Courtesy of David Schamis

The men’s lacrosse team (0–2, 0–0 Ivy) hosted Army (3–0, 0–0 AAC) in its home opener at Reese Stadium on Wednesday afternoon. The Black Knights swept the Elis 14–3 in a game that had little turnover. 

After a close loss to Villanova last Saturday, the Bulldogs sought to rebound from the 0–1 deficit, while the Black Knights entered the matchup after defeating UMass Amherst (16–9) and Rutgers (9–3). Freshman Brayden Fountain has proven to be a powerhouse for Army, having already scored four goals in each of his first two games at the collegiate level. 

With their second loss of the season, the Elis dropped to No. 16, and Army advanced to No. 9 in the weekly Inside Lacrosse poll.  

First-year long stick midfielder Francis Keneally ’28 looks forward to the team bouncing back, noting that Ivy League rules governing the start of full time practices may have put the Bulldogs at an early disadvantage against their non-League opponents who could begin practicing before the Ivy Feb. 1 start. 

“I believe we will be able to bounce back with the week and a half break we have before our next game,” Keneally wrote to the News. “We need to keep developing as a team but as the season progresses I believe we will be better off and that this game was not a true representation of what we can be.”

The Black Knights took an early lead in the game with Will Coletti scoring unassisted in the first seconds after winning the opening face off. Army continued to dominate, with Brayden Fountain, Evan Plunkett, Grant Masterson, Jackson Eicher and Gunnar Fellows each scoring goals, bringing up Army’s lead to 7–0 with 1:35 left in the first period. Fountain excelled, scoring two of the Black Knights’ goals. Yale defenseman Jack Stuzin ’25, determined to put the Elis on the scoreboard before the end of the period, scored unassisted to end the period with the Bulldogs down 1–7. However, the Elis were not able to bounce back from this early loss in the first period. 

Both teams entered the second period with little action for the first half. While attackman William Sheehan ’26, assisted by captain and midfielder Max Krevsky ’25, scored the first goal of the period at 7:53, narrowing Army’s lead to 7–2, the Black Knights came back with three consecutive goals to end the period with an impressive 10–2 lead. 

After halftime, junior attackman David Anderson ’26 charged against Army to score quickly into the third period. The Bulldogs put up a tough defense, preventing the Black Knights from scoring again until the halfway point of the quarter. With an assist from Eicher, Fountain scored his third goal for Army, and Finn McCullough brought the period to a close at 12–3 with his unassisted goal. 

Determined to keep Army from scoring more goals, the Elis held off the Black Knights, only allowing Fellows and Plunkett to score in the fourth period, ending the game with a crushing defeat for the Bulldogs 3–14. 

Despite the loss, goalie Hugh Conrad ’26 made 12 saves throughout the game, and Machado Rodriguez ’25 won six of the fourteen face offs. 

The Bulldogs will seek to recover from this loss as they prepare to take on Penn State and face Ivy rivals in the coming weeks. 

Keneally looks forward to hopefully playing this year and supporting the upperclassmen that helped “make the transition smoother for the first years.” 

Additionally, Keneally shared that he is proud to wear a Yale jersey. 

“I’m looking forward to being a part of [a] historic program and hopefully to be able to compete in the Ivy League tournament and then the NCAA Tournament as our team progresses throughout the season,” Keneally wrote to the News. “My goals are hopefully to see some playing time this year, as well as to contribute towards our team’s goals in any way I can. Whether this is from the sideline or on the field I’m proud to be here.” 

The Elis will take some time off before hosting Penn State at Reese Stadium on Saturday, March 1 at 12 p.m.