Return to the "POINTER VIEW"
                         May 2, 2003

Army lacrosse celebrates the 2003 Patriot League regular season championship. The Black Knights will find out Sunday night where they will head for their 13th trip to the NCAAs.     Spc. Eric S. Bartelt/PV

WEST POINT -- Junior Jeff Bryan broke a school record and freshman John Walker tied another as Army trounced visiting Lafayette, 20-6, Tuesday night at Shea Stadium to clinch the Patriot League Lacrosse Championship and earn a postseason berth to the 2003 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament.

The Black Knights broke open a 4-2 contest after one period of play with eight goals in the second quarter and six more in the third, taking command in a must-win situation. The victory tied Army (8-6/5-1 Patriot League) with Bucknell for the league’s regular-season title. However, the Black Knights earned the Patriot League’s automatic bid to the NCAAs based on their 10-9 win over the Bison earlier this year.

It is the 10th Patriot League championship for Army in the league’s 13-year history and the 13th NCAA Tournament berth in school history. The Black Knights last qualified for the postseason in 1996. Jack Emmer will be making his sixth appearance in the NCAAs as Army’s head coach and 13th overall.

Bryan led all scorers with five points on the evening. He finished with one goal and four assists, breaking a 21-year old record on the books at West Point. Bryan’s helper on senior Mike Kamon’s extra-man goal at 8:13 of the third quarter was the junior’s 43rd assist of the season, surpassing Paul Cino’s mark set in 1982 and tied by former teammate Tim Pearson last spring.

Walker scored three goals for the Black Knights, extending his streak of hat tricks to five games. In the process, the plebe tied Bob Betchley’s mark for goals by a freshman at the academy. The Dix Hills, N.Y., native has scored 31 times in his first collegiate campaign.

After Army sophomore Jim Wagner, who finished with four points, including a hat trick of his own, to open the scoring over one minute into the contest, things settled down until the 5:16 mark when the hosts rattled the Lafayette cage three times in the next 1:15. The Leopards showed some resilience, bouncing back with consecutive markers by Robert McLean, one coming with a man advantage, to close out the first quarter.

Sensing the importance of the tilt, Army tallied three times in the next five minutes to take a 7-2 lead. Lafayette narrowed the margin by one on Pat Lennon’s extra-man goal 2:48 before halftime. But the Black Knights blitzed the Leopards with nine consecutive goals over the next 17 minutes that bulged the advantage to 18-3 after three periods of play.

Army sophomore goalkeeper Matt Darak earned his seventh win of the season in the cage with four saves in the first half. Senior Scott Alpaugh tended the goal in the third quarter, registering four saves as well, while junior Tom LeRoux finished in the fourth with two saves to his credit. Lafayette goalies Michael Koch and Kevin DeVito combined on 15 saves for the Leopards.

Army sophomore Brandt Germann and Ben Harrow along with freshman Erik Nerdalen each scored their first career goals in the contest. All 38 members of the Black Knights, who dressed Tuesday night, saw game action.

The Black Knights conclude their 2003 regular season Saturday afternoon at home against Ivy League foe Yale at Shea Stadium. Faceoff on Senior Day is set for 1:30 p.m.

The 2003 NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Selection Show can be seen on ESPNEWS, Sun. at 8 p.m. Eastern. ESPNEWS is located on DirecTV channel 207 and on DishNetwork’s channel 142. Time Warner Cable subscribers with digital cable can view ESPNEWS on channel 106.