In their first matchup since the 1985 NCAA Tournament, the No. 15 Army West Point men's lacrosse team fell to No. 6 University of Virginia in a 14-9 contest. Heading into Sunday's game, the Black Knights and the Cavaliers had met 13 times in program history with Army holding an all-time edge, 10-3. Junior duo Aidan Byrnes and Brendan Nichtern drove Army's offensive effort; Byrnes collecting his first hat trick performance of the year and Nichtern tallying two goals and three assists. HOW IT HAPPENED Army put the first points of the day on the board with an unassisted goal from Bobby Abshire but quickly found themselves at a 3-1 deficit on a UVA three goal run. The Black Knights were able to combat the Cavaliers offensive front in the first period, answering with three more of their own. Andrew Kelly answered back in the sixth minute, netting the second goal of the game for Army. Nickolas Edinger and Aidan Byrnes closed out the period with back-to-back goals, each with an assist from Brendan Nichtern. With 1:53 remaining, Edinger fired a shot into the UVA zone, getting help from the bounce to redirect the ball. In the final 15 seconds, Nichtern then fed Byrnes a strong pass from behind the Virginia net to move Army back within one headed into the second. Virginia pressured Army's defense heavily in the opening minutes of the period but veteran goalie Wyatt Schupler put up a strong fight in the net, tallying a game high six saves. Both teams battled for points for the first 11 minutes of the period before UVA opened the lead to 8-4 with three more consecutive goals. After setting up two goals for his teammates in the first period, Nichtern capitalized on an open lane, grabbing a goal of his own in the third period. Gunner Philipp followed up with Army's sixth goal of the day in the final three minutes. The junior crashed the Virginia net on a wrap around, moving past two defenders. Despite finding themselves down seven to start the fourth, the Black Knights weren't willing to settle for only six. Byrnes bullied his way into a Virginia defensive build up in front of the net for his second goal of the day for a man-up score. Army cashed in on another man-up opportunity less than a minute later with a behind the back goal from Byrnes off a Nichtern assist. The goal solidified Byrnes' first hat trick performance of the year. Nichtern closed out the day for the Black Knights offensively with his second goal of the day for a team high five points on two goals and three assists. Junior goalie Wyatt Schupler recorded 12 saves on 26 shots faced. Coach Joe Alberici's Thoughts "I am proud of our men's effort and the level to which they competed today. They handled the myriad of changing circumstances surrounding the weekend and were ready for the challenge of playing the defending National Champions. This group played hard today and never backed down but we definitely feel like we are capable of playing to an even higher level. We will get back to work this week in preparation of going on the road again against another top five nationally ranked program. Each game is an opportunity to grow and we will spend the week getting ready for the new set of challenges ahead of us next week." Up Next: The Black Knights will be back on the road next weekend at No. 3 Syracuse University for a 12 p.m. contest.