Army Men’s Lacrosse Claims Critical Star Point in Thrilling Win over Navy

The rivalry between the Army West Point Black Knights and the Navy Midshipmen knows no bounds, no matter the sport.

That includes men’s lacrosse, where the two teams faced each other in Annapolis in what became a match for the ages at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium this weekend.

Army came into the match with the high national ranking and Navy was in chase mode. With this being a rivalry match, it went to overtime, where the No. 5 Black Knights slipped away with a 12-11 win over the Midshipmen.

The match became a defensive showdown in overtime, as both Army (10-1, 5-1 Patriot League) and Navy (7-5, 3-3 Patriot League) leaned on its goaltenders before a Black Knights charge into Navy set up the game-winner.

Army’s Jackson Eicher saw his first shot fly wide of the goal. But, 30 seconds later, he got the ball back and found the back of the net to clinch the win and the all-important point in the “Star Series” between the two schools.

For the Black Knights, it was their 39th all-time win over Navy, its 36th Star Game victory, and its 20th victory over the Midshipmen in Annapolis. It also clinched Army’s fourth consecutive season with at least 10 wins.

Four of the last seven Star Games have been decided by one goal, including three in overtime.

With the match tied a 9-9 going in the fourth quarter, Navy pulled away with an 11-9 lead, which was part of a huge fourth quarter as the Midshipmen scored five of the first six goals to erase a deficit and take the lead.

Henry Tolker scored the go-ahead goal while Jack Flaherty scored the goal that gave the Midshipmen the two-goal lead with five minutes remaining. Then, Army’s All-American midfielder Evan Plunkett scored two goals in the final two-plus minutes to send the contest into overtime.

For Army, Eicher, Plunkett, and Gunnar Fellows led the Black Knights' offense with three points each. Eicher and Plunkett each recorded a hat trick while Fellows nabbed two goals and an assist.

Eight different players accounted for Navy's 11 goals in the contest, including two by Flaherty, Mac Haley and jack Ponzio. Flaherty added a pair of assists to lead the way in the points column with four.

Navy goaltender gave up 12 goals but made 15 saves in 63 minutes of action. Army goaltender Sean Byrne gave up 11 goals and made six saves.