Dominant Second Half Lifts Army Past Holy Cross

Tuesday, April 30

West Point, NY

3 PM

Army West Point

5-311-4. PL

#5 Holy Cross

7-7, 4-4PL

Holy Cross

Army

Dominant Second Half Lifts Army Past Holy Cross

April 30, 2019 | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – Fueled by a 9-1 run, the #18/19 Army West Point men's lacrosse team downed Holy Cross Tuesday afternoon in the Patriot League Quarterfinals, 14-5 at Michie Stadium.

Holding fifth-seeded Holy Cross scoreless for almost 40 minutes of action, the fourth-seeded Black Knights outscored the Crusaders 7-1 in the second half.

Brendan Nichtern headlined the day with a career-high six assists and added two goals in his postseason debut. The second team All-Patriot League selection is tied for the single-season assists record in Army's 102 years as a program with 45.

He ranks first alongside First Team All-America honoree Jeremy Boltus and Jeff Bryan, who set the single-season records previously in 2011 and 2003, respectively.

The Black Knights were led by senior captain Nate Jones' four goals. He added two helpers in the game. Miles Silva and Nicholas Garofano each recorded a hat trick on the day to mark the second time this season three or more Army players netted at least three goals apiece.

Johnny Surdick reached the 100-career caused turnover milestone with his two today. The senior captain notched three ground balls in the effort.

The Black Knights improved to 11-4 this season. Under head coach Joe Alberici, Army has had 11 or more wins in just two other seasons including 2010 (11-6) and 2017 (12-4).

No. 4 Army will play top-seeded Loyola Friday at 5 p.m. All games will be played in Baltimore, Md., and will be on CBS Sports Network.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Crusaders started the game with the hot sticks and went ahead 2-0 in the first five minutes.
Nichtern got things rolling for the Black Knights at the 6:57 mark in the first.
He sparked a three-goal run to give Army its first lead of the game.
On the next play, Nichtern connected with Jones from low to high before Jones followed suit and assisted O'Brien on top of the crease for a bounce shot and goal.
The Crusaders tied things up at 3-3 with 3:59 to go in the first quarter, but The Cadets' high-tempo passing enabled them to pull ahead.
Silva scored to close out the first when Nichtern dished off a no-look pass and he shoveled it low for the score.
To start of the second frame, Nichtern connected with Garofano diving across the crease to give Army a two-goal lead.
Holy Cross scored once more with 11:45 to go in the first half but wouldn't score again until under two minutes remain in the game.
The Black Knights then went on a nine-goal run to reach 14 tallies in the game.
Jones had three goals and an assist in the stretch, while Silva netted three and Nichtern tallied a goal and two assists.
James Pryor scored his third transition goal of the season during the run and Garofano netted two.

ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

AJ Barretto backed Army's defense today with 12 saves and four goals allowed.
The second team All-Patriot League player also contributed three ground balls and one caused turnover.
Barretto is now 11-4 on the year and is one win shy of his single-season high off 12 set back in 2017.
Surdick reached the 100-career caused turnover milestone today boasts 169 ground balls.
He was responsible for a save today, while Barretto was out of the cage.
The Defensive Player of the Year has amassed 56 ground balls this season and has caused 33 turnovers.
Nichtern continues to climb in the single-season record books for Army.
The rookie is now tied for the single-season assists record in Army's 102 seasons as a program with 45.
He ranks first alongside First Team All-America honoree Jeremy Boltus '11 and Jeff Bryan '03.
In today's effort, Nichtern passed Tim Pearson '02 (42) and Paul Cino '82 (42) in the rankings.
For points in a single season, Nichtern is now third with 71, ranking just behind Cole Johnson's 73 set in 2016 and Tom Cafaro's 85 set in 1971.
With his six assists, Nichtern also marked the first time since 2004 where an Army player posted six assists. Jeff Bryan previously held this figure from a 16-7 win against Holy Cross.
Jones tied his career-high in points today with six.
The senior captain boasts 151 points in his career to rank eighth all-time in Army's 102-year history.
Jones remains tied for seventh all-time in goals at 116.
Garofano tied his career-high three goals today to mark his second-career hat trick.
Silva posted three as well and now totals 37 on the year.
The junior jumps into the single-season goals top-20 with 41.
He is tied for 12th among Garrett Thul's 2010 and 2013 performances as well as Steve Heller in 1993.
O'Brien tallied a goal and assist today for two points.
Jeremy Angle and Tommy Marino each garnered assist in the game as well.
It was Marino's first-career helper.
Griffin Schultz, Silva, second team All-Patriot League selection Tom Rigney and Marcus Hudgins all caused one turnover in the contest.
Hudgins also produced three ground balls in Army's victory.
As a team, the Black Knights registered a .731 shooting percentag and had a 14-5 advantage in saves.