Men's Lacrosse Downs NJIT

Sunday, March 13

West Point, N.Y.

12 PM

Army West Point

5-2

NJIT

0-8

NJIT

Army West Point

March 13, 2016 | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. – The Army lacrosse team outscored NJIT by a 10-2 margin in the second half and cruised to a 16-6 win on Sunday afternoon at Michie Stadium.

The Black Knights (5-2) scored eight goals in the fourth quarter, which tied season high for a frame this year. Cole Johnson led the way with seven points, which tied his career best, with two goals and five assists. He finishes the weekend with 13 points on six goals and seven assists in the two games.

Nate Jones tallied a team high four goals, while Ted Glesener and Connor Cook found the net twice for the winners. Luke Poulos got on the board with his first of the season, while Danny DeSanti scored for the second-straight day coming from his long-stick midfield position.

AJ Barretto stopped four shots in the win, which was his fourth of the year. He was out there for just over 54 minutes before being relieved by Matt Isnardi and Paul Newbold, who each made a save apiece.

Dan Grabher was exceptional for the second-straight game as he won 10-of-12 faceoffs and scooped up nine ground balls. Alex Daly also stepped in and won 7-of-10 draws.

The Highlanders (0-7) saw John Roach record a hat trick in the loss, with one coming on a great individual effort from behind the net. Aaron Forster chipped in with two goals and two assist for a team-high four points. Joe Lomeli also scored, while Jesse Rice had three assists. Nick Marzullo finished with 12 saves in the loss.

The Black Knights jumped out to an early lead with Johnson and Glesener scoring back-to-back goals and Army led 2-0 with 10:40 on the clock in the first quarter. The Highlanders steamed back with three of the next four goals and the two teams were tied heading into the second quarter. Forster had two of the three goals by the Highlanders and Santorelli scored his second of the year.

The second quarter was a slower one in reference to scoring as Army gained a 6-4 advantage going into the half. Poulos, DeSanti and Conor Glancy all found the net for the Black Knights. DeSanti scored his second of the weekend to put Army up 5-4 and then Glancy fired a bounce shot to give the Black Knights a two-goal lead.

The second half was all Army as the Black Knights ended up with seven-straight tallies in the fourth quarter to push this game wide open. Jones scored the only two goals of the third quarter and Army led 8-4 at the conclusion of the frame.

Lomeli found the net on a man-up chance with 11:34 on the clock in the final quarter to cut the lead to 8-5. That was the closest the Highlanders got as the Black Knight reeled off seven in a row in a seven minute span. Jones and Cook had a pair of goals during the stretch. Glesener and Johnson added tallies as well and John Ragno earned a spot on the scoresheet with his second of the year after winning a draw.

Roach ended the run with his third of the day, but David Symmes sealed the 16-6 win on his second goal of the year with 2:19 remaining.

Army dominated in the shots column with a 44-26 advantage. The Black Knights also picked up 40 ground balls to only 21 for the visitors. Army continued to win faceoffs and was a combined 18-of-26 between four different faceoff specialists.

The Black Knights are back in league play next weekend with a matchup against Holy Cross at 12 p.m. at Michie Stadium. Tickets are still available and can be purchased online at goarmywestpoint.com/tickets, by calling 1-877-TIX-ARMY or in person at Gate 3 of Michie Stadium.

Game Notes: This was the first-ever meeting between Army and NJIT … the Highlanders are playing their second varsity season … Johnson has four multi-goal games this season … he leads the team with 20 on the year … he tied his career high with seven points and his five helpers were a career best … Jones tied a season-high with four goals … Army now has 23 players with goals this season … Coach Joe Alberici won his 96th career game as a head coach in college lacrosse … this was the last non-conference game until the matchup with Notre Dame on May 8 … the Black Knights scored eight goals in a quarter for the second time this season … they held an opponent scoreless in a quarter for the fifth time … the defense held its opponent to single digits for the fifth time in seven games this year.