Army men’s lacrosse coach Joe Alberici knows the only way for his Black Knights to make the NCAA Div. I tournament is by winning this weekend’s Patriot League tourney.
The good news is Army has the top seed and will host the four-team event, and has already beaten Lehigh a month ago. Additionally, Army has also beaten the other two semifinal participants, Loyola and Colgate, convincingly each of the past two weekends, so momentum is clearly on Army’s side.
However, the Patriot League tournament has historically been difficult to win, and “upsets” have been commonplace. “We’ve been through it on both ends,’’ Alberici said.
“I’m really proud of the regular season our guys put together,’’ Alberici said, especially given the mass turnover of experienced starters Army had in 2025. But Army has a long tradition of piecing together quality lineups, and the Black Knights (11-3) did not disappoint, a rare three-match losing skid mid-season interrupting runs of six wins to start the season and the past five contests. Army has reached 19 of the past 20 Patriot semifinal fields. “I’m really very proud that we’ve been able to consistently be in the hunt for a title.’’
Alberici said his team has made a commitment on the offensive end to take “highly rated shots’’ and to be patient, using up more of the shot clock. Plus, the team has been very efficient in the groundball game, and goalkeeper Sean Byrne remains one of the best in the nation.
“I just like where our guys are at, I like how we’re playing, I like how we’re playing together,’’ Alberici said.
Army beat Lehigh 14-11 on March 28, the answer to three narrow losses to Lafayette (10-9 on March 6), Boston University (10-8 on March 14) and North Carolina (12-11 on March 21). Alberici said the Mountain Hawks are “very good offensively’’ and possess a “good combination of skills and athleticism.’’
“Our guys have had a good focused week of practice and succinct but really looking forward to put together our best 60 minutes on Friday at 4 o’clock.’’
kmcmillan@th-record.com
X / Twitter: @KenMcMillanTHR
Patriot League men’s lacrosse tourney
April 28 quarterfinals, at higher seeds
No. 6 Lehigh 16, No 3 Boston Univ. 15 (OT)
No. 5 Colgate 6, No. 4 Bucknell 5 (OT)
Friday semifinals at West Point
No. 6 Lehigh at No. 1 Army, 4 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
No. 5 Colgate at No. 2 Loyola, Md., 7:30 p.m. (CBS Sports Network)
Sunday’s final at West Point
Semifinal winners, noon (CBS Sports Network)
This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army men’s lacrosse on a roll headed into Patriot League semifinals
Reporting by Ken McMillan, Middletown Times Herald- Record / Times Herald-Record
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