WEST POINT, N.Y. – The 2012-13 Army lacrosse team tri-captains include an All-American, Academic All-American and a seasoned two-year starter as seniors Garrett Thul, Brendan Buckley and Andrew Boyd takes the reins in their final season with the Black Knights.
“In my eyes, being selected to serve as a team captain is the highest honor in sports,” said head coach Joe Alberici, who enters his eighth season in 2013. “Garret (Thul), Andy (Boyd) and Brendan (Buckley) are all very deserving of such a title and have already shown they are capable of filling such a role. They are just three members of a tremendous senior class, which will be counted on to lead and challenge a youthful, eager team into this season.”
All three players were major contributors as Army made its seventh-straight Patriot League Tournament appearance last spring. Of the five Black Knights to earn All-Patriot League plaudits last season, Thul and Buckley return. Thirty-three players return overall, including eight who started at least one game a year ago.
One of the most prolific attackmen in the country, Thul is a two-time All-America selection and three-time All-Patriot League selection. He enters the 2013 season riding a 39 goal-scoring streak, which is the second longest active streak in the nation, and is sitting on 122 career goals. Thul ranks fifth on Army’s career goal-scoring list and sixth in Patriot League history. He is on pace to challenge Army all-time goals leader Scott Finlay ’78, who owns the record with 140 career goals. A native of Flemington, N.J., Thul has made the Tewaaraton Trophy Award Top 25 Watch List in each of the last two seasons.
Buckley is coming off a breakout season that saw him earn first team Academic All-America honors, along with first team All-Patriot League plaudits. Later named the Patriot League’s overall Men’s Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Buckley emerged as one of the top close defensemen in the country and covered the opponent’s top offensive threat in all 15 starts That impressive group included three of the top seven point-producers in the current NCAA rankings. The Massapequa, N.Y., native finished the season ranked eighth nationally averaging 2.0 caused turnovers per game.
Boyd joined Buckley on the Patriot League All-Academic Team last spring, while making 13 starts. Boyd, who transitioned from midfield to attack in 2012 and it resulted in his most productive offensive season to date. A native of St. Louis, Mo., he finished the year with 13 goals and two assists, while recording the top shooting percentage of anyone on the team at 43.3 percent.
Army got fall practice underway two weeks ago and held its annual Black and Gold scrimmage on Sunday. Alberici and his club will welcome St. John’s and Harvard for scrimmages on Saturday, Oct. 20. Details and a full schedule will follow in the coming week.