Army men's lacrosse has more forgiving schedule for 2024 season

The Army men’s lacrosse team is accustomed to facing schools that are Division I powerhouses and recent NCAA tournament participants so the 2024 schedule might be considered a bit of a breather.

The Black Knights will face no schools that made the 2023 NCAA field, and several ongoing series have gone on hiatus. Still, Army will take on Massachusetts in the schools’ annual season opener and the Black Knights will make another trip to the JMA (formerly Carrier) Dome to face Syracuse.

In a twist, the Army-UMass opener on Feb. 10 will be played in Atlanta, Georgia.

Army won the 2023 Patriot League championship, earning an automatic berth in the NCAA Div. I tournament. The Black Knights upended No. 4 Maryland, 16-15, in the first round and narrowly lost to No. 5 Penn State in the quarterfinals.

Three of Army’s 2023 setbacks (Cornell, Boston, Penn State) were decided by one goal and UMass was a 10-8 defeat.

The Black Knights are in a good position for 2024, losing only six seniors from last season.

Notes: A seven-figure donation to the program has established the Jack Emmer head coaching position. Joe Alberici heads into his 19th season as head coach. Emmer retired as Army coach in 2005 after 22 seasons. ... Former Army assistant Rick Lewis has returned to the program in the same role. He was Ohio State's offensive coordinator the past three seasons.

2024 schedule (2023: 13-4, 7-1 Patriot, tied first)

February

Sat. 10 – vs. Massachusetts (8-6, 3-2 Atlantic 10, fourth), in Atlanta, Ga.; Sat. 17 – at Rutgers (8-6, 1-4 Big Ten, tied fifth); Sat. 24 – vs. Mercer (6-10, 5-4 Atlantic Sun, tied fourth), noon; Tues. 27 – at Syracuse (8-7, 1-5 Atlantic Coast, tied fourth)

March

Sun. 3 – at Lafayette* (6-10, 3-5 Patriot, sixth); Sat. 9 – vs. Holy Cross* (1-13, 0-8 Patriot, ninth), noon; Sat. 16 – vs. Lehigh* (10-5, 5-2 Patriot, third), noon; Sat. 23 – at Boston University* (10-4, 7-1 Patriot, tied first); Sat. 30 – at North Carolina (7-7, 1-5 Atlantic Coast, tied fourth)

April

Sat. 6 – vs. Colgate* (2-9, 2-6 Patriot, tied seventh), 3 p.m.; Sat. 13 – vs. Navy* (8-8, 5-3 Patriot, fourth); Fri. 19 – at Bucknell* (3-10, 2-6 Patriot, tied seventh); Fri. 26 – at Loyola, Md.* (9-8, 4-4 Patriot, fifth); Tue. 30 – Patriot League quarterfinals

May

Fri. 3 – Patriot League semifinals (at highest Final Four seed); Sun. 5 – Patriot League finals (at highest Final Four seed)

Home matches at West Point’s Michie Stadium; asterisk marks Patriot League matches; 2023 overall and league records included in parentheses; additional start times will be announced later

This article originally appeared on Times Herald-Record: Army men's lacrosse announces 2024 spring schedule