The Army West Point men's lacrosse team started strong against No. 8 Loyola on Saturday afternoon, but the Greyhounds bounced back to defeat the 17th-ranked Black Knights 13-9. Army shutout the Greyhounds in the first quarter and led 6-4 at halftime, but Loyola sparked a 9-3 comeback to claim the win. Nicholas Garofano scored the first hat trick of his career today to lead Army's offense. Connor DeWitt tied his career-high of two goals, while Brendan Nichtern quarterbacked the attack with four helpers to tie his career-high. Loyola's Pat Spencer posted a game-high seven points on the day. HOW IT HAPPENED Army had a hot start against the Greyhounds with a 3-0 lead after the first quarter. After killing off an early penalty, Garofano netted his first of the day when Nate Jones connected with him on the left side. Nichtern passed inside to Miles Silva four minutes later who shoveled one past Loyola's Jacob Stover. With 4:45 on the clock, it was Jones from Nichtern for Army's third of the game. The Greyhounds came out with two consecutive goals in the second quarter spaced 55 seconds apart. DeWitt broke the streak with an unassisted goal on a righty fade at the 7:34 mark. Army was rewarded an extra man opportunity on the next play and were able to capitalize when Nichtern fed the ball to Tommy Marino who was waiting on the top of the crease for the score. The goals were scored in under a minute span. Loyola netted back-to-back unassisted goals, but Army finished the first half with another Garofano goal to go ahead 6-4. Matt Manown assisted on the play. The Greyhounds bounced back in the second half to outscore Army 9-3. A 4-1 run in the third quarter gave Loyola its first lead in the contest. DeWitt was the Cadets' lone goal scorer in the stretch. The two squads traded goals to open the fourth quarter to keep it a one-goal game in favor of Loyola. Manown netted an unassisted goal for the Black Knights, while Spencer scored for the Greyhounds. Loyola went on to score four more in the final frame before the Black Knights would be able to get one across the goal line. Nichtern connected wit Garofano for the score with 47 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to four. ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES Nichtern produced four points in the game and has improved his point streak to 13 games. The freshman has dished out at four helpers in five contests this season. Garofano notched his first-career hat trick, while DeWitt's two scores tied his career-high. Jones finished the game with a goal and two assists for three points. The senior attacker now boasts 139-career points which ranks him 17th overall in Army's 102-year history. He is now tied for 11th all-time in goals scored with 107 in his career. Silva and Marino all finished the game with one tally apiece, while Manown posted a goal and an assist. Manown has produced a multi-point game in 10 of the 13 played in this season. Marino boasts a team-leading three man-up goals this season. James Pryor led the defense with three ground balls today. Griffin Schultz, Jordan Cole, Liam Davenport, Johnny Surdick, Silva, Tom Rigney and Ethan Barangan all added two ground balls apiece today. AJ Barretto had a strong stand in net with 10 saves. The senior has now made 521 stops in his career and ranks fifth in Army's record books. Seven of Army's nine goals were assisted today. The Black Knights were a perfect 20-for-20 on their clears today and allowed less turnovers than Loyola (11-17), while causing nine to Loyola's six. The Greyhounds held an advantage on ground balls however (33-27) and shots (45-44). Prior to the game, Army honored its 11 first classmen – Jeremy Angle, Barretto, Cole, Condon, Thomas Crabtree, Jones, Matt Koziol, Marino, Schultz, Surdick and Robby Woodings. UP NEXT The Black Knights take on NJIT on Thursday for a 2 p.m. matchup. The game will be played on the Rutgers-Newark campus.