Army West Point Athletics
Army West Point
1-0
University of Massachusetts
0-1
Men’s Lacrosse Downs UMass
February 09, 2025 | Men's Lacrosse
AMHERST, Mass. – The Army West Point men's lacrosse team (1-0) opened its season with a decisive 16-9 victory over UMass (0-1) on Saturday afternoon.
The Black Knights' offense saw contributions from eight different goal scorers, led by Jackson Eicher, who netted four goals and dished out three assists, and freshman Brayden Fountain, who also tallied four goals in his collegiate debut.
Along with Fountain, freshmen Hill Plunkett and Aiden Weisenborn each recorded multi-goal performances, scoring two goals apiece in their first collegiate game.
At the faceoff X, reigning Patriot League Faceoff Specialist of the Year and preseason All-American Will Coletti dominated, winning 15 of 23 faceoffs.
Defensively, senior long-stick midfielder Christian Fournier anchored the Black Knights' back line, causing four turnovers and collecting five ground balls.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Black Knights wasted no time getting on the board, as junior midfielder Evan Plunkett struck first at the 12:23 mark. Army then went on a scoring spree, with Fountain netting a goal at 9:07, followed by Ryan Sellew just 30 seconds later off an assist from Plunkett. Jackson Eicher made his presence felt with back-to-back goals at 6:42 and 2:32, the second assisted by Hill Plunkett. Eicher completed his first-quarter hat trick with just 18 seconds remaining, giving Army a commanding 6-0 lead after one.
UMass responded with a strong second quarter, outscoring Army 4-1. Aiden Drunsic got the Minutemen on the board at 13:35, but the Black Knights briefly halted their momentum when Fountain scored his second goal of the game at 11:17, assisted by Fournier. However, UMass quickly regained control, scoring three unanswered goals to cut Army's lead to 7-4 at halftime.
Army reasserted itself in the third quarter with a dominant offensive stretch. Weisenborn kicked things off just 50 seconds into the half with an unassisted goal, and Fountain completed his hat trick at 13:50 to extend the lead. UMass momentarily slowed Army's surge with a goal from Tyler Clayton at 11:30, but the Black Knights quickly responded. Hill Plunkett found the back of the net at 9:42, followed by goals from Gunnar Fellows (7:21) and Weisenborn again at 5:13, assisted by Eicher. As the quarter wound down, Eicher set up Hill Plunkett for his second goal of the game at 0:09, capping a 6-1 third quarter for Army and stretching its lead to 13-5.
UMass battled in the fourth quarter, but Army's lead proved too much to overcome. Granara struck first for the Minutemen at 13:04, but Eicher answered just a minute later with his fourth goal of the contest. Fountain matched Eicher's output by scoring his fourth at 6:58, again assisted by Eicher. Clayton completed his hat trick for UMass at 4:04, but Army quickly countered with a goal from Finn McCullough at 2:50. UMass managed two late goals—one from Clayton at 2:16 and another from Matthew Cargiulo at 0:43—but it was too little, too late. The Black Knights secured a 16-9 victory, fueled by a dominant first quarter and a commanding second-half performance.
NEXT UP
Army will host Rutgers on Saturday, February 15, for its home opener at noon.
