The long-time rivals traded possession over the first seven minutes of action and the Midshipmen would break open the scoring with a goal up the middle. Gunnar Fellows tied things up for Army just over a minute later, haunting the Mids' crease and making good on a laser of a pass from Keagan Treacy to bring the game to a 1-1 tie.
Jackson Eicher notched his 36th goal of the season with less than two minutes remaining on the first quarter clock, working around a matchup against a short stick midfielder to bury a shot down low. The Mids pulled even a few minutes later on an extra man opportunity to bring things tied at two goals each.
Navy took the lead midway through the second quarter with a long pole goal from AJ Marsh, extending their lead to two 40 seconds later to advance to a 4-2 mark in the Mids' favor. Senior attackman Finn McCullough eliminated the deficit with less than two minutes on the clock.
The Niskayuna, N.Y. native first recorded Army's third goal of the game as he battled his defender around to the point to bury his fifth goal of the season head-on with 1:56 left on the clock. He then launched a shot from the goal line with less than a second on the clock off a pass from Hill Plunkett to beat the buzzer and bring Army tied 4-4.
The sun broke through the clouds as the third quarter began and the Army offense broke open the scoring as freshman attackman Aiden Weisenborn let it rip from distance and nailed the left side top shelf to put Army into the lead 5-4 two minutes into the second half.
Gunnar Fellows netted his second goal of the day off the assist from Dylan D'Agostino who drew Navy's defense away from the goal and opened up a lane for Fellows to find his 22nd goal of the season. Evan Plunkett and Brayden Fountain went back-to-back on unassisted goals to push Army up to an 8-6 lead that held through the third quarter break.
A 3-0 run to start the fourth quarter eliminated Army's lead and took the Mids into the advantage, but Jackson Eicher found the back of the cage for the second time that day off of a pass from Hill Plunkett across the point to bring things tied at nine all.
Determined to defend their home turf, the Mids put up two goals a minute apart to claim an 11-9 lead with five minutes remaining in regulation. Back-to-back unassisted goals from Evan Plunkett in the final two minutes of play sent the game into overtime.
With the star on the line, the two teams gave it their all and goalkeepers Sean Byrne and Dan Daly each delivered saves in the first half of the overtime period before Army seized hold of the momentum and charged into Navy's defensive zone.
The Black Knights dogged the Mids' doorstep as Christian Mazur bounced a shot in front of the net to give Army the opportunity to call a timeout and set themselves up for the ensuing onslaught.
Jackson Eicher took his 14th shot of the day and it flew wide but just under 30 seconds later his 15th shot of the day flew true and found the back of the net to clinch the win for Army.
With the win, Army moves to a 10-1 record for the season with a 5-1 mark against Patriot League opponents, securing its fourth consecutive season with at least 10 wins.
