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DALLAS – Army freshman attackman Jeremy Boltus totaled two goals and an assist, while senior attackman Justin Bokmeyer added two goals as 10 different Black Knights found the net en route to a 12-11 victory over Rutgers, Saturday afternoon, at the Ford Patriot Cup at Texas Stadium.
Senior captain Adam Fullerton totaled 11 saves in goal for the Black Knights for his third-straight game and fourth this season with double-digit saves.
Army (3-2), which moved up to No. 15 in this week’s USILA Coaches Poll, led by as many as four on three occasions during the game, including 9-5 with 9:23 to play in the third quarter, but the Scarlet Knights (1-3) would use a 5-1 run to tie the game, 10-10, with 14:04 remaining in the fourth quarter. A goal by senior midfielder Andrew Supiano with 9:03 remaining in the game gave Army an 11-10 edge. Rutgers looked to score the equalizer and pulled its goalie with less than two minutes to play, but junior attackman Brooks Korvin scored on an empty net to put Army up, 12-10, with 1:07 on the clock. Rutgers didn’t go quietly with a goal with 25 seconds later, but the Black Knights were able to hold on for the victory in what was the 10th one-goal outcome in the last 12 games between the two teams.
Army junior midfielder Kevin LoRusso got things going with a 10-yard shot from the right side at 12:28 to give Army a 1-0 lead. Bokmeyer took a feed from junior Jason Peyer from behind the net and converted from five yards out to make it a 2-0 game with 3:18 left in the quarter.
Rutgers would get on the board at 2:24 after a shot by Taylor Bottar deflected in off an Army defender, before Peyer made it a 3-1 game with 14 seconds on the clock. Rutgers was able to sneak a goal in as the first quarter expired to pull within one, 3-2.
Army looked to pull away in the second quarter, using a 4-1 run to take a 7-3 lead with 6:40 to play in the first half. Senior Paul Wigdzinski scored an unassisted goal at 13:45, before Rutgers’ Kory Kelly netted the first of his three goals on the afternoon to make it 4-3 with 12:40 on the clock. Unanswered goals by Rob McCallion at 7:33, sophomore midfielder Andrew Maisano at 6:55 and Bokmeyer on an assist by junior midfielder Sean Reppard off the ensuing faceoff 14 seconds later gave the Black Knights its first four-goal cushion of the day. A pair of goals by RU’s Collin Donahue sandwiched a Boltus tally off a McCallion feed at 2:22 as Army led 8-5 at halftime.
Senior midfielder Mike Hanna scored an unassisted goal at 9:23 of the third quarter to make it a 9-5 Army lead, but Rutgers would use a 3-1 push to finish the quarter, and add two more unanswered goals to start the fourth to knot the game, 10-10 and setup the final 14:04 of the game.
GAME NOTES: Saturday’s game marked the first time the Army lacrosse team had ever played in Texas ... Army outshot Rutgers by a 40-31 margin, including a 25-22 advantage in shots on goal. The Black Knights also won the ground ball battle, 38-29, while splitting the faceoffs, 13-13 ... 10 of the last 12 games between Army and Rutgers have been decided by one goal, while the other two were two and three goal games, respectively. Army is 7-3 in the last 10 one-goal games against the Scarlett Knights ... former Army lacrosse players Alex Bolling III (USMA ’72), Tom Fitzsimmons (USMA ’73), Denis Lambert (USMA ’82) and Tom Hickman (USMA ’87) addressed the team before lunch on Friday, while Kevin MacGibbon (USMA ’80) was present during Thursday’s practice at nearby Plano High School. The five former Cadets earned a combined eight All-America honors during their time at West Point ... MacGibbon is currently the head lacrosse coach at Plano High School and coached Army freshmen Nick and Tom Palesky ... Navy defeated Holy Cross, 16-3, in the day’s other Division I game. Two high school games were also played as proceeds from the day’s events were donated to the Wounded Warrior Project, which assists wounded soldiers and their families during their recovery.
