2023 Women's Top 30: How Army Fared vs. Projections

Before USA Lacrosse Magazine looks ahead to what’s to come in 2024, our team of staff and contributors decided it was worth taking one last look at 2023.

After all, you have to look at the most recent results before making projections for what’s to come. To do that, we’re taking a journey through the top 30 teams in men’s and women’s lacrosse — what went right, what went wrong and what we should all think of that team’s season.

Was it a success? A failure? A mixture of both? You’ll find out our thoughts over the next month or so.

ARMY WOMEN’S LACROSSE

Nike/USA Lacrosse Preseason/Final Top 20 Ranking: Unranked/17
2023 record: 15-4 (8-1 Patriot League)

WHAT WENT RIGHT

An 11-game winning streak to begin the season put Army on the map. Its 9-5 win over Rutgers on February 25 helped the Black Knights earn a place in the Nike/USA Lacrosse Top 20, especially after a 12-10 win over Jacksonville nine days earlier. Army beat Navy (twice), a huge accomplishment considering the program earned its first-ever win over the Mids just last year. The exceptional play of freshman Brigid Duffy was a key part to the success. The two-sport star earned second-team All-American honors in the midfield after producing 56 goals, 26 assists and 90 draw controls. Army’s defense was 35th nationally at 10.53 goals per game and helped lead the program to its first NCAA tournament berth.

WHAT WENT WRONG

Army fell back down to Earth as its schedule ramped up. A 14-13 loss to Yale on April 4 ruined Army’s bid for perfection, and then the Black Knights fell 11 days later to Loyola in convincing fashion — proving that even Army’s rise isn’t enough to dethrone the Patriot League’s best just yet. Army lost to Loyola again a few weeks later in the Patriot League title game, though it was a closer showing at 13-8. Army’s season ended a week later against James Madison in the NCAA tournament.

SEASON HIGHLIGHT

Beating Rutgers was the moment that Army showed it was for real, but one of the lasting memories of the 2023 season will be Army’s reaction to earning an at-large bid on Selection Sunday.

 

 

 

 

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VERDICT

Few saw this type of breakout coming in year two of Michelle Tumolo’s tenure, making it a major success in West Point. The emergence of Duffy as a freshman gives the Black Knights one of the conference’s top players for the next three years, too.