BOSTON – Loyola University Maryland had a 3-0 run in the first half and a 5-1 stretch in the second half, but the U.S. Military Academy used a similar 3-0 stretch and one that was 6-0 to defeat the Greyhounds, 10-8, in the Patriot League Championship Game at Boston University's Nickerson Field.
The 13th-ranked Black Knights (12-3 overall) broke a scoreless tie with a Jacob Morin goal at 7:53 in the first quarter, the opening salvo on a 3-0 stretch that took only 1 minute, 14 seconds to give them the early advantage.
Loyola (9-8), however, battled back to tie the game with its own 3-0 run with
Matt Heuston scoring the first two goals off assists by
Dylan Binney and
Adam Poitras.
Evan James added an unassisted goal at 9:36, and the game was deadlocked at 3-3.
It would not stay even for long, though, as Morin scored his second of two in the game 36 seconds later to put Army West Point back in front. Paul Johnson scored at 2:56, and Ryan Sposito added one at 1:48 to make it 6-3 Black Knights at halftime.
They then tallied the first three goals of the second half with Johnson's score at 9:40 making it 9-3 in favor of the Black Knights.
Binney came back with an unassisted goal for the Greyhounds at 8:33 – he would finish with a career-high three points on a goal and three assists – and
Adam Poitras added another just over a minute later to pull Loyola within four, 9-5.
Seth Higgins brought the margin back to three, taking a Binney pass to score at 1:10 in the third, but Sposito stepped into a shot from left point for a goal at 12:40, and Army West Point's lead was 10-6.
Loyola held the Black Knights off the scoreboard from there, forcing five Army West Point turnovers on clears in the fourth quarter and eight giveaways in the final stanza all together.
James fed Poitras inside for a goal with 2:59 left, and then Poitras converted a
Davis Lindsey pass for a goal with 1:26 to go, but the Greyhounds ran out of time after that as Army West Point was able to run out the clock.
Poitras, James and
Luke Staudt were named to the Patriot League Championships All-Tournament Team for the Greyhounds.
James set a Championships single-game record with six goals in the quarterfinal win on Tuesday against Navy, and he was one goal from tying the tournament record for total goals with 11; he added four assists for 15 total points. Poitras scored four goals in a semifinal win over Boston University, and he had eight total to go with three assists.
Staudt made 11 saves on Sunday against Army West Point and set a Patriot League Championships record overall with 49 after making 18 at Navy and 20 against the Terriers.
Alex Bean led the Greyhounds with six ground balls and three caused turnovers on Sunday, while
Matt Hughes, Max McGIllicuddy,
Mustang Sally and
Matthew Minicus all had two caused turnovers. Loyola's 15 caused turnovers against the Black Knights were a season high.
