Army West Point Athletics
Friday, February 9
West Point, NY
5:00 PM
Army West Point
0-1
9
vs
13
University of Southern California
1-0
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| USC | 1 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 13 |
| ARMY | 0 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 9 |
Photo by: Chris Shannon
No. 15 Women's Lacrosse Edged in Fourth Quarter by No. 17 USC
February 10, 2024 | Women's Lacrosse
WEST POINT, NY - No. 15 Army West Point women's lacrosse (0-1) was defeated by a score of 13-9 in its season opener to the No. 17 USC Trojans (1-0) on Friday night from Michie Stadium.
USC pulled ahead early as Army eventually took its first lead of the contest midway through the third quarter, but six unanswered goals from the Trojans in the final frame proved to be the difference as freshman Anna Regan dominated the draw in the second half for the road side.
Army was led by the sophomore duo of Brigid Duffy and Allison Reilly who each logged four points while three different Black Knights registered multiple scores featuring Carleigh Armstrong, Gabrielle Mirak and Lily Valentini.
The first quarter saw both teams out of sync offensively, as the lone score in the opening 15 minutes came from Ella Heaney at the 4:42 mark as Heaney eventually finished with a game-high six goals. Heaney notched the second goal of the contest as well, before Armstrong fired back for Army with two quick scores with Reilly providing the assist on both to tie the score at two.
The floodgates then opened for both offenses, as the teams went back and forth for the rest of the frame, with Valentini and Mirak providing two more game-tying goals in the process as USC fended off Army from taking a lead. A goal from Claudia Shevitz with 4:20 remaining became the final score of the first half, which saw the Trojans take a 5-4 advantage into the break.
Army fired just five shots on goal through the first half while draw controls were slightly in favor of the road side, 6-5.
USC got out to a two-goal lead with a woman-up goal to begin the second half, before Army saw its best spell which featured three goals in 2:03 of play. Valentini got her second of the game with the play set up by Reilly before Mirak and Duffy each made good on their first free-position shots of the season, with Duffy's tally giving Army its first lead of the game at the 7:20 mark, 7-6. Heaney responded a minute later with her fifth unassisted goal of the fixture, as the teams played six more minutes of scoreless lacrosse to enter the fourth deadlocked at seven.
Julia Gorajek got on the scoresheet for Army to begin the final frame, as Army went ahead within the first minute of the quarter. Heaney continued to keep the Trojans in the game with her sixth to tie the score at eight, as Regan's debut in the draw circle started to pay dividends. After taking a 9-8 lead, Shelby Tilton caught fire for the Trojans, scoring three straight goals as USC was able to compile possessions and get out to a 12-8 lead with just under five minutes remaining.
A woman-up goal from Maggie Brown capped the 6-0 Trojans run, with the five-goal lead proving insurmountable in the final minutes for Army. Reilly notched her first of the campaign to close out the scoring, as Army was outshot 31-22 while losing in the draw circle 17-9 including 11-4 in the second half.
Army will ready for a tough road test on Valentine's Day, traveling to No. 5 Syracuse for an interstate battle with gametime set for 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
GAME NOTES
USC pulled ahead early as Army eventually took its first lead of the contest midway through the third quarter, but six unanswered goals from the Trojans in the final frame proved to be the difference as freshman Anna Regan dominated the draw in the second half for the road side.
Army was led by the sophomore duo of Brigid Duffy and Allison Reilly who each logged four points while three different Black Knights registered multiple scores featuring Carleigh Armstrong, Gabrielle Mirak and Lily Valentini.
The first quarter saw both teams out of sync offensively, as the lone score in the opening 15 minutes came from Ella Heaney at the 4:42 mark as Heaney eventually finished with a game-high six goals. Heaney notched the second goal of the contest as well, before Armstrong fired back for Army with two quick scores with Reilly providing the assist on both to tie the score at two.
The floodgates then opened for both offenses, as the teams went back and forth for the rest of the frame, with Valentini and Mirak providing two more game-tying goals in the process as USC fended off Army from taking a lead. A goal from Claudia Shevitz with 4:20 remaining became the final score of the first half, which saw the Trojans take a 5-4 advantage into the break.
Army fired just five shots on goal through the first half while draw controls were slightly in favor of the road side, 6-5.
USC got out to a two-goal lead with a woman-up goal to begin the second half, before Army saw its best spell which featured three goals in 2:03 of play. Valentini got her second of the game with the play set up by Reilly before Mirak and Duffy each made good on their first free-position shots of the season, with Duffy's tally giving Army its first lead of the game at the 7:20 mark, 7-6. Heaney responded a minute later with her fifth unassisted goal of the fixture, as the teams played six more minutes of scoreless lacrosse to enter the fourth deadlocked at seven.
Julia Gorajek got on the scoresheet for Army to begin the final frame, as Army went ahead within the first minute of the quarter. Heaney continued to keep the Trojans in the game with her sixth to tie the score at eight, as Regan's debut in the draw circle started to pay dividends. After taking a 9-8 lead, Shelby Tilton caught fire for the Trojans, scoring three straight goals as USC was able to compile possessions and get out to a 12-8 lead with just under five minutes remaining.
A woman-up goal from Maggie Brown capped the 6-0 Trojans run, with the five-goal lead proving insurmountable in the final minutes for Army. Reilly notched her first of the campaign to close out the scoring, as Army was outshot 31-22 while losing in the draw circle 17-9 including 11-4 in the second half.
Army will ready for a tough road test on Valentine's Day, traveling to No. 5 Syracuse for an interstate battle with gametime set for 4:00 p.m. on Wednesday.
GAME NOTES
- Allison Reilly posted four points including her fourth career three-plus assist effort.
- Brigid Duffy logged four points to go along with a team-best four ground balls, four draw controls and two caused turnovers.
- It marked Duffy's third career game with four-plus ground balls and her sixth causing multiple turnovers.
- Lily Valentini and Gabrielle Mirak each posted their first career multi-goal games.
- Carleigh Armstrong scored her 70th career goal with her two tallies as she currently sits tenth on Army's all-time list.
- Lindsey Serafine made seven saves in the cage for the Black Knights.
- Meghan Pedrani, Gabrielle Mirak and Lily Valentini each saw their first career starts.
- Pedrani registered three ground balls in the effort.
- Army moves to 5-4 all-time in season openers.
- The Black Knights were 2-2 on free-position shots attempted.
Team Stats
USC
ARMY
Shots
31
23
Turnovers
12
14
Caused Turnovers
5
5
Draw Controls
17
9
Free-Position Shots
3
2
Ground Balls
11
17
Game Leaders
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
G
2
A
1
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
2
CT
0
G
2
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
1
CT
0
G
1
A
0
FO
-
Pen
-
GB
0
CT
0
Players Mentioned
Attack
/ Women's Lacrosse
Midfield
/ Women's LacrosseAttack
/ Women's LacrosseMidfield
/ Women's Lacrosse
Defense
/ Women's Lacrosse
Attack
/ Women's Lacrosse
Goalie
/ Women's LacrosseAttack
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Bald Eagles and Army Softball
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