Dominant Fourth Quarter Propels No. 12 Black Knights Over No. 14 Syracuse

Wednesday, March 2

Syracuse, NY

4:30 PM

Army West Point

Syracuse University

Dominant Fourth Quarter Propels No. 12 Black Knights Over No. 14 Syracuse

March 02, 2022 | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score

Game 5
SCORE	No. 12 Army Black Knights 17, No. 14 Syracuse Orange 13
RECORDS	Army (4-1) \| Syracuse (1-3)
LEADING SCORERS	Army – Brendan Nichtern (6) \| Syracuse – Owen Seebold/Brendan Curry (4)
LOCATION	Carrier Dome

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The No. 12 Army Black Knights shut out the No. 14 Syracuse Orange in the fourth quarter en route to securing a 17-13 victory on Wednesday night.

GAME SUMMARY
The 2022 Black Knights accomplished a feat that hasn't been done by a Black Knight team in 49 years - winning consecutive games against the Orange. After topping the then-No. 4 Orange 18-11 last season, Army downed Syracuse for the second straight season by outscoring the host 10-3 in the second half.

Trailing 13-11 late in the third quarter, Bobby Abshire scored the first of his four goals in the game with 45 seconds left. The goal ignited the Black Knights as they finished the game scoring straight goals while blanking the Orange for the final 16:11.
Danny Kielbasa tied the game at 13-13, one minute into the start of the fourth quarter. Scoring chances by both teams were limited for the next six minutes until Army took the lead for good. Syracuse's Dami Oladunmoye's errant pass was scooped up by Abshire and he fired it into the net to give Army a 14-13 lead at the 8:22 mark. Another SU turnover led to Abshire's third goal of the game for a 15-13 advantage with 6:24 remaining.

The Black Knights, then, scored consecutive goals six seconds apart to seal the contest. Abshire netted his fourth goal of the game at the 4:18 mark followed by Will Coletti, who won the ensuing faceoff and steamrolled towards the goal for his first career tally. The Black Knights limited the Orange to four shots in the fourth quarter while firing off 16.

The game ended similar to how the game started, with Army on the front foot. After conceding the first goal, the Black Knights reeled off five straight goals. Nichtern started the run with a pair of goals for a 2-1 lead. Bo Waters made it 3-1 at the 7:39 mark. Nichtern reached his hat-trick at the six-minute mark for a 4-1 Army lead. Reese Burek added Army's fifth goal with 2:49 remaining in the quarter.

However, the Orange scored the last two goals of the quarter, which started a 6-0 run, as they took a 7-5 lead with 8:47 remaining in the first half. Deacon Donaldson and Kielbasa added goals for the Black Knights, but Syracuse went into halftime leading 10-7. The third quarter was tight throughout. Army trailed 10-9 after goals by Joey Stillings and Jacob Morin. Syracuse, though, managed to hold on to the lead for the rest of the quarter, but never led by more than two goals.

How 'bout those Black Knights??#GoArmy | #FamilyToughnessTradition pic.twitter.com/tokNa5TGOK
— Army M.Lacrosse (@ArmyWP_MLax) March 3, 2022

CADET CAPSULES

Brendan Nichtern notched a game-high six points on four goals and two assists. He has had at least five points in each game this season. Nichtern passed Jeremy Boltus '11 for second on the all-time scoring list and now has 219 points.
Bobby Abshire tied a career-high in goals with four.
Will Coletti won a season-high 11 faceoffs
Wyatt Schupler made 13 saves.
Danny Kielbasa scored a season-high two goals.

"The tougher team won" - @ArmyLaxCoach #GoArmy | #FamilyToughnessTradition pic.twitter.com/Sj2xLePAYH
— Army M.Lacrosse (@ArmyWP_MLax) March 3, 2022

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

This is the first time winning consecutive games against Syracuse since the 1973 season when the Black Knights won 15 straight in the series from 1958-73.
Army has won consecutive games at Syracuse for the first time since the 1968 and 1972 seasons.
The Black Knights outshot the Orange, 50-39.
Army has won its third straight game.
Army had a season-high 12 caused turnovers.

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