(Photo Courtesy of Army West Point Athletics)

Army scored just one goal in each of the final two frames and seemed to take its time during their final possessions, having the 11-6 win over Navy firmly in hand. It marked the first win for the Black Knights over their arch rival since 2019.

That slow pace to end the game was a stark contrast to how the Black Knights had opened the game. Army scored on each of its first three possessions with Reese Burek, Andrew Kelly, and Paul Johnson each finding the back of the net to make it a 3-0 game less than five full minutes in.

Freshman Evan Plunkett got himself on the board at the 56 mark of the first quarter and would do so once more early in the second, pulling Army ahead 5-1 with 13:20 to go in the first half of play.

Dane Swanson broke the lid for Navy at the 4:32 mark of the first quarter. Xavier Arline would score on a nasty behind-the-back shot to cut the Army lead to 5-2 at the 11:18 mark of the second frame. Those, however, would be the only two goals the Midshipmen would get to go in the first half of play.

Navy got off 21 shots during the first half and put 10 of them on cage. The Midshipmen got off 34 shots on the day and put 16 of them on cage. Henry Tolker and Max Hewitt were the only two Navy starters to register a goal as that group shot 2-of-26 on the day as a whole.

Four times Navy had a man-up opportunity and all four of those times they came up empty. They only got one shot off during any of those situations.

Xavier Arline came off the bench for two goals to lead the struggling Navy offense.

Following Arline’s highlight reel score to make it a 5-2 game early in the second quarter, Army answered with its biggest run of the game as a pair of Reese Burek scores bookend a four-goal run. That second-quarter spark pulled Army ahead 9-2 at the half.

While an outside rip from Jack Flaherty ended what was roughly a 17-minute scoring drought for Navy and sparked a three-goal run to pull within four (9-5), it would be the only spark the Midshipmen would get all day. Pat Ryan made six saves during that frame to hold Army to just a single goal in the third.

By virtue of Will Colletti going 12-for-20 (60%) on the day and 6-for-8 (75%) in the second half alone, Army was able to control the pace, and in turn the game, for most of the afternoon.

The Black Knights also won the ground ball battle 38-26 and caused seven of Navy’s 14 turnovers. Five of those caused turnovers, however, came during the second half of play.

Knox Dent made 10 saves on the day to anchor the Army defense while AJ Pilate led the way out in front of the cage with four ground balls and three caused turnovers. Pilate twice not only dislodged the ball from but also de sticked his opponent.

Reese Burek led the Army offense with five points off four goals and one assist.

Army (10-2, 7-0 Patriot League) host Boston U. next week in what will be a battle for the top seed in the Patriot League tournament. Navy (7-7, 4-3 Patriot League) ends its regular season at Bucknell.

Johns Hopkins Tops Maryland in Thrilling Contest

The Johns Hopkins Blue Jays came out on top, 12-11, against their rival Maryland Terrapins on Saturday night. It marked the end of Johns Hopkins’ five-game losing steak to its rival and the first win over the Terrapins in the Peter Milliman era.

Brendan Grimes got the Blue Jays on the board to make it a 1-1 game at the 10:39 mark of the opening frame. That early draw was the first of what would end up being 10 different ties during the contest. And from that 10:39 mark in the first through the 11:56 mark of the third quarter, all the Blue Jays and Terrapins did was share two-goal runs.

Braeden Erska scored twice late in the second frame to pull Maryland ahead 5-4 at the half. He put home another one to net himself a hat trick and finish off the final two-goal run of the day for Maryland in the third quarter. That score made it a 7-6 Terrapins lead. Erska’s fourth of the day came later in the frame and gave Maryland what would be its last lead of the game at 8-7.

A pair from Jonathan Peshko and Matt Collison pulled Johns Hopkins ahead 9-8 with 1:58 left in the third quarter. From that point forward, the Blue Jays would never trail again. Daniel Maltz and tied it a 9-9 late in the third and 10-10 early in the fourth for Maryland but the Terrapins were never able to get back in front.

Russell Melendez (2G/3A) would end the day with five points for Hopkins and three of those came during the final 15:14 of play as he left his mark of the historic rivalry in his first bout with the Terrapins. Melendez put home his first of the day with 14 seconds left in the third quarter to pull the Blue Jays ahead 10-9, assisted on a Jacob Angelus score with 8:23 left that put an exclamation point on a transition sequence, and burned Maryland’s Brett Makar for a score with 3:51 left.

That final goal from Melendez would be the last of the day for Hopkins and put them ahead by two, 12-10, for the first and only time of the day.

Maryland got three looks down the stretch to possibly close things out in their favor but would convert on one of those looks with Daniel Maltz netting fourth of the day with just 54 seconds left.

In addition to Melendez’s five-point day to lead Johns Hopkins, Jacob Angelus had three goals and one assist for four points. Tyler Dunn went 14-for-23 (60%) at the dot and Tim Marcille made six saves in cage.

Johns Hopkins (11-4, 4-1 Big Ten) claim a share of the regular-season Big Ten title along with Penn State. They will get a bye to the conference semifinals as the No, 2 seed. The Blue Jays will face the winner the quarterfinal contest between No.3 Maryland (8-4, 3-2 Big Ten) and No. 6 Rutgers (8-5, 1-4 Big Ten).

Air Force Upsets Jacksonville

With still one weekend left in the regular season, Utah has locked up the top seed in the ASUN Tournament. Seeds two through six are all still up for grabs and things may be even more shaken up after Air Force’s 15-11 upset win over Jacksonville on Saturday afternoon.

It was Air Force’s fourth game against a ranked opponent but the only time in which the Falcons would come out on top.

Down 4-3 coming out of the first quarter, the Falcons dominated the middle portion of the game as they outscored the Dolphins 11-3 over a 30-plus minute stretch from the 10:45 mark in the second through the 12:03 mark of the fourth quarter.

Seven different players scored during that stretch for the Falcons. Aidan Tolen (4G), Matt Rubino (3G), Brandon Dodd (2G), and Josh Yago (2G) each found the back of the net twice during that big Air Force run.

Ethan Lamond (3G) and Brandon Galloway (3G/2A) each scored a pair of consecutive goals down the stretch to try and get the Dolphins back in after getting behind 14-7, but it wasn’t enough. Following those two scores the Dolphins would get just three more shots off in the final 9:27 of play. One of those looks went wide and the other two were stopped by Jason Rose, who ended the day with 11 saves for the Falcons.

Air Force (9-5, 6-2 ASUN) finished the regular season at home against Robert Morris next week. Jacksonville (11-3, 6-2 ASUN) travels to Bellarmine for its regular season finale next week. Both contest have big postseason implications seeding-wise.

Notre Dame, Virginia Dominate ACC Matchups

No. 1 Notre Dame handled No. 14 North Carolina 19-9 on Saturday afternoon in a contest where Eric Dobson (3G), Pat Kavanagh (1G/3A), and Chris Kavanagh (2G/1A) led the way for the Irish offense.

Liam Entenmann came was questionable right before game time after being hit with a shot during warmups. He would play and have himself one heck of a performance, making 16 saves to anchor the Notre Dame defense.

While North Carolina has stormed back to make it a 7-5 game at the half after previously being down 7-1 early in the second, the Irish outscored the Tar Heels 9-4 in the second half to pull away and secure the dominant win.

In Charlottesville, No. 4 Virginia took down No. 12 Syracuse 19-12 while donning its 1980s throwback uniforms.

Xander Dickson netted seven goals and also dished out two assists for nine points. Payton Cormier had four goals. Matthew Nunes made 10 saves in cage.

Virginia pulled ahead 7-2 in the first quarter and never looked back, taking a 10-5 advantage into the half and outscoring the Orange 9-7 in the final two frames to seal the deal.

Three Winners and Three Losers

Winners: Army West Point Black Knights

Beating Navy is enough to put Army in this spot. However, the Black Knights are even more worthy of being dubbed one of the ‘winners’ of the week based on how they took down their arch rival. Topping the Midshipmen 11-6, Army came out of the gate hot and was able to control the pace of play for the majority of the contest.

Winners: Johns Hopkins Blue Jays

For the first time in the Peter Milliman era, the Blue Jays of Johns Hopkins have earned a win over arch rival Maryland Terrapins. And they earned it in what was a classic battle of tug-o-war between the two squads, seeing 10 ties throughout the game. Russell Melendez’s memorable performance helped push them over the edge.

Winners: Penn State Nittany Lions

Folks are happy in Happy Valley. The Nittany Lions put it in full throttle and downed Rutgers 14-5 to win a share of the Big Ten title on Friday night. By virtue of Hopkins beating Maryland, Penn State will be the top seed in the conference tournament for the first time since 2019 and will host the tournament (semifinals and title game) for the first time ever.

Losers: Navy Midshipmen

Navy came into Saturday having fought through a string of injuries all season but on a hot streak as it won each of its last four games. That luster that had been there each of the past few weeks didn’t show up on Saturday as the Midshipmen were unable to get much of anything going outside a short spark in the third quarter.

Losers: Rutgers Scarlet Knights

Rutgers was already living on the bubble. Now, after losing to Penn State on Friday night, the Scarlet Knights will be the No. 6 seed in the Big Ten tournament and are even more likely to be left out of the NCAA Tournament. Rutgers went 7-1 in non-conference play and 1-4 once Big Ten play began.

Losers: North Carolina Tar Heels

Similar to the aforementioned Rutgers, North Carolina is now in a much worse spot following its loss to Notre Dame on Saturday afternoon. The Tar Heels, though, don’t have the luxury of a conference tournament to help get some juice back. Another battle with the Irish in two weeks is all the Tar Heels have left.

Conference By Conference Notes

America East

• Vermont blasted UMass Lowell 21-3.
• Bryant topped Binghamton 14-10 in what was, theoretically, a battle for the No. 2 seed in the league tournament.
• UMBC survived a strong comeback effort to beat NJIT 12-10.
• UAlbany lost to Yale on Friday and plays Merrimack on Sunday.

ASUN

• Bellarmine topped Detroit Mercy 18-3 to officially clinch a spot in the conference tournament.
• Mercer beat Queens 18-5.
• Robert Morris beat Lindenwood 18-12

A10

• A 2-0 fourth quarter helped push Saint Joseph’s past UMass 11-10 to earn a share of the Atlantic 10 regular season title.
• Richmond topped Hobart 20-15.
• High Point beat St. Bonaventure 17-8.

Big East

• Denver defeated Providence on Friday.
• Georgetown topped St. John’s 18-12.
• Austin Fraser put in the overtime, game-winner for Villanova to send the Wildcats past Marquette 16-15.

CAA

• Stony Brook beat Fairfield 17-14.
• Delaware topped Drexel 18-13 to remain unbeaten in CAA play.
• Towson beat Monmouth 15-11.
• Hofstra defeated Hampton 16-4.

Ivy League

• Cornell pulled away from Brown 16-9.
• Penn blew past Dartmouth 17-6.
• Princeton beat Harvard 17-11 in a game where Coulter Mackesy had 10 points off eight goals and two assists.

MAAC

• Marist beat VMI 18-7 to help the Red Foxes earn the No. 3 see in the conference tournament.
• Quinnipiac beat LIU 19-13 to help them get the No. 6 seed.
• Sacred Heart topped Canisius 15-8. The Pioneers gain the No. 5 seed and head to the postseason for the first time since 2019.
• Siena topped Mount St. Mary’s 13-12 in a tight game. The Mount gets the No. 2 seed while the Saints get the No. 4 seed.
• Manhattan beat Wagner 6-2 to help them gain the top seed and host the MAAC tournament.

Patriot League

• Boston U. beat Lehigh 14-11 to set up a battle for the top seed in the conference tournament with Army next week.
• Loyola pulled away from Colgate 17-11 to help them earn a postseason berth.
• Lafayette beat Bucknell in OT on Friday to earn its first postseason berth since 2010.