Men's Lacrosse Clinches Postseason Berth

Saturday, April 9

Boston, Mass.

1 PM

Army West Point

8-3, 5-1PL

Boston University

8-4, 3-3PL

Army West Point

Boston University

Men's Lacrosse Clinches Postseason Berth

April 09, 2016 | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score

BOSTON – The Army West Point men's lacrosse team left no doubt it would be moving onto the Patriot League Tournament with a convincing 15-4 win over Boston University on Saturday afternoon at Nickerson Field.

Army (8-3, 5-1 PL) was led by rookie Nate Jones with a career-high five goals, while Cole Johnson recorded four points on two goals and two assists. Overall the Black Knights had nine different goal scorers. Luke Poulos chipped in with two goals, while Connor Cook added two points on a goal and an assist.

AJ Barretto had another outstanding day in the cage with eight stops. He made seven in the first half and just missed the shutout in the opening 30 minutes. Matt Isnardi came into the game late in the fourth quarter and scored his first collegiate goal with a shot from the defensive end that hit the open Boston University net. He ended up with seven saves in just over four minutes of action.

The clearing game was huge for the Black Knights as they finished 22-of-22. Army won the ground ball battle as well with a 41-36 advantage.

Terriers (8-4, 3-3 PL) saw Ryan Hilburn find the net three times in the loss, while James Burr added to the stat sheet as well. Christian Carson-Banister got the start and made seven saves. He was pulled in the first quarter, but came back in the second half.

Army couldn't have asked for a better start. The Black Knights reeled off seven goals in the first 15 minutes, including a hat trick in under a minute. Johnson and Jones led the way with two goals apiece in the opening frame. Connor Cook, Avery Littlejohn, Jimbo Moore and Luke Poulos also added to the lead in the first quarter.

The game slowed down in the second quarter with Army scoring a pair of goals, while the Terriers got on the board with a minute left in the half. Nate Jones finished off a natural hat trick in the second quarter for his sixth game with at least three goals and the Black Knights headed into the break with a 9-1 lead.

After a Terriers goal to begin the third quarter, the Black Knights went on a short four-goal run to earn an 11-goal advantage at 13-2. Jones got it started with his fourth of the game, followed by Max Kreig scoring on a fast break for his second of the year. Johnson then netted his second of the day to make it a 12-2 game. Dalton MacAfee continued the run with a tally against his former school. MacAfee played hockey at Boston University for one season in 2013-14. The Terriers stopped the run with 1:39 left in the frame. It was a funky play where Barretto made the save on a pass, but Burr scooped up the ground ball and scored to make it a 13-3 game.

The fourth quarter was not as action-packed as the previous quarters, but Army outscored the Terriers 2-1 in the frame. Jones added to his numbers with his fifth of the year, while Isnardi fired home the first of his career to close out the scoring at 15-4.

Army is back in action at home next Saturday for the Army-Navy Game presented by USAA. The game is set for a 12 p.m. faceoff on CBS Sports Network. Tickets are still available at GoArmyWestPoint.com/tickets.

Game Notes: This was the third all-time meeting between Boston University and Army … the second time the two teams have met in Boston … midfielder Dalton MacAfee spent a year at BU as a hockey player in 2013-14, playing 31 games for the Terriers … he scored in his first action back in Boston … Jones finished with a career-high five goals … Cole Johnson extended his point streak to 31 games with four points and has a career-best 54 points this season.