Army’s Win Against UMASS on Saturday and Upcoming Game against Rutgers- Home Opener This Saturday.
By Seth Mendelson/ CaMMVets Media2-10-2025
Army not only won its opening-day contest against UMass last Saturday, but the Black Knights showed off not one, but three additional quality players as they embark on the 2025 campaign.
The team, heavily laden with 22 seniors and at least three All-Americans, now has three freshmen to throw into the mix as it gets ready for its home opener on Saturday at noon against Rutgers at Michie Stadium.
Last Saturday, plebes Brayden Fountain, Hill Plunkett and Aidan Weisenbron combined for eight goals in the victory over the Minutemen. Fountain scored four goals, while Plunkett had two goals and two assists. Weisenbron scored two goals for the 12th-ranked Black Knights.
“This is just great from the standpoint that we lost two really great seniors to graduation last year who were scoring machines,” said Army coach Joe Alberici. “We lost Reese Burek and Jacob Morin to graduation after last season and they each gave us a lot of production in their time with our program and that is going to be hard to make up. We are definitely counting on other guys to step up and against UMass these three freshmen really did their part.”
Burek scored 26 goals and had 28 assists for the Black Knights last year. Morin finished last season with 27 goals and eight assists.
Against UMass, Army took a 7-1 lead early in the second quarter, with senior Jackson Eicher scoring three times, Fountain tossing in two goals and single goals by junior Evan Plunkett and senior Ryan Sellew. But the Minutemen cut the Army lead to 7-4 at halftime.
The Black Knights outscored UMass 6-1 in the third quarter, thanks to Hill Plunkett and Weisenborn each scoring twice and some quality stops in the goal by junior goalie Sean Byrne to take a 13-5 lead into the fourth quarter. Eichler, Army’s leading scorer last season, finished with four goals and four assists, while senior faceoff specialist Will Coletti won 15 of 23 faceoffs and secured nine groundballs.
While Alberici is getting his team focused on the Patriot League schedule and the conference’s post-season tournament in early May, that gives the winner an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament, he also wants the Black Knights to show the lacrosse world they can compete with the best in the game in the non-conference schedule.
Rutgers (2-1 this season) from the much-heralded Big 10 will be the next big test, followed by a huge non-conference game against the No. 9-ranked Yale Bulldogs from the Ivy League on Wednesday, Feb. 19 in New Haven, Conn. Army also faces Mercer in two weeks and No. 11-ranked North Carolina from the Atlantic Coast Conference in late March in non-conference games.
Army’s women team also made a statement over the weekend. The Black Knights knocked off favored Rutgers 10-9 in both team’s opening game of the season. Juniors Chloe Garrett and Allison each had three goals for Army, while their All-American classmate Brigid Duffy scored two goals for Army. The Black Knights travel to Marist on Feb. 19 for their next encounter
Army not only won its opening-day contest against UMass last Saturday, but the Black Knights showed off not one, but three additional quality players as they embark on the 2025 campaign.
The team, heavily laden with 22 seniors and at least three All-Americans, now has three freshmen to throw into the mix as it gets ready for its home opener on Saturday at noon against Rutgers at Michie Stadium.
Last Saturday, plebes Brayden Fountain, Hill Plunkett and Aidan Weisenbron combined for eight goals in the victory over the Minutemen. Fountain scored four goals, while Plunkett had two goals and two assists. Weisenbron scored two goals for the 12th-ranked Black Knights.
“This is just great from the standpoint that we lost two really great seniors to graduation last year who were scoring machines,” said Army coach Joe Alberici. “We lost Reese Burek and Jacob Morin to graduation after last season and they each gave us a lot of production in their time with our program and that is going to be hard to make up. We are definitely counting on other guys to step up and against UMass these three freshmen really did their part.”
Burek scored 26 goals and had 28 assists for the Black Knights last year. Morin finished last season with 27 goals and eight assists.
Against UMass, Army took a 7-1 lead early in the second quarter, with senior Jackson Eicher scoring three times, Fountain tossing in two goals and single goals by junior Evan Plunkett and senior Ryan Sellew. But the Minutemen cut the Army lead to 7-4 at halftime.
The Black Knights outscored UMass 6-1 in the third quarter, thanks to Hill Plunkett and Weisenborn each scoring twice and some quality stops in the goal by junior goalie Sean Byrne to take a 13-5 lead into the fourth quarter. Eichler, Army’s leading scorer last season, finished with four goals and four assists, while senior faceoff specialist Will Coletti won 15 of 23 faceoffs and secured nine groundballs.
While Alberici is getting his team focused on the Patriot League schedule and the conference’s post-season tournament in early May, that gives the winner an automatic berth into the NCAA tournament, he also wants the Black Knights to show the lacrosse world they can compete with the best in the game in the non-conference schedule.
Rutgers (2-1 this season) from the much-heralded Big 10 will be the next big test, followed by a huge non-conference game against the No. 9-ranked Yale Bulldogs from the Ivy League on Wednesday, Feb. 19 in New Haven, Conn. Army also faces Mercer in two weeks and No. 11-ranked North Carolina from the Atlantic Coast Conference in late March in non-conference games.
Army’s women team also made a statement over the weekend. The Black Knights knocked off favored Rutgers 10-9 in both team’s opening game of the season. Juniors Chloe Garrett and Allison each had three goals for Army, while their All-American classmate Brigid Duffy scored two goals for Army. The Black Knights travel to Marist on Feb. 19 for their next encounter
All photos: ARMY ATHLETICS