Army Drops Star Match at Navy

Saturday, April 24

Annapolis, MD

12 PM

Army West Point

6-3, 4-2PL

Navy

5-2, 3-2PL

Army

Navy

Army Drops Star Match at Navy

April 24, 2021 | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score

ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The 10th-ranked Army West Point men's lacrosse team dropped the Star game on Saturday to 16th-ranked Navy, 9-4, as part of the Star Series, presented by USAA.

The Black Knights were led by Aidan Byrnes, who tallied two goals, while Nicholas Edinger and Danny Kielbasa added goals as well. Kielbasa also chipped in with an assist for a two-point day. Wyatt Schupler stopped 10 shots and Marcus Hudgins had an impressive day on the defensive side with five ground balls and three caused turnovers.

Navy's Joe deLyra was the game's top scorer with a hat trick and Max Hewitt and James Flannery had two goals each for the Mids. Goalie Spencer Rees racked up the saves with 19 on the day, including nine in the fourth quarter alone to keep Army at bay.

"This one was a tough one of course," head coach Joe Alberici said. "A lot goes into this game and this doesn't take anything away from the Naval Academy, they did a great job and deserving of the win. I don't think we showed our best today and you can sulk about it, but I don't count on our guys doing that. We have a North Division to win."

The Black Knights outshot the Mids, 41-39, on the day, but struggled early on in the clearing game and finished 18-of-23 on the day. They committed 16 turnovers with 13 in the first half. Navy had 18 turnovers but Rees was able to stymie Army on its chances after those turnovers.

The first quarter was extremely competitive with hustle and heart, but not much to show on the scoreboard as Navy had a 1-0 advantage in the opening frame with deLyra scoring the first of three on the day.

Army evened it up with Byrnes finding the back of the net for his 15th of the season and his ninth in the last four contests.

Unfortunately for the Black Knights, Navy answered with two goals from Hewitt and Dane Swanson to take a 3-1 lead at the break.

The Mids came out of the locker room in the second half and continued to add to their lead with Jon Jarosz scoring his eighth of the year three minutes into the third quarter. Army was able to trade goals in the third quarter with Byrnes and Edinger scoring, but Navy took a 6-3 advantage into the final frame.

The game's leading scorer, deLyra, recorded the hat trick with 5:10 remaining in the game and then Hewitt and Flannery followed with tallies to push the lead up to 9-3 in the final minutes. Danny Kielbasa got one back with 37 seconds left, but the Mids came away with the Star on Saturday with a 9-4 win.

Army is back in action for Senior Day on May 1 against Colgate and will look to clinch the North Division title and the second seed in the upcoming Patriot League Tournament.

HIGHLIGHTS & NOTES

The Black Knights were held to a season-low four goals and it was only the second time this season they had scored in single digits.
This was the first meeting since the 2019 overtime victory and this was the first time since 1971-72 that the Star game was hosted by the same school for two years in a row.
Saturday was Army's third game in the last four against a ranked opponent and fifth overall this season.
The four goals scored were the lowest in the series since 2009.