as an assistant coach under Army's Joe Alberici. Murphy has a 3-2 record against his former boss, including the 11-8 win in the Patriot League Championship in 2015. The Black Knights are looking for their fourth-straight conference win to start the year, which would be the best start since Army won the Patriot League title in 2010.

WHAT'S UP NEXT?
The Black Knights return to action at Michie Stadium for the Army-Bucknell game presented by IAP at 3:30 p.m. on April 2. The Bison had a great start to the year and were ranked after the first couple of weeks after a 3-0 start. Since then Bucknell is 2-3 on the year and downed No. 16 Boston University by a 13-6 score last Saturday.

ARMY-NAVY GAME PRESENTED BY USAA
The Army-Navy Game presented by USAA is set for April 16 at Michie Stadium. The game will be live on CBS Sports Network and tickets are still available. Tickets can be purchased online at GoArmyWestPoint.com/tickets, by calling 1-877-TIX-ARMY or in person at Gate 3 of Michie Stadium.

GRABHER GRABS SECOND WEEKLY AWARD
Dan Grabher earned his second weekly award from the Patriot League this season after winning 11-of-12 faceoffs against Holy Cross. The junior was named faceoff specialist of the week for the second time. It was the fifth time this year Army has been selected with a weekly award.

MARCH TO A MILESTONE
Cole Johnson and Connor Cook reached a milestone in the same game on Saturday. Cook was first to get it to become the 30th player in Academy history to reach 100 points in a career after tallying four points against the Crusaders on March 19. Johnson wasn't fair behind as he did it moments later and he currently ranks 26th on the all-time scoring list. Johnson has 70 career goals, which puts him a goal outside the top 20 on the career list of goal scorers. Cook has 73 goals in his three-plus seasons, which ranks 19th on the all-time list.

AT THE X
Army has had a great start to the season at the faceoff "x" as it leads the nation in winning percentage at .706. The Black Knights dominated the Crusaders last weekend, winning 23-of-27 draws. Grabher led the way with 11-of-12 wins and Alex Daly won nine in 11 chances. Grabher ranks second in the country in winning percentage at .726 and is 16th in the NCAA in ground balls per game at 5.38. He has reached at least 10 wins in the last three games.

ALL-AROUND TEAM
Army is one of only two teams in the nation in the top 10 in both scoring offense and defense. The Black Knights are averaging 13.63 goals per game, which is fifth in the NCAA. On the other side of the field, they are sixth, allowing 7.25 goals per game. Syracuse is the second team as they are fourth in offense and 10th in defense.

SCOUTING THE RAIDERS
Colgate comes into Saturday's contest on a three-game slide with losses to Fairfield, Cornell and league-foe Boston University. The Raiders are winners of one game in their last five matchups. Their lone win in the Patriot League came against Bucknell in overtime by an 11-10 score. Four of their eight games have been decided by one goal and they are 2-2 in those contests. Colgate is averaging eight goals a game and allowing 8.75. A staple for the Raiders last season was their man-up offense, but this year it is at 15.8 percent (3-of-19).

Rookie Sam Cleveland leads the Raiders with 20 points and is one of three players with 11 goals on the year. Chase Wittich and reigning Patriot League Rookie of the Year Anthony Abbadessa also have 11 tallies. Peter Donato is tied with Wittich in points with 14 on the year. Collin Orr has taken 80 faceoffs and has won 38 of them, while Peter Marchetto has seen time on draws as well and is 26-of-68.

In net, junior Brandon Burke is back for his junior season and has seen all 481-plus minutes in net for the Raiders. The former Patriot League Rookie of the Year has a 8.72 goals against average and a .524 save percentage in 2016. He has made double-digit saves in three games this season.

SERIES HISTORY
This is the 40th meeting between Colgate and Army West Point since the first game back in 1923, which was the sixth season of Army lacrosse. The Black Knights lead the series 28-10. The Raiders have cut into the series lately as they are 5-2 in the last seven meetings, including sweeping both matchups last year. The Raiders beat Army in the regular season finale, which pushed the Black Knights down to a road quarterfinal game in the Patriot League Tournament. The two then met in the championship game with the Raiders earning an 11-8 victory.

#16/18 Army Set for Colgate on ASN

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Players Mentioned

Connor Cook

Alex Daly

Dan Grabher

Cole Johnson

Nate Jones

Army West Point Athletics