#15 Black Knights Take Care of Holy Cross in League Opener

Saturday, February 29

West Point, NY

12 PM

Army West Point

4-2, 1-0PL

Holy Cross

4-2, 0-1PL

Holy Cross

Army

#15 Black Knights Take Care of Holy Cross in League Opener

February 29, 2020 | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The No. 15/16 Army West Point men's lacrosse team came out victorious in the first Patriot League contest of the 2020 season with a 12-5 win over Holy Cross on Saturday.

The Black Knights had a solid defensive effort thanks to a trio of caused turnovers each by Marcus Hudgins and Bennett Taylor.

Kyle Beyer led the team with a career-high seven ground balls, while Matt Manown and Tom Rigney added four apiece.

Brendan Nichtern controlled Army's offense with a seven-point performance on three goals and four assists.

Gunner Philipp, Bobby Abshire and Sean O'Brien each added two tallies in the contest, while Danny Kielbasa netted his first-career goal and added an assist.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Army took a 4-0 lead in the game before the Crusaders found the back of the net.
Nichtern assisted on the first two scores of the contest to O'Brien and Abshire.
Connor DeWitt setup O'Brien's second goal of the contest before Kielbasa connected with Miles Silva in front.
The Crusaders then brought the game within one with a 3-0 run to close out the first quarter.
Holy Cross would not score again until the final quarter thanks to six-straight goals by the Black Knights.
Nichtern scored back-to-back iso goals before Manown fed to Abshire for the team's seventh of the day and final of the first half.
Philipp scored low on a crease roll to kick off the second half for the Cadets before Kielbasa scored off a pass from Nichtern.
Philipp scored again with 13:07 on the clock in the fourth.
The Crusaders broke the streak with an unassisted goal.
The Black Knights bounced back with a tough ride causing a Holy Cross turnover. Nichtern took advantage of the unsettled transition finding Anthony George for his first goal of the year.
Nichtern then tallied his final of the day on an extra-man opportunity.
The Crusaders closed out the game with a goal with 19 seconds remaining.

HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES

The Black Knights held Holy Cross to single digits today.
It marked the 10th consecutive meeting holding the Crusaders under 10 goals dating back to 2011.
Army has held its opponents to five or less scores on four occasions in 2020.
Nichtern notched seven points today. It was the third time in seven games that the sophomore posted at least seven in a contest.
Nichtern has increased his career goal total to 42 and his assists to 71.
He moved up to tied for 11th all-time at Army in career assists. He holds the record with the class of 1971's, Tom Cafaro.
Nichtern's point total is now 113 over two seasons. He jumped to tied for 27th all-time alongside Doug Shaver '87. He surpassed Eric Waltz of '93 as well.
He has posted double-digit points in all of his games this season.
Beyer had an outstanding day with a career-high seven groundballs and a caused turnover.
Philipp, O'Brien, Abshire and Kielbasa also finished with multiple point performances.
Hudgins held Holy Cross' leading attacker Kevin Kodzis scoreless, causing three turnovers and picking up a ground ball.
Wyatt Schupler picked up his fourth win of the year after making seven saves and allowing just three. He also picked up a ground ball in the contest.
Knox Dent stepped in for the final two minutes of the game and made a pair of stops.
The Black Knights held the Crusaders to 28 shots causing 12 turnovers as a team.
Army totaled 39 shots in the game and seven of the team's 12 goals were assisted.
The Black Knights held a 39-30 advantage in ground balls as well.