By Seth Mendelson/CaMMVets Media
3-9-2025
With the toughest part of its schedule on the horizon, Army coach Joe Alberici had the opportunity to experiment on Saturday during the Black Knights 17-4 win against Holy Cross in a Patriot League game played in Worchester, Mass.
After a sluggish start, the Black Knights reeled off nine straight goals to take a 12-2 lead into halftime. That lead only grew in the third quarter and midway through the period, with Army ahead 14-2, Alberici emptied his bench, putting in a number of players from the second and third squads.
“It was a great opportunity to give these guys some playing time against a very good opponent,” Alberici said. “It is always great to get them this experience.”
At the forefront were sophomore Rob Simone and senior Alec Vaccaro, two of the three backups at the faceoff specialist position. Both played because Will Coletti, Army’s all-American faceoff specialist, remains out with a lower body injury that Alberici says is “week-to-week” in terms of him playing again. “I thought in the middle of the field played really well for us,” Alberici added. “The faceoff guys won 60 percent of the faceoffs and Rob Simone had a goal for the second game in a row.”
Army, now 6-0 (2-0 in the Patriot League) and ranked fifth in the nation, dominated the Crusaders, outshooting them, 28-15, and controlling all aspects of the contest. The three goalies used in the game, starter junior Sean Byrne, plus junior Evan Richardson and senior Bennett Ong, each made five saves. Senior Jackson Eicher and freshman Brayden Fountain both scored four goals and junior Evan Plunkett notched three goals. Eicher had five assists and Fountain had three assists. Senior Finn McCullough scored two goals for the Black Knights.
Looking ahead, the schedule is filled with potholes. On Saturday, Army travels to Lehigh for a noon start time against the Mountain Hawks, who have started the season 2-4 but were picked to be a top program in the league this season. Then, Army hosts Boston University, 5-1, on March 22, and North Carolina, ranked sixth in the nation from the Atlantic Coast Conference on March 29.
Those games are followed by visits to Colgate (5-2) on April 5 and Navy (4-2) on April 12.
The Army women’s team also seems to be on track again after a loss at Colorado on Feb. 28. The Black Knights, now 5-1, easily knocked off host Fairfield last Wednesday, 18-10, and defeated visiting Boston University, 18-8, on Saturday.
In the BU game, junior Brigid Duffy continued her impressive season with five goals and two assists. Junior Allison Reilly had four goals and one assist for the Black Knights while senior Gabrielle Mirak scored three goals and had one assist. Army goes on the road for its next two games, visiting Loyola (4-3) on Saturday and Lehigh (3-3) on March 22.
After a sluggish start, the Black Knights reeled off nine straight goals to take a 12-2 lead into halftime. That lead only grew in the third quarter and midway through the period, with Army ahead 14-2, Alberici emptied his bench, putting in a number of players from the second and third squads.
“It was a great opportunity to give these guys some playing time against a very good opponent,” Alberici said. “It is always great to get them this experience.”
At the forefront were sophomore Rob Simone and senior Alec Vaccaro, two of the three backups at the faceoff specialist position. Both played because Will Coletti, Army’s all-American faceoff specialist, remains out with a lower body injury that Alberici says is “week-to-week” in terms of him playing again. “I thought in the middle of the field played really well for us,” Alberici added. “The faceoff guys won 60 percent of the faceoffs and Rob Simone had a goal for the second game in a row.”
Army, now 6-0 (2-0 in the Patriot League) and ranked fifth in the nation, dominated the Crusaders, outshooting them, 28-15, and controlling all aspects of the contest. The three goalies used in the game, starter junior Sean Byrne, plus junior Evan Richardson and senior Bennett Ong, each made five saves. Senior Jackson Eicher and freshman Brayden Fountain both scored four goals and junior Evan Plunkett notched three goals. Eicher had five assists and Fountain had three assists. Senior Finn McCullough scored two goals for the Black Knights.
Looking ahead, the schedule is filled with potholes. On Saturday, Army travels to Lehigh for a noon start time against the Mountain Hawks, who have started the season 2-4 but were picked to be a top program in the league this season. Then, Army hosts Boston University, 5-1, on March 22, and North Carolina, ranked sixth in the nation from the Atlantic Coast Conference on March 29.
Those games are followed by visits to Colgate (5-2) on April 5 and Navy (4-2) on April 12.
The Army women’s team also seems to be on track again after a loss at Colorado on Feb. 28. The Black Knights, now 5-1, easily knocked off host Fairfield last Wednesday, 18-10, and defeated visiting Boston University, 18-8, on Saturday.
In the BU game, junior Brigid Duffy continued her impressive season with five goals and two assists. Junior Allison Reilly had four goals and one assist for the Black Knights while senior Gabrielle Mirak scored three goals and had one assist. Army goes on the road for its next two games, visiting Loyola (4-3) on Saturday and Lehigh (3-3) on March 22.
All photos: ARMY ATHLETICS