Army-Navy Men's Lacrosse

Hannah and I attended yesterday's game, and it was a barn-burner.  #9 Navy pulled out the win in overtime over #20 Army, but the game was super-exciting, and Army certainly had every opportunity.

Traffic was terrible yesterday.  We got stuck
outside Thayer gate, so I snapped a couple of pictures.
A Sherman tank sits outside the Visitor's Center.

I don't remember the name of this statue, sadly.  It shows a cadet
mounted on an Army mule and sits across from the Visitor's Center.

Parachute demonstration before the game.
We saw this from the hill overlooking Michie Stadium.
Great view.  This picture doesn't do it justice.

Before the game.  Our seats were right behind Navy's bench.  Ugh.
Navy Lax Parents were out in force.

Army's first attack resulted in a quick score.

Good crowd yesterday.
I think I heard them say they had 5,000 in attendance.

My immediate take-away was that Navy had about 6" in height and maybe 25 lbs. per man over Army's players, and they have a bit more speed, too.  Despite this, they play more of a finesse game.  They ran a lot of picks from behind the net, trying to get quick shots on goal while Army struggled to react to misdirection.  As the game wore on, this told and was ultimately the difference in the contest.  By contrast, Army ran an offense that reminded me of playing high school water polo, working the ball around the outside in front of the net and taking hard shots from the outside whenever they presented themselves.  Army's offense struck me as more of a blunt instrument, but they have excellent shooters who can make that work.

Face off!

Another Army attack.

Pee Wee Lax at halftime.

Halftime selfie.

Army went up by three in the 3rd quarter, and you could see Navy's desperation.  This forced them into a more physical style, which quickly closed the score back to tied.  We went into overtime with ten apiece, but Navy won the overtime face-off and scored on yet another pick around the back of the net.

Good game.  Very exciting.  Truthfully, I think Army played very well despite the result.  I hate to see Navy win, but as I said, they clearly had more athleticism, and Army hung tough the whole way.

That said, I will admit that I am beyond tired of hearing Blue & Gold sung second, especially since the Mids always sing it like it's a drinking song.  

When West Pointers sing our alma mater, we cry out to God to be worthy of our heritage, the men and women who've gone before us in the Long Grey Line.  By contrast, the Mids always look like they want to hoist another pint before heading back out to sea, oblivious to history and their place in it.  I'm sure there's a reason why they do it that way, but I don't have to like it.

Go Army! Beat Navy!!!