Forced into an overtime golden goal situation, rookie attacker Brendan Nichtern of the Army West Point men's lacrosse team netted the game-winning goal 26 seconds into the extra time to send the Black Knights to a 12-11 victory over the 18/19-ranked Massachusetts Minutemen on the road Saturday. The Minutemen forced overtime with a second to go in regulation, but the Black Knights won the ensuing faceoff with help from Evan Condon and Johnny Surdick to set the team up for victory. After a timeout by head coach Joe Alberici, Nichtern drove in from the right side, beating the left-handed UMass goalie for the tally. AJ Barretto boasted a career-high 17 saves in his 2019 debut. HOW IT HAPPENED The Black Knights recorded the first goal of the game when Gunner Philipp found the back of the net for the first of his career two minutes into the contest. The Minutemen responded with three-straight tallies to take a 3-1 lead over a four-minute span. With 6:02 on the clock, Matt Manown connected with Alex Alacqua for a score. The Black Knights took their second lead of the day with back-to-back goals spaced 19 seconds apart. Brendan Nichtern posted a tally off a crease roll with 3:58 on the clock before assisting on Miles Silva's first goal of the year and to put the Black Knights up 4-3. UMass finished the quarter with two tallies to jump out to a 5-4 advantage. The Cadets posted the first goal of the second quarter when Nicholas Garofono beat Sean Scanone one-on-one. The Minutemen went on a 2-0 run before Nichtern struck again with five seconds remaining in the half. In the third period, Manown recorded Army's lone goal with an assist from Nichtern. UMass scored two goals in the final three minutes of the frame to maintain its lead in the game, 9-7. The Cadets started hot in the fourth quarter with help from Silva. The junior posted four of Army's five goals in the quarter with the other coming from Nichtern. Nate Jones, Manown and Sean O'Brien all earned assists in the five-goal run. UMass scored at the 3:15 mark to trail by one before netting the game-tying score with one second remaining. The Black Knights gained possession on the ensuing faceoff and were able to call a timeout and draw up the game-winning play. Nichtern posted the unassisted game winner just 26 seconds into the extra time. ARMY HIGHLIGHTS AND GAME NOTES For the fifth year in a row, Army topped #18/19 Massachusetts in its season opener. It was the eighth-straight year the Cadets opened with the Minutemen. The Black Knights tied things up in the all-time series which now resides at 14-14. It was Army's first win over a ranked opponent since defeating #10/11 Rutgers last February. Nichtern had an outstanding performance for the Black Knights with seven points on four goals and three helpers. The rookie helped Army to its first overtime victory since 2017 when the Cadets topped Notre Dame, 10-9. Silva also had four goals today, three of which came in the fourth quarter. It was a career-high in both goals and points for the junior. Manown finished the contest with four points with a goal and three helpers, tying his career-high in points. Alacqua, Garofono and Philipp were in the goal column with one apiece, while both Jones and O'Brien notched a single helper in the game. Barretto boasted a career-high 17 saves in his 2019 debut. He had a .607 save percentage and three ground balls. Defensively, Surdick and Liam Davenport led the way for Army with two caused turnovers each. Surdick paced the Black Knights in ground balls with seven to tie his career high. UMass led the Cadets in shots (28-17) today, but the Black Knights held an advantage in saves, 17-5 which was a difference maker in the game. UP NEXT The Black Knights will continue the start of their season on the road next weekend when Army faces #12 Rutgers.