Offensive Explosion Leads No. 12 Men's Lax to 19-11 Win At Bucknell
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Army |
6 |
5 |
5 |
3 |
19 |
|
Bucknell |
2 |
2 |
4 |
3 |
11 |
LEWISBURG, Pa. – The No. 12 Army West Point men's lacrosse team clinched its third consecutive 10 win season with a 19 goal offensive explosion. This marks the third such streak in program history and is the seventh 10 win season under Jack Emmer Head Coach Joe Alberici.
The goals came early and often for the Black Knights, who finished with three guys with hat tricks.
Reese Burek netted the first two goals of the game immediately followed by goals from Ryan Sposito and Jackson Eicher to go up 4-0 early on. The first Bucknell shot of the game came with 4:24 left in the first quarter and it led to a goal. Alec Vaccaro proceeded to win the ensuing faceoff and take it by himself for his first career goals.
The Black Knights were without All-American faceoff specialist Will Coletti on Friday night who was out due to injury, but the combination of Vaccaro and freshman Robert Simone showed out at the faceoff x. Vaccaro went 4-6 and Simone went 16-27 to go with 12 ground balls. Entering the day with a team faceoff percentage of .611, the new combo kept the Black Knights in that ballpark with a stellar percentage of .606.
Eicher would net one more goal before the quarter ended to take a 6-2 lead going into second quarter. Gunnar Fellows opened the second quarter with a goal and four minutes later Burek locked up his third hat trick of the season with an impressive one handed shot to go up 8-2. A Bucknell goal was followed by a flurry of Army goals, Paul Johnson registered his second of the year, and then Burek and Eicher scored again. Up 11-4 at half, Reese Burek had as many goals as the Bison entire team. The first half hat trick for Eicher is the eighth hat trick of the season for him. He now leads the team with 33 goals and 51 total points.
The Cadets opened the second half with three goals to build on their already commanding lead. The combo of Evan Plunkett, Ryan Sellew, and Jacob Morin made it a 14-4 ball game. After two Bison goals, Morin answered with his second of the day with an absolute rocket to the back of the net. Two more Bucknell goals were met with Burek's fifth of the game. Five goals matches his career high.
Morin would get his sixth hat trick of the year early in the fourth quarter, followed by Eicher's fourth goal of the night. Four goals matches his career high which he has set twice this season. Trevor Kelly scored his first goal of the season with 1:33 left in the game before the clock expired on the Black Knight's 10th win of the season, clinching a spot in the Patriot League tournament in the process.
Now the Black Knight's remain in a tie for first place in the league with Loyola waiting for them next week in Baltimore. Army and the Greyhounds currently are alone at the top of the Patriot League before Saturday's games. The winner of Boston U and Lehigh will join the tie atop the league as well as Colgate with a win.
**To chat with other Army fans about this article and more, please visit The 12th Knight message board**
• WATCH the latest videos from GoBlackKnights.com and subscribe to our YouTube channel