Conference Semifinals: Army Beats Loyola for Second Time This Season

The Patriot League women’s lacrosse championship game will be a service academy showdown.

Second-seeded Army defeated conference stalwart Loyola for the second time this season, denying the Greyhounds a trip to the final for the first time since they joined the Patriot League in 2014.

The Black Knights scored the first four goals and added a five-goal flurry in the second quarter, then staved off Loyola in a 13-11 semifinal victory Thursday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Md.

Earlier this season, Army ended the Greyhounds' 93-game Patriot League regular-season winning streak with an 18-0 victory at Michie Stadium in West Point, N.Y.

The Black Knights proved Thursday that was no fluke, winning more draws, committing fewer turnovers and outshooting Loyola 33-19. The margin would have been wider were it not for the Greyhounds' exceptional shooting (59 percent).

Army goalie Lindsey Serafine overcame a shaky start to make four saves in the fourth quarter, none bigger than when she swallowed a shot with her stick from the ground to deny Mim Suares-Jury with 56 seconds remaining to seal the win.

Allison Reilly provided the bulk of the scoring, including four goals in the second quarter and a pair of unassisted tallies in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach.

The Black Knights will face archrival Navy in the championship game Sunday. The top-seeded Midshipmen defeated Bucknell 18-8 to advance to the conference final for the fourth time in the last five seasons. Navy beat Army 14-8 on April 11.

✅ Results  
Conference semifinal scores

American 
(1) South Florida def. (4) Temple 13-7
(2) James Madison def. (3) East Carolina 9-7

ASUN 
(1) Delaware def. (4) Lindenwood 10-4
(2) Jacksonville def. (3) Liberty 17-3

Big 12 
(1) Florida def. (4) UC Davis 22-7
(2) Colorado def. (3) Arizona State 13-7 

Big East 
(1) Denver def. (4) Marquette 17-6
(2) Georgetown def. (3) UConn 12-6

CAA 
(1) Stony Brook def. (4) Elon 18-6  
(3) Towson def. (2) Hofstra 14-11

MAC 
(1) UMass def. (4) Robert Morris 14-5  
(2) Akron def. (3) Eastern Michigan 10-9 (2OT)

NEC 
(1) Le Moyne def. (4) Fairleigh Dickinson 16-6
(2) Stonehill def. (3) LIU 14-9

Patriot League 
(1) Navy def. (4) Bucknell 18-8
(2) Army def (3) Loyola 13-11

🐎 Still in the Race 
Conference championship matchups

American: (2) James Madison vs. (1) S. Florida
ASUN: (2) Jacksonville vs. (1) Delaware
Big 12: (2) Colorado vs. (1) Florida
Big East: (2) Georgetown vs. (1) Denver    
CAA: (3) Towson vs. (1) Stony Brook
MAC: (2) Akron vs. (1) UMass 
NEC: (2) Stonehill vs. (1) Le Moyne
Patriot League: (2) Army vs. (1) Navy

🌟 Top Performances

Luca DeMaio, Towson: Matched her career high with six goals and added six draw controls in the third-seeded Tigers' 14-11 upset of second-seeded Hofstra.

Alyssa Cheung, Navy: Dominated on both sides of the ball, scoring five goals, adding two assists and causing four turnovers in the Midshipmen's 18-8 victory over Bucknell.

Allison Reilly, Army: Set school postseason record with six goals in 13-11 win over Loyola.

Siena Hinchcliffe, Akron: Scored four goals, including the game winner in double overtime to propel the defending MAC champion Zips to the title game with a 10-9 victory over Eastern Michigan. It will be a tall order to repeat as champion. Akron faces conference newcomer UMass, the No. 1 seed, in the final Saturday.

Jess Peluso, Colorado: The 5-10 defender had five caused turnovers and five draw controls, keying a terrific defensive effort for the Buffaloes in a 13-7 win over Arizona State. Colorado has not allowed a single opponent to reach double figures scoring this season.

📈 NCAA Tournament Impact

Loyola

The Greyhounds needed a win over Army to feel comfortable Selection Sunday. Now they wait, and root for Navy to fend off the Black Knights in the final. Loyola saw both its epic conference regular season winning streak and run of making conference finals come to an end at the hands of Army. Both streaks dated back to 2014.