Army Black Knights men's lacrosse

The Army Black Knights men's lacrosse team represents the United States Military Academy (USMA, commonly known as "West Point") in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's lacrosse competition. During the team's 92-year history, it has won eight national championships and made fifteen postseason NCAA tournament appearances. The team currently holds the fifth-most wins of any team, with an all-time record of 705–332–7.[2][3]

Army Black Knights
Founded1907
UniversityUnited States Military Academy
Head coachJoe Alberici (since 2006 season)
StadiumMichie Stadium
(capacity: 40,000)
LocationWest Point, New York
ConferencePatriot League
NicknameBlack Knights
ColorsBlack, Gold, and Gray[1]
              
Pre-NCAA era championships
(8) - 1923, 1944, 1945, 1951, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1969
NCAA Tournament Final Fours
(2) - 1971, 1984
NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals
(11) - 1971, 1972, 1973, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1993, 2010
NCAA Tournament appearances
(17) - 1971, 1972, 1973, 1978, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1987, 1993, 1996, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2010, 2019
Conference Tournament championships
(2) - 2010, 2019
Conference regular season championships
(14) - 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2008, 2010, 2017
Army against Syracuse in 2010

History

The first Army lacrosse game was played in 1907 against Stevens Tech. The Cadets won that season's only contest, 3–1. In 1909 and 1910, Army again fielded a lacrosse team, which mostly played local high school and club teams, but also a game each against Stevens Tech and Columbia. In those first three seasons, Army won all ten games it played. In 1921, lacrosse returned to West Point for good. After a 2–3 mark that season, the Cadets improved to 6–1 the following year, which was the start to a 33-year streak of winning seasons. In 1923, Army finished with an 8–1–1 record and was named the national championship team by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA).[2]

In 1929, F. Morris Touchstone became the head coach. He remained in that post for 29 years and became Army's all-time winningest head coach in terms of wins with a record of 214–73–4 and winning percentage of 0.743. During this period, the lacrosse and football teams were closely connected and shared many personnel, as football players found the sport an excellent way to remain physically fit during the off-season. In both 1944 and 1945, Army won national championships in lacrosse and football.[2]

Bill Carpenter, the "Lonesome End" and a future Distinguished Service Cross recipient, continued the tradition as both a football and lacrosse star. After Touchstone's death, James F. Adams took over as head coach in 1958, and in that first season, led the Cadets to their first perfect record since 1910 and the national championship. He stayed on for 12 years and compiled three more shared titles and a winning percentage of 0.777. In 1961, Adams was named the national Coach of the Year.[2]

Army versus Rutgers in 2010

Adams was replaced by Al Pisano. In 1971, the NCAA became the awarding authority for the lacrosse national championship and instituted the NCAA tournament. Army participated in each of the first three events. In the inaugural tournament, the Cadets routed Hofstra in order to advance to the final four, where Cornell edged them by one goal. Dick Edell replaced Pisano, and served for seven years before leaving to become Maryland's long-time coach.[4]

During the 1980s, Army appeared in six NCAA tournaments, including five consecutive ones starting in 1981. In 1984, Jack Emmer became head coach, and Army advanced to the final four, before being eliminated by Syracuse. The 1993 team finished with a 12–4 record, which included a defeat of Maryland in the first round of the NCAA tournament. In 1991, Army joined the Patriot League, and won its first 25 consecutive conference games, a league record.[4] In 1999, the athletic teams, formerly known as the "Cadets", officially changed their name to the "Black Knights".[5]

An Army midfielder in action against Navy during the 2009 Day of Rivals.

Army made three straight NCAA tournament appearances from 2003 to 2005. The following season, former assistant coach Joe Alberici returned to West Point to assume the head job. That year, the Black Knights finished as runners-up in the Patriot League and narrowly missed a tournament berth. In 2008, Army earned the conference regular season championship and Alberici was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year.[4]

Home stadium

Army currently plays its home games at Michie Stadium, which is also the homefield of the football team and has an official capacity of 40,000. Prior to that, Army lacrosse used "The Plain" (the main parade ground), Clinton Field, Daly Field, and Shea Stadium.[2]

Championships

From 1934 through 1970, the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) awarded the Wingate Memorial Trophy to the NCAA Division I annual champion, based on regular-season records. Since 1971, the annual NCAA Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament has determined the top team in NCAA Division I lacrosse. Army has been awarded eight national championships, but none since the implementation of the NCAA tournament.

Year National championships Coach Record
1923USILA ChampionshipTalbot Hunter8–1–1
1944Wingate TrophyF. Morris Touchstone6–2
1945Wingate Trophy (with Navy)F. Morris Touchstone5–1–1
1951Wingate Trophy (with Princeton)F. Morris Touchstone8–2
1958Wingate TrophyJames F. Adams9–0
1959Wingate Trophy (with Johns Hopkins)James F. Adams8–2
1961Wingate Trophy (with Navy)James F. Adams9–2
1969Wingate Trophy (with Johns Hopkins)James F. Adams10–1

Season results

The following is a list of Army's results by season as an NCAA Division I program:

Season Coach Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Al Pisano (Independent) (1970–1976)
1971 Al Pisano 11–2NCAA Division I Final Four
1972 Al Pisano 10–4NCAA Division I Quarterfinals
1973 Al Pisano 6–5NCAA Division I Quarterfinals
1974 Al Pisano 3–7
1975 Al Pisano 5–5
1976 Al Pisano 6–6
Al Pisano: 48–32 (.600)
Dick Edell (Independent) (1977–1983)
1977 Dick Edell 8–3
1978 Dick Edell 10–3NCAA Division I Quarterfinals
1979 Dick Edell 10–3
1980 Dick Edell 8–4
1981 Dick Edell 10–4NCAA Division I Quarterfinals
1982 Dick Edell 9–4NCAA Division I Quarterfinals
1983 Dick Edell 11–3NCAA Division I Quarterfinals
Dick Edell: 66–24 (.733)
Jack Emmer (Independent) (1984–1990)
1984 Jack Emmer 11–3NCAA Division I Final Four
1985 Jack Emmer 10–4NCAA Division I Quarterfinals
1986 Jack Emmer 6–6
1987 Jack Emmer 10–5NCAA Division I First Round
1988 Jack Emmer 7–7
1989 Jack Emmer 5–9
1990 Jack Emmer 4–9
Jack Emmer (Patriot League) (1991–2005)
1991 Jack Emmer 10–45–01st
1992 Jack Emmer 10–45–01st
1993 Jack Emmer 12–45–01stNCAA Division I Quarterfinals
1994 Jack Emmer 8–75–01st
1995 Jack Emmer 6–85–01st
1996 Jack Emmer 10–54–12ndNCAA Division I First Round
1997 Jack Emmer 9–55–01st
1998 Jack Emmer 7–75–01st
1999 Jack Emmer 8–64–1T–1st
2000 Jack Emmer 8–74–23rd
2001 Jack Emmer 8–64–23rd
2002 Jack Emmer 8–65–1T–1st
2003 Jack Emmer 8–85–1T–1stNCAA Division I First Round
2004 Jack Emmer 10–54–3T–3rdNCAA Division I First Round
2005 Jack Emmer 11–65–1T–1stNCAA Division I First Round
Jack Emmer: 186–88 (.679)70–12 (.854)
Joe Alberici (Patriot League) (2006–Present)
2006 Joe Alberici 8–74–2T–3rd
2007 Joe Alberici 6–93–34th
2008 Joe Alberici 9–65–1T–1st
2009 Joe Alberici 6–102–4T–4th
2010 Joe Alberici 11–66–01stNCAA Division I Quarterfinals
2011 Joe Alberici 9–64–23rd
2012 Joe Alberici 7–84–23rd
2013 Joe Alberici 8–64–23rd
2014 Joe Alberici 9–57–12nd
2015 Joe Alberici 10–74–45th
2016 Joe Alberici 10–75–3T–3rd
2017 Joe Alberici 12–46–2T–1st
2018 Joe Alberici 5–82–6T–7th
2019 Joe Alberici 13–55–3T–2ndNCAA Division I First Round
2020 Joe Alberici 6–22–0††
2021 Joe Alberici 0–00–0
Joe Alberici: 129–96 (.573)63–35 (.643)
Total:805–396–7 (.669)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

†NCAA canceled 2020 collegiate activities due to the COVID-19 virus.

See also

References
  1. Army Brand Guidelines (PDF). April 13, 2015. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
  2. 2009 Army Lacrosse Media Guide, Army Athletic Communications, United States Military Academy, p. 78, 2009.
  3. Army Black Knights (M): 2009 Schedule Archived May 12, 2009, at the Wayback Machine, Inside Lacrosse, retrieved May 12, 2009.
  4. Media guide, p. 79.
  5. SI Wire (April 7, 2015). "Army athletics dropping Black Knights nickname". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 27, 2019.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.