Army West Point Athletics
Saturday, February 7
Piscataway, N.J.
1 p.m.
Army West Point
at
Rutgers
No. 12 Men’s Lacrosse Travels to No. 18 Rutgers for Saturday Matchup
February 06, 2026 | Men's Lacrosse
PISCATAWAY, N.J. – The No. 12 ranked Army West Point men's lacrosse team (1-0, 0-0 Patriot League) hits the road this weekend for the second game of its 2026 campaign. The Black Knights will face the No. 18 Rutgers Scarlet Knights (1-0, 0-0 Big Ten) in the Busch Practice Bubble in a game beginning at 1 p.m. ET that will be closed to the public.
LAST TIME OUT
A WIN WOULD
GAME NOTES
Patriot League Awards: Army's performance in their first matchup of 2026 against UMass led to three Patriot League award winners. Hill Plunkett earned Offensive Player of the Week honors, Sean Byrne was awarded Goalkeeper of the Week, and Gus Bell received the Rookie of the Week title.
Eyes on the All-Time Lists: Two current Black Knights rank in the top 35 of the team's all-time scoring leaders. Gunnar Fellows stands 32nd in Army men's lacrosse history with 114 points while Evan Plunkett ranks 27th on the list with 125 points. Plunkett currently has 61 career assists, good for 18th in Army's all-time assist leaders column.
Age is Just a Number: With 19 freshman and 17 sophomores on the 2026 roster, Army's squad is comprised of 63% underclassmen this season. The Black Knights' 19 freshman are the most freshman on a team in the Patriot League this season. Army currently stands as the second youngest team in the Patriot League behind Lafayette with the Leopards' 65% underclassmen roster for 2026.
National Rankings Freeze: Army ranked 12th in the USILA Coaches Preseason Poll, 12th in the Nike Lacrosse Preseason Media Poll, and 14th in the USA Lacrosse Preseason Poll. The preseason rankings hold through week one after many NCAA Division I men's lacrosse games were affected by the cold weather sweeping the country.
NOTABLE KNIGHTS
Hill Plunkett (A): Tallied a game-high seven points including a career-high five goals in Army's season opener against UMass.
Sean Byrne (G): Recorded 11 saves in goal for Army in his first appearance of the new season, his 14th career game with at least 10 saves.
Gus Bell (A): Tied with Brayden Fountain for the second-most points on the team with three from two goals and an assist.
Brayden Fountain (A): Tied with Gus Bell for the second-most points on the team with three from two goals and an assist.
WHERE TO WATCH
The game will be live streamed from the Rutgers Athletics Facebook page. Live scoring updates will be available here.
LAST TIME OUT
- The Black Knights opened their 2026 campaign with a 14-8 win over Massachusetts in the Foley Athletic Center at West Point.
- Eight members of the Black Knights' squad found the back of the net with a career-high five goals for sophomore Hill Plunkett, followed by freshman Gus Bell and sophomore Brayden Fountain with two goals each.
- Senior goalkeeper Sean Byrne made the start in goal for Army, earning 11 saves against the Minutemen to help the Black Knights start the season with a win.
- Army dominated the scoresheet with 29 shots on goal to UMass' 19, 16 faceoffs won to UMass' seven, and 28 groundballs to UMass' 14.
A WIN WOULD
- Give Army its 65th win over Rutgers - Army last defeated the Scarlet Knights 9-3 in early 2025.
- Give Army a 2-0 start to the season for the third consecutive season. Army has earned a 2-0 start to the season in five of the last ten years.
- Maintain Army's 7-3 lead in its last 10 games against Rutgers, currently a 7-3 advantage for the Black Knights.
GAME NOTES
Patriot League Awards: Army's performance in their first matchup of 2026 against UMass led to three Patriot League award winners. Hill Plunkett earned Offensive Player of the Week honors, Sean Byrne was awarded Goalkeeper of the Week, and Gus Bell received the Rookie of the Week title.
Eyes on the All-Time Lists: Two current Black Knights rank in the top 35 of the team's all-time scoring leaders. Gunnar Fellows stands 32nd in Army men's lacrosse history with 114 points while Evan Plunkett ranks 27th on the list with 125 points. Plunkett currently has 61 career assists, good for 18th in Army's all-time assist leaders column.
Age is Just a Number: With 19 freshman and 17 sophomores on the 2026 roster, Army's squad is comprised of 63% underclassmen this season. The Black Knights' 19 freshman are the most freshman on a team in the Patriot League this season. Army currently stands as the second youngest team in the Patriot League behind Lafayette with the Leopards' 65% underclassmen roster for 2026.
National Rankings Freeze: Army ranked 12th in the USILA Coaches Preseason Poll, 12th in the Nike Lacrosse Preseason Media Poll, and 14th in the USA Lacrosse Preseason Poll. The preseason rankings hold through week one after many NCAA Division I men's lacrosse games were affected by the cold weather sweeping the country.
NOTABLE KNIGHTS
Hill Plunkett (A): Tallied a game-high seven points including a career-high five goals in Army's season opener against UMass.
Sean Byrne (G): Recorded 11 saves in goal for Army in his first appearance of the new season, his 14th career game with at least 10 saves.
Gus Bell (A): Tied with Brayden Fountain for the second-most points on the team with three from two goals and an assist.
Brayden Fountain (A): Tied with Gus Bell for the second-most points on the team with three from two goals and an assist.
WHERE TO WATCH
The game will be live streamed from the Rutgers Athletics Facebook page. Live scoring updates will be available here.
Players Mentioned
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