Division I Men :      April 1, 2003 [ The Game Story]
Army 17 Lehigh 14 Scoring: Scoring: Jeff Bryan John Ryan Jim Wagner John Walker Chris Woods Chris Roberts Andy Mounce Marko Kostovic Mike Kamon (1, 5) (5, 0) (2, 2) (2, 1) (3, 0) (1, 0) (1, 0) (1, 0) (1, 0) Greg Morin Mike Mcconnell Andrew Lucas Kurt Gerry Jeff Weiner Tony Lowe Jeff King Mike Titus Stephen Nye (2, 1) (3, 0) (3, 0) (1, 1) (1, 1) (2, 0) (1, 0) (0, 1) (1, 0) Saves: Saves: Scott Alpaugh 7  (0.333) Tom Ellis 14  (0.452) Current Record :     (4-4) Current Record :     (4-5) Team Page For 2003 Team Page For 2003       The Game Story: WEST POINT, N.Y. - Army exploded for 11 goals in the first half and held on to defeat visiting Lehigh, 17-14, in a cold drizzle that left playing conditions slick at Shea Stadium Tuesday evening. The Black Knights' delivered head coach Jack Emmer his 301st career victory, making him the winningest coach at the Division I level in NCAA history. Army (4-4/2-0 Patriot League) scored three of the game's last four tallies to break open a one-goal contest in the final 10 minutes of action. The Black Knights had opened up as much as a five-goal lead early in the second half, but Lehigh (4-5/1-1 PL) picked away at the deficit and crawled back into the tilt. Army's John Ryan registered a career-high five goals and Jeff Bryan chipped in with a personal-best five assists to pace the hosts' attack. Bryan has accounted for 13 points in three games against Lehigh in his career. The Black Knights kept pace with Bucknell, improving to 2-0 in conference play. Ryan ended a 5-1 run by the Mountain Hawks with 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter that restored a two-goal advantage and breathed new life into his teammates. After Lehigh's Tony Lowe brought the visitors back to within one, the Black Knights scored three of the final four goals of the game to seal the deal on Emmer's momentous occasion. Andy Mounce's first goal of the season at 8:48 started things off, while also serving as the game-winner. Senior goalkeeper Scott Alpaugh made seven saves in his 2003 debut. The Rochester, N.Y., missed the first seven games of the season with an off-season leg injury. Tom Ellis registered 14 saves in the cage for Lehigh.

WEST POINT, N.Y. - Army lacrosse coach Jack Emmer made history Tuesday night with a 17-14 victory over visiting Lehigh. With the win, Emmer surpassed former Massachusetts head coach Dick Garber to become the all-time winningest lacrosse coach at the Division I level in NCAA history. The Black Knights' victory over the Mountain Hawks was No. 301 in Emmer's 34-year coaching career.

"No. 301 took longer than expected," Emmer said. "No. 300 came back on March 11. That seems like a long time ago. It feels good to win again."

Army's win stopped a three-game losing streak and kept the Black Knights undefeated in Patriot League play as they battle for the conference title and an automatic bid to the 2003 Men's Lacrosse NCAA Tournament.

The late Dick Garber racked up 300 victories on the Minutemen's sideline between 1955-1990. Emmer equaled that mark with a 10-3 win at Holy Cross last month. Since then, the model for consistency and excellence in the game of lacrosse had watched his charges drop three straight games to Penn, No. 20 Ohio State and No. 14 Hofstra.

Three of the top five listed on the all-time charts spent time at West Point. James "Ace" Adams recorded 98 of his 287 career wins at Army, while Dick Edell won 66 of his 282 games at the Academy. Trailing Emmer on the NCAA's active wins list is Penn State's Glenn Thiel with 262 victories to his credit.

Emmer has spent the last 20 years on Army's sideline, where he has racked up 161 wins against 116 losses (.581). He has guided Army to the NCAA Tournament five times and has won or shared the Patriot League crown nine times in 12 seasons in the league. Emmer is one of only two coaches to reach the final four of the NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Tournament with three different schools, leading SUNY-Cortland to the semifinals in 1972, Washington & Lee in 1973 and 1974 and Army in 1984. Towson head coach Tony Seaman is the only other coach to boast of that, having done it with Penn, Johns Hopkins and Towson.

"Everywhere Jack has been, success has followed," said Duke head coach, and former assistant under Emmer at Army, Mike Pressler. "He has a passion for the game and a passion for his players, and he does it with integrity. He wins the right way."

Before succeeding Dick Edell at the Academy, Emmer spent 11 seasons at Washington & Lee in Lexington, Va. There, the Mineola, N.Y., native steered the Generals to seven NCAA Tournaments, including six in a row. Twice he was the national coach of the year in carving out a 108-47 (.697) slate.

Emmer has suffered through just four losing seasons in his 34 years on the job in college lacrosse. He has coached seven Hall of Famers and 86 All-Americans. But perhaps his most telling achievement came last summer when Emmer took a bunch of college all-stars to Australia for the International Lacrosse Federation World Championships in Perth. The underdog American squad returned with a perfect 6-0 record, including two victories over heavily-favored Canada, and a gold medal.

Emmer got his start in the college coaching ranks with SUNY-Cortland. In three short seasons, he turned the tiny upstate New York college into a lacrosse power, leading the Red Dragons to an upset of Navy in the quarterfinals of the 1972 NCAA Tournament and a home date with Virginia in the national semifinals. After that magical postseason run, Emmer received the first of three consecutive coach of the year honors and departed Cortland State for Washington & Lee with a 32-6 coaching mark.

The 2003 edition of Army lacrosse stands at 4-4 with a non-league date at No. 8 Rutgers coming up on Sat., Apr. 5. The Black Knights are 2-0 in the Patriot League and tied for first place with No. 17 Bucknell.

Division I All-Time Coaching Victories Pl. Name (Schools) Wins

1) Jack Emmer (Cortland/Wash.&Lee/Army)* 301
2) Dick Garber (UMass) 300
3) Roy Simmons Jr. (Syracuse) 290
4) James "Ace" Adams (Army/Penn/Virginia) 287
5) Dick Edell (Baltimore/Army/Maryland) 282
*indicates still active