Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
University of Virginia
Schedule Change: Army Slated to Play No. 5 UVA on Saturday
February 08, 2021 | Men's Lacrosse
Army will travel to Charlottesville, Virginia Saturday afternoon for a 12 p.m. contest, their first official matchup of the 2021 season. Broadcast plans for the game are being determined and will be announced soon.
The No. 5 ranked Cavaliers are coming off a strong 20-11 season opening victory over Towson last weekend after dominating in the second and third quarters. UVA's offense was led by attack's Payton Cormier and Connor Shellenberger; Cormier notching a career-high six goals and one assist and Shellenberger four goals and three assists.
"Our cadets are excited for the opportunity to play the defending National Champions, University of Virginia," said Head Coach Joe Alberici. " We are all so appreciative of our athletic administration for providing us the flexibility to compete after the sudden schedule change with our long time rival, UMass. Playing a team like UVA right from the start can only help us get better prepared for the season ahead."
Coming off a shortened 6-2 season, the Black Knights are eager to fight for a statement victory over the Cavaliers in their season opener. Army graduated a few roster staples in 2020 however, will look to several seasoned veterans to lead the way, including captains Brendan Nichtern, Greg Coleman, Matthew Russell and Nicholas Garofano. The Black Knights finished the 2020 season with 110 goals through eight game and a strong .633 SOG percentage.
With the addition of the Cavaliers to the schedule, this will be the first of two straight weekends that the Black Knights will go head-to-head with a Top-5 nationally ranked team. Following their meeting with UVA, Army will travel to No. 3 Syracuse for the second consecutive year.
"With an out of conference schedule consisting of road games against ACC foes UVA and Syracuse along with a tough matchup at home against St. Joe's, our program is able to continue the tradition of playing the nations elite in or out of our conference schedule," said Alberici. "If we want to the opportunity to be the best, we have to compete against the best, and playing teams like UVA and Syracuse only help further that."Â
ATTENDANCE GUIDELINES IN VA
The current guidelines for sports venues provided by the Commonwealth of Virginia under the "Forward Virginia" plan (updated Nov. 13, 2020), allow for the lesser of 30 percent occupancy of the facility or 250 patrons.
Due to health and safety considerations, in addition to the current guidelines for sports venues set by the Commonwealth of Virginia, attendance for UVA home lacrosse competitions will be limited to the family of student-athletes and coaching staff until further notice.
Should the Commonwealth of Virginia adjust the protocols for spectator attendance, the UVA athletics department will announce new capacity guidelines and other protocols to attend events.
For future updates on schedule changes, be sure to follow on our schedule page at goarmywestpoint.com or on Twitter, @ArmpyWP_MLax.Â
