Joe Alberici didn't like what he saw. Sure, it was only September, but the Army lacrosse coach wasn't going to buy that as an excuse. No way. His Black Knights simply weren't playing well enough.

About midway through the 25-practice fall schedule, Alberici gazed at his Black Knights and found a way to fire them up. He posed a challenge to his senior class - a class that includes Auburn native Adam Hansinger, a starting defender - to step it up both on and off the field. Slowly but surely, everything clicked for the upperclassmen, and Alberici found the results he was looking for. The energy level surged on the practice field, and the chemistry flourished off the field.

“It wasn't anything that hadn't been said before,” said Alberici, who is in his third year at the helm of the Black Knights. “It was just a realization for (the seniors) that this is their last go-around, and even though it's September, this is the last fall practice we're going to go through; they started treating it that way.”

After all, that's what good coaches do - find a way to motivate players.

They find a way to turn things around.

They find a way to win.

Then, in the end, you find yourself as Alberici did: receiving Coach of the Year honors.

“I see it each and every year that it's my job to make the seniors' year the biggest year of their life,” said Alberici, who was named the Patriot League Coach of the Year as voted on by the seven coaches whose teams make up the Patriot League. “What needed to change was you wanting that for them and them realizing that's what they want for themselves.”

Seven months later, those same seniors spent a Saturday afternoon putting everything on the line, as they were perched uncomfortably on the proverbial bubble for a chance to go to the national tournament. The final result was a 13-9 loss to Penn, which ended the Black Knights' hope of reaching the big dance.

Still, it wasn't enough to cloud what was a remarkable season for Army - a season in which the Black Knights took home two of the five regular-season awards. Liverpool native Adam Fullerton earned Goalie of the Year recognition in addition to Alberici's honor.

After opening the season 2-2, including an 8-7 loss at Syracuse, Alberici's squad went on a five-game winning streak that required three road victories. The most important win was yet to come, though. During an April 12 game that was televised on ESPNU, Army secured a 9-6 win over archrival Navy, the first time the Black Knights had beaten the Midshipmen in 13 games over a span of 11 years. Said Alberici of the game, “There are several seasons within a season. There's your overall season then there's your Navy game. That is the way we break it down. To be 1-0 in that season is great.”

The Black Knights went on to finish with a 9-4 record in the regular season with a 5-1 mark in the conference. That was enough to seize the No. 1 seed in the Patriot League Tournament, the first time Army had earned such a seed in the tournament's four-year history.

But a first-round loss to Bucknell, who had also beaten Army on April 4, ended the Black Knights' hopes at a league title.

Even though Alberici described the Bucknell contest as, “the most disappointing loss I've ever been a part of,” there was still one more light at the end of the tunnel #) Saturday's road game against Penn.

The Black Knights still had one more chance to prove it was worthy of receiving one of nine at-large bids to the national championship.

Even though the Black Knights came up short on this particular day, there's no denying what they accomplished.

“It's all in the back seat,” Alberici would tell his players when they were winning. “We continue to drive forward and look at what's in front of us.”

The same applies after a loss, too. And what lies ahead for Alberici and the Black Knights is another senior class. Another September. Another season. Another chance at a title.