The men’s lacrosse team opened Patriot League play on Saturday, dropping the match 15-5 against No. 5 ranked Army at West Point.
“We knew Army is one of the best teams in the country, let alone conference, and we were excited to start league play against the best,” freshman attacker Joshua Heaney wrote in an email.
Heaney kicked off the scoring for the Leopards (0-1 Patriot League, 3-2 overall), finding the back of the net three minutes into the game. The Black Knights (1-0 Patriot League, 5-0 overall) quickly responded with two goals to give them the lead at the 6:52 mark in the first quarter. Senior attacker Riley Sullivan scored his 11th goal of the season off a Heaney assist to tie it up at two apiece.
“We were all excited,” Sullivan wrote in an email. “We knew the competition was going to ramp up which increases urgency all across the field to limit mistakes and play connected.”
“Our offensive production all season has been very spread out,” Heaney wrote. “I knew that the coaches and my teammates would put me and everyone else in a place to succeed if we did our jobs.”
Army found the net again with four minutes left in the first, carrying a 3-2 advantage into the second quarter. The Black Knights secured another goal shortly into the frame, but freshman midfielder Nicholas Blalock responded with his first goal of the night at the 7:27 mark.
The Black Knights’ offense exploded for five goals throughout the second half of the quarter. The Leopards failed to respond, trailing 9-3 at halftime.
Army continued rolling with three more scores after halftime. Freshman midfielder Mason Hill broke the eight-goal run with his first collegiate goal at the 9:29 mark off an assist from Sullivan.
Blalock added one more tally for the Leopards, pushing the score to 14-5 by the end of the third. The hosts added one more in the final interval to cap off the scoring.
“We are a young team, so just getting the first league game under our belt will help us out a ton,” Sullivan wrote. “Ton of season left to go.”
Sullivan wrote that the coaches’ message to the team is the “same as it always has been.”
“The goal is to go 1 and 0 each day especially on the weekends,” Sullivan wrote. “Don’t treat it any different but now it actually counts.”
The Leopards will host Colgate University (1-0 Patriot League, 4-2 overall) on Saturday for their Military Appreciation game.
“Colgate is another talented team, but our team’s mentality has not changed,” Heaney wrote. “Play our best lacrosse, stick to the game plan, and focus on us and we will be in a position to win on Saturday.”