By Seth Mendelson/CaMMVets Media
4-17-2025
Thanks to the Army men’s and women’s lacrosse teams, the stars aligned perfectly for West Point over the weekend.
Both squads knocked off Navy on Saturday to give Army the two wins it needed to win the annual Star Series competition between the two academies. The bragging-rights series, featuring face-to-face competiton in every sport both schools play, went to Army, 14-12, this academic year.
At Michie Stadium, the No. 19-ranked women’s team held off a late surge by Navy to beat the Midshipmen, 17-12, to move to 10-2 overall and 5-2 in the Patriot League, good for second place with three games to play.
Meanwhile, at about the same time, the No. 4-ranked men’s team scored the last three goals in its game, including one just over three minutes into overtime, to beat Navy 12-11 at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md. The men’s team is now 10-1 overall and 5-1 in the Patriot League. More importantly, with Boston University losing to Lafayette on Saturday, the men’s team is now in sole possession of first place in the league, with just two games remaining in the regular season.
In the women’s game, Army jumped out to a 7-1 lead after the first quarter and led 10-4 at halftime. But, the Middies made things uncomfortable in the fourth quarter by outscoring Army, 7-4 in that period. It was Army’s fourth win over Navy in the last six games.
Junior Allison Reilly led the Black Knights with six goals on just nine shots. Senior Gabrielle Mirak hit all three shots she took and Alyce Smith and Chloe Garrett were each two-for-two on shots for the Black Knights.
“Our whole team played well,” said Army women’s coach Michelle Tumolo. “Each person did their jobs and, as a group, we were extremely dominate. Navy has an extremely talented team and I knew they were going to make a run at some point. I think our team just had a minor lapse on defense in transition and Navy was getting to the cage too easily. We played a heck of a game though and I’m extremely proud of our group.”
Both squads knocked off Navy on Saturday to give Army the two wins it needed to win the annual Star Series competition between the two academies. The bragging-rights series, featuring face-to-face competiton in every sport both schools play, went to Army, 14-12, this academic year.
At Michie Stadium, the No. 19-ranked women’s team held off a late surge by Navy to beat the Midshipmen, 17-12, to move to 10-2 overall and 5-2 in the Patriot League, good for second place with three games to play.
Meanwhile, at about the same time, the No. 4-ranked men’s team scored the last three goals in its game, including one just over three minutes into overtime, to beat Navy 12-11 at the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md. The men’s team is now 10-1 overall and 5-1 in the Patriot League. More importantly, with Boston University losing to Lafayette on Saturday, the men’s team is now in sole possession of first place in the league, with just two games remaining in the regular season.
In the women’s game, Army jumped out to a 7-1 lead after the first quarter and led 10-4 at halftime. But, the Middies made things uncomfortable in the fourth quarter by outscoring Army, 7-4 in that period. It was Army’s fourth win over Navy in the last six games.
Junior Allison Reilly led the Black Knights with six goals on just nine shots. Senior Gabrielle Mirak hit all three shots she took and Alyce Smith and Chloe Garrett were each two-for-two on shots for the Black Knights.
“Our whole team played well,” said Army women’s coach Michelle Tumolo. “Each person did their jobs and, as a group, we were extremely dominate. Navy has an extremely talented team and I knew they were going to make a run at some point. I think our team just had a minor lapse on defense in transition and Navy was getting to the cage too easily. We played a heck of a game though and I’m extremely proud of our group.”
All photos: ARMY ATHLETICS
Tumolo is also hopeful that the powers-that-be in the lacrosse world start paying attention to the Black Knights’ resume for postseason at-large consideration, if that is needed. “I hope the lacrosse community sees that we are here to stay,” she said. “We are able to make statement wins each week and we’re continuing to get better from it. I’m just really proud of our group and their commitment to each other.”
The men’s team gave up an 8-5 lead in the second half and trailed Navy 11-9 with just a few minutes left in the game. But two goals by junior midfielder Evan Plunkett in under a minute tied the score at 11-11 and the Army defense, the nation’s best at giving up only around six goals a game, prevented Navy from scoring in the last minute of regulation.
After both teams had a chance to win in overtime, senior Jackson Eicher, Army’s leading scorer with 38 goals this season, hit a shot into the top left-hand corner of the goal with just under a minute left in the first overtime period to give Army the win.
Navy goalie Dan Daly stopped 15 of the Black Knights 27 shots on goal in the game. Army took a total of 48 shots compared to Navy’s 28 and the Black Knights won the ground ball battle, 39-29. Army also dominated the faceoff X, winning 18 of 25 faceoffs there.
On Saturday, the men’s and women’s teams host the Bucknell Bisons in a rare doubleheader at Michie Stadium. The men’s game begins at noon, with a victory guaranteeing Army a bye in the first round of the Patriot League. If host Boston University loses to Lehigh on Saturday, Army would lock up the top spot, meaning a first-round bye and the opportunity to host the semifinals and championship game.
The women’s game will begin about 30 minutes after the conclusion of the men’s game, While the women’s team is in second place in the Patriot League, the Black Knights, with those three games left, are not yet locked into a league’s postseason playoff spot.
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The men’s team gave up an 8-5 lead in the second half and trailed Navy 11-9 with just a few minutes left in the game. But two goals by junior midfielder Evan Plunkett in under a minute tied the score at 11-11 and the Army defense, the nation’s best at giving up only around six goals a game, prevented Navy from scoring in the last minute of regulation.
After both teams had a chance to win in overtime, senior Jackson Eicher, Army’s leading scorer with 38 goals this season, hit a shot into the top left-hand corner of the goal with just under a minute left in the first overtime period to give Army the win.
Navy goalie Dan Daly stopped 15 of the Black Knights 27 shots on goal in the game. Army took a total of 48 shots compared to Navy’s 28 and the Black Knights won the ground ball battle, 39-29. Army also dominated the faceoff X, winning 18 of 25 faceoffs there.
On Saturday, the men’s and women’s teams host the Bucknell Bisons in a rare doubleheader at Michie Stadium. The men’s game begins at noon, with a victory guaranteeing Army a bye in the first round of the Patriot League. If host Boston University loses to Lehigh on Saturday, Army would lock up the top spot, meaning a first-round bye and the opportunity to host the semifinals and championship game.
The women’s game will begin about 30 minutes after the conclusion of the men’s game, While the women’s team is in second place in the Patriot League, the Black Knights, with those three games left, are not yet locked into a league’s postseason playoff spot.
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