Game Preview
• Bragging rights will be on the line this Saturday when  Navy (5-5, 3-2 Patriot League) battles arch rival Army (5-6, 2-2) in the Star Game … the 91st edition of the Army-Navy Game is slated for a 12:00 pm faceoff at Michie Stadium in West Point … Saturday’s contest marks the first the Star Game has been played at West Point since 2008, though the two programs did meet at Michie Stadium for the 2010 Patriot League Championship.
• The Mids are looking to end a losing skid that has featured back-to-back losses to top-15 programs Lehigh (9-4) and Maryland (13-6) … Army, meanwhile, looks to have the momentum going into the weekend after stunning 15th-ranked Bucknell, 6-5, in double overtime in Lewisburg.
• General Martin E. Dempsey, the 18th Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will be in attendance on Saturday.
• Saturday’s Star Game will be televised by CBS Sports Network with Dave Ryan (play by play) and Evan Washburn (analyst) calling the action. Live stats will also be available at NavySports.com.

More on the Black Knights
• In his seventh season as the head coach of the Black Knights, Joe Alberici has directed Army to a 5-6 record, including a 2-2 mark in the Patriot League.
• Picked to finish second in the league this season, Army is in a dog fight with the Mids to grab a spot in this year’s Patriot League Tournament … Army owns league wins over Lafayette and Bucknell, while dropping decisions to Lehigh and Colgate … the Black Knights have games against Navy and Holy Cross over the next two weekends.
• Three of Army’s six losses have been at the hands of nationally-ranked foes Massachusetts (12-9), Syracuse (10-9) and Cornell (18-7), while Lehigh (L, 7-6) was just outside of the top 20 when the two programs met in Bethlehem.
• Averaging 10.45 goals per game, Army’s offensive arsenal is headed up by junior attackman Garrett Thul who leads the team with 34 points on 31 goals and three assists … he is ranked 44th in points per game (3.09) and seventh nationally in goals per game (2.82).
• Rooke midfielder John Glesener presents the best all-around game for the Black Knights, producing his 24 points on 14 goals and 10 assists … meanwhile, senior attackman Conor Hayes has contributed 21 points on 13 goals and eight assists.
• Patriot League Preseason Defensive Player of the Year Tim Henderson spearheads the defense as the Black Knights’ pole … he has recorded 16 caused turnovers and picked up 50 ground balls … junior Brendan Buckley has been a monster on defense, creating 26 turnovers for the opposition … Buckley is ranked No. 6 in the country with his 2.36 caused turnovers per game.
• Senior Zach Palmieri has taken over the keeper duties this season following the graduation of Tom Palesky … Palmieri owns a 9.09 goals-against average and is turning back 50.8 percent of the shots he has faced.
• Senior Derek Sipperly has enjoyed a fine season at the faceoff “x” where he has won 54.9 percent (118-215) of the draws he has taken … he is ranked 23rd nationally … as the team’s leader in ground balls, he is 14th in the country, picking up 5.73 grounders per game.
• Army’s extra-man offense is one of the best in the nation, scoring on 51.9 percent (14-27) of its opportunities … that unit is ranked No. 3.
• The one area Army has struggled this season is in saves per game … the Black Knights are 53rd with 9.18 saves per game.

America’s Most Storied Rivalry:  Army vs. Navy
Not just a rivalry played on the gridiron, the Army-Navy lacrosse tradition dates back nearly 90 years.  The Academies played the inaugural game on May 31, 1924, with the Mids prevailing, 5-0, at West Point.
Army and Navy battled each other from there out on a yearly basis until 1929 when the series was sidelined for four years because of war times. The series resumed in 1933 with an 8-5 Army victory and has not been interrupted since.
In 2004, Navy joined the Patriot League for lacrosse. With the new conference affiliation, it guaranteed the two service academies would meet at least once a year, and possibly a second time in the Patriot League Tournament.
There have been only six years in which the two programs have met twice in a season, including four of the last seven seasons.  In 1978, the Mids earned a 16-13 regular-season victory over the Black Knights in Annapolis.  Nearly three weeks later, the fourth-ranked Midshipmen defeated No. 5 Army, 16-15, at home in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
In 1981, 12th-ranked Army upset the No. 6 Mids on their home field, claiming a 9-8 victory.  Navy, however, picked off No. 3 Army at West Point, 16-10, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament a month later.
The two programs played one another twice in 2005, ‘06 ‘07 and ‘10, as Army and Navy met during the regular season, as well as the championship game of the Patriot League Tournament.  Navy earned wins in six of the eight games, including the April 16, 2005, matchup in which an Army-Navy record crowd of 12,117 piled into Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and cheered Navy to a 12-9 win.
The annual Army-Navy Game was played on neutral soil for the first time in the history of the series when the two programs participated in the inaugural Day of Rivals on April 11, 2009, at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore, Md. Anchored by a three-goal, two-assist effort by Brendan Connors, along with a career-high tying 16-save performance by Smartlink Player of the Game Tommy Phelan, the Mids scored an 8-4 Star Game win over the Black Knights.
The two have played at a neutral site three times total (2006, ‘09, ‘10).  Outside of the 2009 and ‘10 Star Games played in Baltimore, the only other time the two have faced each other on netural ground was on April 30, 2006, in a Patriot League Tournament matchup in Hamilton, N.Y.
The Midshipmen lead the overall series, 57-30-3, winning 14 of the last 18 meetings. Navy’s 13-game winning streak, spanning nearly an entire decade (1998-07), is the longest winning streak by either team in the series.
Additionally, Navy owns a 52-29-3 advantage in Star Games, including 10-straight between 1998-07.  The Mids have won 14 of the last 19 Star Games.

Series History
• Saturday’s contest marks the 91st meeting between Army and Navy on the lacrosse field, meeting for the 80th-consecutive year … it’s the longest continuous lacrosse series between Navy and another team.
• Navy owns a commanding 57-30-3 series advantage that included 13-straight wins by the Midshipmen between 1998 and 2007 … the Mids have won 14 of the last 18 contests in the series.
• The Mids also own a 52-29-3 advantage in Star Games, winning 11 of the last 14.
• Army, however, has won four of the last five games in the series, including each of the last three games overall and two-consecutive Star Games.
• Navy owns a 27-15-2 advantage in games played at West Point, however, Army has won two in a row at Michie Stadium (2008 Star Game, 2010 Patriot League Championship).
• There have been only six times in the 90-game history (dating back to 1924) in which the two programs have battled twice in one season (1978 and 1981 in the NCAA Tournament; 2005, ‘06, ‘07 and ‘10 in the Patriot League Tournament).
• Navy has scored eight or more goals in 21 of the last 23 games against Army … the Mids have held the Black Knights to single digits in eight of the 12 games since joining the league in 2004 … Army has reach double digits just twice in the last eight games against the Mids.

2011 Army-Navy Recap
• Led by attackmen Jeremy Boltus and Garrett Thul who combined to score nine goals, Army outscored Navy 10-2 in the second half to earn a 14-9 victory over the Mids at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
• In a tale of two halves, Navy dominated the opening 30 minutes of play over the Black Knights.  The Mids owned an 18-5 advantage in shots, a 15-9 lead in ground balls and held an 8-5 edge in faceoffs.
• After the two teams traded off goals, Navy staged a 4-0 run over the course of eight minutes.  Senior Kevin Doyle scored a pair of goals during the run, while freshman attackman Tucker Hull scored a goal and added an assist.  Assisting Hull on his goal was senior Andy Warner, who became just the 29th player in program history to reach the 100-point milestone.  He finished the game with a pair of assists.
• Navy owned its largest lead of four at the 2:33 mark in the second quarter after junior middie Nikk Davis used a role dodge to punch in his lone goal of the game and gave the Mids a 7-3 advantage.
• Army countered just under a minute later when junior midfielder Devin Lynch scored the first of his two goals running in from the right wing and getting off his shot before falling into the crease.  It was a goal that would trigger a five-goal run by the Black Knights, despite a 15-minute halftime break after Lynch’s goal.
• The Black Knights came out like gang busters in the second half, scoring four goals in the first six minutes of action, including two in the first 1:15.  Lynch picked up where he left off in the first half, blowing past Navy defensive midfielder Marty Gallagher and scoring off a lefty shot on the run 1:06 into the game.  Nine seconds later, long pole Tim Henderson fed Matt Hurley for a 15-yard sidearm shot that squirmed its way past Navy keeper RJ Wickham.  Henderson then scored the game-tying goal at 11:30.
• Army took its first lead of the game at the 9:03 mark, when the fantastic attack duo of Boltus and Thul hooked up with Boltus finding Thul on the crease to take an 8-7 lead.  Remarkably at that point in the game, Army had scored its eight goals on just 11 shots.
• The Mids scored the equalizer with 3:58 to play in the third quarter when Jay Mann’s  pass ricocheted off defenseman Larry LoRusso who was standing on the crease and went into the goal.
• Army, though, wasted little time in answering, as Thul found Boltus who cranked a 10-yard shot from up top at 3:04 to give the Black Knights the lead for good.
• Navy managed just one more goal in the game, as Hull scored his third goal of the game off an assist from fellow freshman Harrison Chaires on extra-man with 7:08 remaining in the contest.

Breaking Down the Rivalry
All-Time Army-Navy Record:  Navy Leads, 952-721-39 (56.7)
Navy’s Overall Record vs. Army, Last 16 Yrs.:  Navy Leads, 307-181-6 (62.8)
Navy’s Star Game Record vs. Army, Last 16 Yrs.:  Navy Leads, 231-112-6 (67.0)

Navy’s 2011-12 Overall  Record vs. Army:  18-10 (64.3)
Navy’s 2011-12 Star Game Record vs. Army:  16-4 (80.0)
• In addition to Saturday’s men’s lacrosse game, the Army-Navy men’s tennis match will also take place on Saturday … the two teams battle in Annapolis at 1:00 pm.
• Last Saturday’s dramatic win by the men’s outdoor track team (102.5-100.5) clinched the overall series … tied at 97.5 points apiece, the meet came down to the final event of the day with the Mids’ 4x400m relay edging out the Black Knights (3:18.55 – 3:19.78) … Navy has won the overall series 19 times in the last 20 years.
• Navy, who has dominated the Star Series this season, 16-4, clinched the series for the 16th-straight season when the Mids’ women’s basketball squad captured a 57-50 victory over Army on Feb. 11 at West Point.

2011-12 Star Game Victories Over Army (in chronological order): Men’s Soccer • Golf • Men’s Cross Country • Women’s Cross Country • Women’s Soccer • Sprint Football • Men’s Swimming • Women’s Swimming • Football • Men’s Indoor Track & Field • Women’s Indoor Track & Field • Women’s Basketball • Gymnastics • Wrestling • Men’s Outdoor Track & Field • Women’s Outdoor Track & Field.

Patriot League Tournament in State of Flux
• With two weeks remaining in the regular season and thanks to Army defeating Bucknell and Colgate defeating Lehigh last weekend, the Patriot League Tournament remains in a state of flux.
• Bucknell, Colgate and Lehigh all sit atop the league at 3-1, while Navy stands fourth at 3-2, Army at 2-2, Lafayette at 1-3 and Holy Cross at 0-5.
• If Navy defeats Army on Saturday, the Mids are in the tournament … should Navy lose, it would still have a glimmer of hope to get in, but a number of things would have to happen over the next two weeks.
• Also in is the winner of Saturday’s Bucknell-Lehigh game.
• If Bucknell, Colgate and Navy all win on Saturday, all three of those teams would qualify for the tournament, as would Lehigh … if Navy loses and Colgate wins, Lehigh also gets in.

Remaining Patriot League Schedule
Saturday, April 14
•    Navy at Army    12:00 pm
•    Lafayette at Colgate    1:00 pm
•    Bucknell at Lehigh    7:00 pm
•    Holy Cross at Providence    7:00 pm

Friday, April 20
•    Colgate at Bucknell    7:00 pm

Saturday, April 21
•    Holy Cross at Army    12:00 pm
•    Johns Hopkins at Navy    12:00 pm
•    Lehigh at Lafayette    2:00 pm

Taking the Field In …
10    Navy has lost just five games (51-5) when scoring 10 or more goals since the start of the 2004 season … Navy is 5-0 this season when reaching 10 goals … Army, meanwhile, is 3-1 in games in which it has produced 10 goals.
9    Senior attackman Taylor Reynolds owns nine-career multi-point contests, including 2-plus points in six of the last eight games.
8    Tucker Hull is one of only three players in program history to post three eight-point games in a season – 6-2 vs. VMI, 3-5 at Lafayette and 3-5 vs. Holy Cross … he joins Mike Buzzell (1978) and Dennis Nealon (1990) … no Navy player has ever recorded four eight-point games in a season.
7    Sophomore long pole Pat Kiernan has produced nine points on seven goals and two assists over his career … the seven goals are tied as the most by a defenseman in school history, along with Bucky Morris (2001-04) and Zack Schroeder (2007-10).
6    Since 2004, Navy owns an amazing 54-2 record when holding its opponents to six or fewer goals, including a 12-1 mark in the last four seasons combined … Army is 1-1 this season when being held to six goals, including a 6-5 win in double overtime against Bucknell last week.
5    Tucker Hull is ranked No. 5 in the country in points per game, averaging 4.60 … his is also ranked fifth in assists per game (2.30) and 24th in goals per game (2.30).
4    Navy has won four in a row when leading after the third quarter and stand 5-1 on the year when achieving that feat.
3    Navy is one of four teams who have captured three Patriot League wins this season … Bucknell, Colgate and Lehigh are 3-1, while the Mids are 3-2 … a win by the Mids on Saturday would clinch a playoff berth for Navy.
2    Navy has been outscored 13-1 in the second half of its last two contests (Lehigh, Maryland) … in last year’s Army battle, the Black Knights rallied in the second half to outscore the Mids, 10-2, en route to a 14-9 win.
1    Over the last four seasons, 24 (10-14) of the Mids’ 70 contests have been decided by one goal … Navy had lost five-straight one-goal games prior to its 12-11 victory over No. 12 Colgate on March 24 … 21 of the 90 games in the Army-Navy series have been decided by one goal, including the 2010 Star Game in which the Mids won, 7-6.

On The Road Again
• Navy will play half of its 12-game slate away from its home venue, Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, this season.  Five of the six are true road games, while the sixth is a neutral site contest against Jacksonville which was played at EverBank Stadium, the home of the Jacksonville Jaguars, on Feb. 19.
• Navy stands 3-1 on the road this season with wins over Lafayette (3-10), Towson (3-13) and Colgate (3-24) … the Mids dropped their first road game of the year last  Friday at 12th-ranked Maryland (13-6).
• Since the beginning of the 2004 campaign, Navy has lost 22 of its 51 road games (neutral sites not included).
• Last year, Navy produced a 1-6 record in games played away from Annapolis … its lone road victory was an 8-3 decision over Holy Cross on March 19.

Patriot League Boasts Nation’s Top Scorers
• Three of the nation’s top-six point producers hail from Patriot League institutions according to this week’s NCAA statistics report.
• Colgate junior Peter Baum, who owns the nation’s seventh-leading scoring streak at 38-consecutive games, is No. 2 in the country with his 5.18 points per game, while Bucknell senior Billy Eisenreich stands No. 6 on the list, scoring at a 4.50 point per game clip.  Navy sophomore attackman Tucker Hull stands No. 5, averaging 4.60 points per contest.
• Hull has produced a point in every game this season and has registered hat tricks in five of the 10 contests.
• Hull, who possesses one of the most balanced games in the country, is ranked No. 5 in assists per game (2.30) and 24th in goals per game (2.30).
• Hull is one of three players in the country ranked in the top 25 in points, goals and assists, joining Massachusetts’ Will Manny (1st pts, 5th goals, 7th assists) and Siena’s Bryan Neufeld (4th pts, 9th goals, 10th, assists).

Rivalries in the Spotlight
• With one of the nation’s richest traditions in the sport of lacrosse, Navy plays three rivalry games each year that stand among the nation’s longest.
• Army and Navy have met 90 times, marking the sixth-longest rivalry in college lacrosse.  The two will play for the 91st time this Saturday at West Point.
• Meanwhile, the Mids have played Maryland 87 times, which is tied as the ninth-longest rivalry, and the Navy-Johns Hopkins series runs 85 games, which is 12th on the list.
• Cornell-Hobart is the longest-running series in college lacrosse with the two teams meeting 133 times.  Hobart was a Div. III program prior to 1995, but continue their series today.

Longest Rivalries in College Lacrosse
1.    133    Cornell v. Hobart    postponed, 2-25
2.    107    Johns Hopkins v. Maryland    April 14
3.    97    Hobart v. Syracuse    April 17
97    Cornell v. Syracuse    Cornell, 12-6
5.    93    Princeton v. Yale    Princeton, 10-9 (5OT)
6.    90    Army v. Navy    April 14
90    Princeton v. Rutgers    Princeton, 13-4
8.    88    Maryland v. Virginia    Virginia, 12-8
9.    87    Maryland v. Navy    Maryland, 13-6
87    Cornell v. Penn    Cornell, 16-11
11.    86    Harvard v. Cornell     Cornell, 14-10
12.    85    Johns Hopkins v. Navy    April 2

Game Preview
• Riding its longest winning streak since 2009, the Navy men’s lacrosse team (5-3, 3-1 Patriot League) will play host to seventh-ranked Lehigh (9-1, 2-0 Patriot League) Friday evening in a nationally-televised broadcast … face off is set for 7:00 pm at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium.
• Navy is coming off a huge upset victory over 12th-ranked Colgate last Saturday after sophomore attackman Sam Jones slipped the defense on the crease with 3.4 seconds left in the game to lead the Midshipmen to a 12-11 victory … while the Mids ran their winning streak to four in a row, they snapped the Raiders’ streak at five straight.
• Lehigh, meanwhile, scored its program-record eighth-straight victory when it dealt Holy Cross a 12-3 loss last Saturday in Bethlehem … junior attackman David DiMaria paced the Mountain Hawks with a seven-point effort that featured a career-high four goals.
• Friday’s contest will be televised by CBS Sports Network with Dave Ryan (play by play) and former Syracuse All-American defenseman Steve Panarelli (analyst) calling he action.

Taking the Field In …
10    Navy has lost just five games (51-5) when scoring 10 or more goals since the start of the 2004 season … Navy is 5-0 this season when reaching 10 goals … Lehigh has scored 10 or more goals in five of its 10 games, winning all five.
9    Senior attackman Taylor Reynolds owns nine-career multi-point contests, including each of the last six games.
8    Tucker Hull in one of only three players in program history to post three eight-point games in a season – 6-2 vs. VMI, 3-5 at Lafayette and 3-5 vs. Holy Cross … he joins Mike Buzzell (1978) and Dennis Nealon (1990) … no Navy player has ever recorded four eight-point games in a season.
7    Sophomore long pole Pat Kiernan has produced nine points on seven goals and two assists over his career … the seven goals are tied as the most by a defenseman in school history, along with Bucky Morris (2001-04) and Zack Schroeder (2007-10).
6    Since 2004, Navy owns an amazing 54-2 record when holding its opponents to six or fewer goals, including a 12-1 mark in the last four seasons combined … Lehigh has scored seven or more goals in just three (2004, ‘09, ‘11) of the previous 30 games.
5    Looking to add to its four-game winning streak, the last time Navy was able to put together five-consecutive wins was in 2008 when the Mids captured wins over Mount St. Mary’s, Lafayette, Lehigh, Holy Cross, Bucknell and Colgate from Feb. 29 to March 23.
4    Attackman Sam Jones led Navy with four goals and an assist in last year’s Lehigh contest.
3    At least one Navy players has scored a hat trick in seven of the eight games this season … Towson is the lone game in which a player did not reach three goals.
2    Tucker Hull is ranked No. 2 in the country in points per game, averaging 5.13 … his is also ranked 15th in goals per game (2.63) and fourth in assists per game (2.50).
1    Over the last four seasons, 24 (10-14) of the Mids’ 68 contests have been decided by one goal … Navy had lost five-straight one-goal games prior to last week’s 12-11 victory over No. 12 Colgate.

More on the Mountain Hawks
• Off to its best start in program history, fifth-year head coach Kevin Cassese has led Lehigh to a 9-1 record including a 2-0 mark in Patriot League action this spring … the nine wins are the most by any Div. I team this season, however just a handful of teams have played 10 games to date.
• The Mountain Hawks’ lone setback of the season was a 17-7 loss to Villanova in the second week of the season … Villanova, ranked 12th in the country this week, is coming off a huge win over Syracuse last weekend … since that loss on Feb. 18, Lehigh has won eight in a row, including wins over nationally-ranked programs Penn (10-4), North Carolina (9-8), Yale (11-7) and Penn State (9-5).
• Lehigh owns a balanced offensive arsenal that including five players with 10 or more goals and seven players with double-digit points … anchoring the offense, however, is junior attackman David DiMaria who leads the team in points (33), goals (16) and assists (17) … none of DiMaria’s goals have been scored when a man up.
• Junior attackman Dante Fantoni has been nicked up this season … despite missing three games, he is the team’s second-leading scorer with 18 points on 10 goals and eight assists.
• Junior Ryan Snyder has had a fine season at the faceoff “x” where he has won 54.3 percent (82-151) of his draws … additionally he leads the team with 62 ground balls.
• Collectively, Lehigh’s defense is ranked No. 1 in the country, surrendering just 5.6 goals per game.
• Freshman goalkeeper Matthew Poillon has made a case to be named this year’s Patriot League Rookie of the Year … he owns a stingy 5.57 goals-against average, which is ranked No. 1 in the nation, and has turned away 62.6 percent of the shots he has faced, which is No. 2 in the country.
• Junior defensive midfielder Noah Molnar and junior defenseman Mike Noone are atop the league’s leader board in caused turnovers with Molnar pacing the team with 14 and Noone has contributed 13.
• Lehigh is one of the second-ranked extra-man unit in the country, scoring goals on 20 of its 31 attempts for a 64.5 scoring percentage … attackmen Adam Johnston and Kyle Stiefel have been the go-to guys for Cassese this season … the two have combined for 12 of the 20 extra-man strikes with Johnston leading the way with seven.
• The Mountain Hawks have limited their turnovers this season … they are ranked No. 4 nationally, turning the ball over 13.0 times per outing.

Series History
• Friday’s contest between Navy and Lehigh marks the 31st game in a series that began in 1910 … the Midshipmen own a commanding 28-2 series advantage.
• The Mids won the first three contests before suffering their first loss in the series, a 4-3 decision in 1913 … Navy had won 25 in a row against the Mountain Hawks until last year’s stunner in Bethlehem when Lehigh dealt the Mids a 14-10 loss in Bethlehem.
• Friday’s game marks the first time Navy and Lehigh have met in Annapolis since 2008 … the two played one  another three-straight years in Bethlehem … four of the last five games, in fact, have been contested in Bethlehem.
• Navy owns a 21-1 series advantage in games played in Annapolis … the Mids’ lone loss at home was the 1913 game.
• Since Navy joined the league in 2004, the Mids have scored double-figure goals in six of the 10 contests … Navy has produced nine goals in three of the other four games during that stretch.
• Navy and Lehigh have met twice in the Patriot League Tournament, 2005 and 2006, with the Mids winning both.

2011 Navy-Lehigh Recap
• Lehigh outscored Navy 8-2 over the final 24 minutes and went on to defeat the Midshipmen, 14-10, at Ulrich Sports Complex in Bethlehem, Pa. in what was both teams’ league opener.
• Navy, which trailed 6-5 at the half, took an 8-6 lead early in the third quarter on a goal by senior midfielder Andy Warner (13:40) and two straight by freshman attackman Sam Jones (9:41 and 9:04). The second goal by Jones was his fourth of the night.
• Lehigh stopped Navy’s run with 7:47 left in the third on a goal by Jonathan Stumpf and then tied the game at eight when Stumpf assisted on a Dante Fantoni goal. Lehigh would take the lead for good with 1:06 left in the third when Fantoni scored his second goal of the night and then Ryan Snyder won the faceoff and went right down the field and fired a shot by goalkeeper RJ Wickham to give Lehigh a 10-8 lead heading into the fourth.
• The Mountain Hawks would make it six-consecutive goals on back-to-back tallies by David DiMaria and Adam Johnston to make it 12-8 and the Mids would never pull closer than three goals the rest of the way.
• Navy outshot Lehigh, 35-32, but the Mountain Hawks dominated the faceoff (18-9) and the ground ball (32-24) statistics. Navy was just 1-5 (.200) on extra-man opportunities.
• Jones led the Mids with four goals, while Warner had two. Jay Mann, Brian Striffler, Nikk Davis and Michael Jones, who saw his first action in a Navy uniform, scored one goal apiece. Tucker Hull, Sam Jones and Warner each added an assist. Meanwhile, Wickham produced 11 saves between the pipes for the Mids.

Program Ties
• First-year Navy head coach Rick Sowell has a handful of connections with the Lehigh coaching staff.
• Sowell served as an assistant coach for the goal-medal winning Team USA squad at the 2010 World Championships in England … a team in which Lehigh head coach Kevin Cassese was a member.
• All three of Lehigh’s assistant coaches graduated from Stony Brook with Sowell having coached 2007 grad Brendan Callahan and 2011 grad Tom Compitello … Callahan, an All-East goalkeeper, served as team captain in 2007, Sowell’s first season as head coach at Stony Brook … Compitello was an All-American as a junior, producing 37 goals and 35 assists to help lead the Seawolves to the NCAA Quarterfinals … Errol Wilson graduated in 2006 from Stony Brook.

Mids Join the Rankings
• Coming off a 12-11 victory over 12th-ranked Colgate this past Saturday, the Navy men’s lacrosse team has entered the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll for the first time since March 8, 2010 … the 5-3 Midshipmen have won four-straight games to position themselves as the No. 19 team in the country according to the weekly media poll.
• While Navy has received votes from the media over the last two seasons, the last top-20 ranking the Mids received was No. 13 in week four of the 2010 campaign.
• Navy, who finished the 2010 season with a 7-8 record and the program’s first losing season since 2003, fell out of the rankings on March 15 following a 15-8 loss to Lafayette … the Mids would later avenge that loss against the Leopards in the Patriot League Tournament, but fell short of claiming the title with an 11-8 loss to top-seeded Army.
• Six of Navy’s 12 opponents are ranked among the nation’s top 20 in this week’s installation of the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll, including top-ranked Johns Hopkins … additionally, four of the seven Patriot League teams stand among the top 20, led by Lehigh at No. 7, followed by Bucknell (16), Colgate (17) and Navy (19).

Jones Chosen as Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week
• For the second time this season, Navy sophomore attackman Sam Jones has been named the Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week, picking up this week’s citation after scoring the game-winning goal on Saturday against 12th-ranked Colgate.
• In addition to Jones, Lehigh’s Mike Noone (defense) and Matt Poillon (Goalkeeper) along with Bucknell’s David Dickson (rookie) were among those players recognized by the conference office as players of the week at their respective positions.
• Jones paced the Mids with a three-goal, two assist performance against Colgate, but it was his goal with 3.4 seconds left in the game that led to Navy’s first victory over a ranked team since snapping its 36-game losing streak to Johns Hopkins on April 24, 2010.
• Jones, who is Navy’s second-leading scorer with 24 points on 13 goals and 11 assists, came into the game having scored just two points in games played away from Annapolis this season.  Meanwhile, Colgate was the lone team to hold Jones without a point a year ago.

Navy-Colgate Rewind
• Navy sophomore attackman Sam Jones slipped the defense on the crease with 3.4 seconds left in the game to lead the Midshipmen to a 12-11 victory over 12th-ranked Colgate last Saturday in Hamilton, N.Y.
• The win gave the Mids their first four-game winning streak since 2009 when Navy claimed victories over Mount St. Mary’s, Lafayette, Lehigh and Holy Cross.
• Navy snapped a four-game losing streak when the opponent has picked up more ground balls … Colgate owned a slight 29-24 advantage.
• The win marked the program’s first one-goal victory since Navy earned a memorable 9-8 overtime win against Johns Hopkins on April 24, 2010 in Annapolis.  The Mids lost all four one-goal games a year ago and dropped a disappointing 9-8 decision to North Carolina earlier this season after the Tar Heels scored the game’s final four goals.
• The win was also Navy’s first win over a ranked team since that same victory over Hopkins … the Mids had lost five in a row against ranked programs.
• Just eight of the 23 goals were assisted in the contest, four by each team.
• The game was played without a single penalty by either team … the last time Navy was not penalized was the Feb. 12, 2011 game against VMI … the last time a Navy opponent was not flagged was the May 9, 2009 NCAA Tournament game against Duke.
• Senior faceoff specialist Logan West struggled at the “x”, but scored his first-two collegiate goals.
• Sophomore midfielder Erik Hoffstadt saw his five-game point-scoring streak snapped against Colgate after being held without a shot.

One-Goal Wonders
• Navy has played 70 one-goal games (of 235) since the start of the 1996 season, winning just 29 (41.4) of those contests.
• Among those 70 games, 25 of them have gone into extra minutes with Navy winning 11 (44.0).
• Over the last five seasons, 24 of the Mids’ 64 contests have been decided by one goal and Navy has produced wins in just 10 of the 24.
• The Mids had lost five-consecutive one-goal decisions dating back to 2010 before Sam Jones’ goal with 3.4 seconds left lifted Navy over 12th-ranked Colgate on March 24.
• Navy is now 1-1 this season in one-goal decisions, giving up a four-goal advantage over No. 4 North Carolina (2-25) to lose, 9-8.
• Outside of this year, which is yet to be completed, Navy has played at least three one-goal games every year since 1996 … in 2007, Navy played a program-record seven one-goal games, including five that were decided in overtime.
• Last spring, the Mids were 0-4 in one-goal decisions, dropping a 9-8 decision at Loyola (2-19), a 12-11 double-overtime loss at Bucknell (3-7), a 5-4 heart breaker to Colgate and a 9-8 decision at Georgetown … three of the four one-goal losses were on the road.

HAMILTON, N.Y. – Navy sophomore attackman Sam Jones (Annapolis, Md.) slipped the defense on the crease with 3.4 seconds left in the game to lead the Midshipmen to a 12-11 victory over 12th-ranked Colgate Saturday afternoon at Andy Kerr Stadium in Hamilton, N.Y.  While the Mids moved to 5-3 on the year, including wins in each of their last four contests, the Raiders suffered just their second loss of the season and had their five-game winning streak snapped.

“Wow, this feels great,” said first-year Navy head coach Rick Sowell.  “We talked all week long about drawing some positive attention to the program and you do that be getting some big wins.  We proved today that we can play to that level.  I couldn’t be more proud of the guys and the effort they gave today.”

The win marked the program’s first one-goal victory since Navy earned a memorable 9-8 overtime win against Johns Hopkins on April 24, 2010 in Annapolis.  The Mids lost all four one-goal games a year ago and dropped a disappointing 9-8 decision to North Carolina earlier this season after the Tar Heels scored the game’s final four goals.

After falling behind 1-0, Navy scored seven of the next eight goals to seize control of the game and owned a 7-3 advantage at the half.

The game, however, looked to take an eerily similar turn as the North Carolina contest, as the Mids held five-goal leads twice in the game, including a 10-5 lead with 9:13 to go in the third quarter.

Colgate, one of the nation’s most explosive offensive teams, rallied to scored four-straight goals, including three goals in under two minutes to clip the Mids’ lead to one, 10-9, with 4:20 remaining in the third quarter.  Navy did not have the ball on the offensive side of the field between the 9:13 and 4:20 mark, as the Raiders won four-straight faceoffs to keep the Mids’ defense on their toes.

The Raiders knotted up the game at 10-10 just seven seconds into the fourth quarter when faceoff specialist Robert Grabher won the draw and ran straight up the middle unscathed and punched in the equalizer.

Jones gave the Mids an 11-10 edge with 7:15 left in the game, sending his three-yard shot between Colgate keeper Jared Madison’s legs.

The nation’s leading scorer Peter Baum stepped up for the Raiders, scoring the game-tying goal at the 2:38 mark as he swept across the middle of the box and fired in his third goal of the afternoon.

With just over a minute to go, Sowell called timeout and set up a play.  Navy midfielders Nikk Davis (Cockeysville, Md.) and Pat Durkin (Germantown, Md.) anchored themselves at the top of the box, playing catch for the better part of a minute before Durkin found Jones who curled around the left crease and got off a bit of a scoop shot with 3.4 seconds for the game-winner.

“We drew up a play, but it fell apart because they were pushing up,” said Jones.  “I looked up at Durks (Pat Durkin) and then looked at the clock.  He got me the ball and I knew I had enough time to dodge.  I had luck with that side all day long, so I felt confident with the ball.  I made my move and was leaning to the right trying to give myself a little bit of room and sort of got it off sidearm.

“We’ve been up in a lot of games over my two years and let it slip away,” added Jones.  “I think a lot of us in our minds were saying, `no, not again!’  I had complete faith in our team.”

It was particularly rewarding for Jones who has struggled in recent weeks.

“I’ve been in a slump the last few games and the fact that my teammates trusted me means the world,” added Jones.  “I love my teammates.  It just really made me happy to be able to come through for them.”

“I know Sam has been frustrated the last couple of weeks, but I knew it was just a matter of time before he broke out of it,” added Sowell.  “I think it was more about being unlucky than him not doing the right things.  There are a few guys we’d like to have the ball in their sticks at the end of the game and without a doubt Sam is one of them.”

Jones led all scorers in the game with five points on three goals and two assists.  Meanwhile, senior attackman Taylor Reynolds (Babylon, N.Y.), senior faceoff specialist Logan West (Berlin, Md.) and Durkin contributed two goals apiece with West’s goals being the first two of his career.  Sophomore attackman Tucker Hull (Charlotte, N.C.), the nation’s second-leading scorer who was averaging 5.71 points per game going into the contest, was held to just one goal.

Navy senior keeper RJ Wickham (Penn Yan, N.Y.) put together a solid day in goal, turning back 12 Colgate shots on goal, including eight in the second half.  The Raiders took 28 of their 42 shots in the second, outscoring the Mids 8-5 over the second 30 minutes of play.

Baum, who scored just one settled goal on the Midshipmen, paced the Raiders with his hat trick, while Walsh delivered three points on two goals and one assist.  Madison, meanwhile, made just three saves for the Raiders.

The Midshipmen will be back in action next Friday when they play host to 11th-ranked Lehigh at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium beginning at 7:00 pm.  The Patriot League contest will be televised live by CBS Sports Network with Dave Ryan (play by play) and Steve Panarelli (analyst) calling the action.

Game Preview
• Riding a three-game winning streak, the Navy men’s lacrosse team travels to Hamilton, N.Y. on Saturday to play 12th-ranked Colgate … meeting for the 15th time in series history, the Mids and Raiders will face off at 2:00 pm at Andy Kerr Stadium.
• Navy outscored Holy Cross, 5-1, in the second half of last Saturday’s 13-7 win, while holding the Crusaders scoreless for the final 26 minutes of the contest … sophomore attackman Tucker Hull turned in his third eight-point game of the season by leading the Mids with three goals and five assists … meanwhile, senior keeper RJ Wickham produced a season-high 16 saves to keep the Crusaders at bay while eclipsing the 400-career save milestone.
• Meanwhile, Colgate ran its winning streak to five in a row with a 12-6 victory over then 13th-ranked Fairfield last Saturday … junior attackman Peter Baum anchored the attack with six points on four goals and two assists, while attackmen Ryan Walsh and Brendon McCann along with middie Jeff Ledwick all contributed a pair of goals.

Taking the Field In …
10    Navy has lost just five games (50-5) when scoring 10 or more goals since the start of the 2004 season … Navy is 4-0 this season when reaching 10 goals … Colgate has scored 10 or more goals in seven of its eight games, winning all seven.
9    Sophomore attackman Tucker Hull has recorded nine hat tricks in his 20-game Navy career, including five this season … Hull has also produced eight points in a game three times this season, including a three-goal, five-assist effort against Holy Cross last Saturday.
8    Behind a season-best 16-save performance, senior goalkeeper RJ Wickham became just the eighth player in school history to produce 400-career saves … he stands eighth on the career saves list with 411.
7    The Mids’ four wins this season have been when they held their foe to seven or fewer goals.
6    Since 2004, Navy owns an amazing 54-2 record when holding its opponents to six or fewer goals, including a 12-1 mark in the last four seasons combined.
5    Riding a five-game point-scoring streak, senior co-captain Taylor Reynolds has already topped his point total from a year ago (12) with his nine goals and six assists (15).
4    Just four players (Nikk Davis, Tucker Hull, Taylor Reynolds and Jordan Seivold) on the current roster have scored goals against Colgate, all of which have turned in just one goal.
3    Over the last three games, sophomore long pole Pat Kiernan has scored five goals and added an assist  … in the Mids’ win over Holy Cross, he scored a career-high tying two goals and dealt out his first-career assist.
2    Tucker Hull is ranked No. 2 in the country in points per game, averaging 5.71 … his is also ranked 11th in goals per game (2.86) and second in assists per game (2.86).
1    Over the last four seasons, 23 (9-14) of the Mids’ 67 contests have been decided by one goal … Navy has lost five-straight one-goal games … each of the last four Navy-Colgate games has been decided by one goal with each team winning two of the four.

More on the Raiders
• In his first season as head coach, former Army assistant Mike Murphy has the 12th-ranked Colgate Raiders sitting atop the Patriot League with a 1-0 record … meanwhile the Raiders, who boast a 7-1 record, are off to the program’s best start since the 1993 team opened its season with an 8-1 mark.
• Colgate, whose only blemish on the year was  9-6 hiccup to Dartmouth, has won five in a row over the likes of Robert Morris (24-14), Hobart (18-8), Holy Cross (13-9), Binghamton (17-8) and Fairfield (12-6).
• Junior attackman Peter Baum has been sensational for the Raiders … as the nation’s No. 1 scorer, he has registered 46 points (5.75) on 33 goals and 13 assists.
• Freshman attackman Ryan Walsh has made a strong case for Patriot League Rookie of the Year honors, producing 29 points on 19 goals and 10 assists and is the team’s second-leading scorer.
• Junior Robert Grabher has won 96 of his 175 faceoffs (54.9) and is ranked 24th nationally … additionally, he is No. 5 in ground balls, averaging 6.88 per contest.
• Senior Jared Madison has anchored the defense from the cage where he owns an 8.60 goals-against average and a 51.1 save percentage.
• Meanwhile senior Kevin Gordon and sophomore Bobby Lawrence are pacing the team with 14 takeaways apiece … Lawrence is also second on the team in ground balls with 25.

Series History
• Navy leads the all-time series with Colgate, 10-4, including wins in two of the last three contests.
• Just three (2006, `08, `10) of the 14 contests have been played in Hamilton, N.Y. with Navy claiming wins in two of the three.
• The two teams have met 12 times since the Midshipmen joined the Patriot League in 2004 … during that span, Navy has produced an 8-4 record and outscored Colgate, 129-89.
• Each of the last four contests between the two programs has been decided by one goal, including the last trip to Hamilton in which the Mids were forced to come from behind to win eventually win in overtime, 10-9.
• Navy and Colgate have twice faced one another in the Patriot League Tournament and have been met with split results … in 2007, the Mids claimed a 15-9 win over the Raiders in the championship game, before dropping the program’s first Patriot League Tournament contest at the 2008 semifinals against eventual champion Colgate.

2011 Navy-Colgate Recap
• Navy scored the game’s first-two goals, but scoreless lulls of 21 and 31 minutes in the first and second halves, respectively, allowed Colgate to score a 5-4 win over the Mids and snap Navy’s three-game winning streak.  Colgate, the only Patriot League foe who has beaten the Mids on their home field since Navy joined the league in 2004, has now won two in a row against the Mids at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
• Navy jumped out to a 2-0 lead with back-to-back goals within a minute of one another by senior midfielder Kevin Doyle (8:09), followed by a speed dodge goal by Nikk Davis (7:15).
• While the Mids looked to have the game well in hand, they were dealt a blow when senior midfielder Andy Warner got tangled up with a Colgate player and Warner suffered a blow to the head.  For precautionary reasons, Warner was held out of competition for roughly 15 minutes of game play.  Although Warner did return to the game midway through the second quarter, Navy’s offense never seemed to get the swagger back in its step.
• In fact, Colgate rattled off three-straight goals to take a 3-2 advantage with 5:15 to play in the opening half.  Rookie midfielder Jimmy Ryan kicked off the run with a left alley dodge past Navy defensive midfielder Jordan Seivold, sending his shot from 10 yards out past Navy keeper RJ Wickham with 47 seconds left in the first quarter.  Faceoff specialist Jim Carroll won the faceoff to open the second frame and found the nation’s sixth-ranked goal scorer Peter Baum for the equalizer at 14:54.  The Raiders took the lead with 5:15 remaining in the second when Warner’s errant pass was picked up by Colgate defenseman Greg Perkins and off to the races they went.  The Navy turnover led to one of three transition goals by Colgate, this one by long pole Dave Tucciarone.
• The Mids finally got themselves back on the scoreboard when Warner found freshman attackman Tucker Hull for a five-yard shot just to the right of the goal at the 1:12 mark.  The assist by Warner extended his point scoring streak to 21-straight games dating back to last year’s Lehigh contest.
• Navy’s efforts were short-lived, however, as Carroll won the ensuing faceoff for the Raiders and got the ball to senior middie Rob Bosco.  Filling the middle, Bosco passed the ball off to Baum on the left wing, who fired off a shot that appeared to hit defenseman Michael Hirsch before taking a hop and finding its way into the goal with 1:01 left to take a 3-2 advantage going into halftime.
• The third quarter featured several shots that would never find the back of the net until the 4:30 mark when the Raiders perfectly executed their transition game that resulted in a Ben McCabe goal from roughly seven yards out and extended their lead to 5-3.
• After barraging Colgate keeper Jared Madison with 11 shots over the final 2:19 of the game, the Mids finally were able to get within one.  But the eight-yard unassisted goal by junior attackman Taylor Reynolds came too late for the Mids, as he scored with just two ticks left.

Navy-Holy Cross Rewind
• Navy outscored Holy Cross, 5-1, in the second half of last Saturday’s 13-7 win, while holding the Crusaders scoreless for the final 26 minutes of the contest
• The win gave the Mids their first three-game winning streak since last year when the Mids won three in a row over this same three-game stretch against Lafayette, Towson and Holy Cross.
• Navy is now 4-0 this season when holding its opponent to seven or fewer goals.
• Sophomore attackman Tucker Hull turned in his third eight-point game of the season by leading the Mids with three goals and five assists … it also marked his fifth hat trick of the year and ninth of his career.
• Navy’s first two goals of the game were scored by long stick defensive midfielders … sophomore Pat Kiernan punched in the game’s first goal and went on to finish the game with two goals and an assist … meanwhile, in just his second-career appearance, sophomore Ben Sampson notched his first-collegiate goal in the opening period.
• Six players extended scoring streaks - Taylor Reynolds with five-straight games with a goal, Hull with seven-straight games with a point, Erik Hoffstadt with fiver-straight games with a point and Pat Kiernan with thtree-straight games with a goal.
• Junior midfielder Bryce Dabbs saw his five-game goal-scoring streak snapped against Holy Cross after being held scoreless on two shots.
• Behind a season-best 16-save performance, senior goalkeeper RJ Wickham became just the eighth player in school history to produce 400-career saves … he stands eighth on the career saves list with 411.

An Old Fashioned Duel Between 1 and 2
• Not only do the nation’s top two point producers hail from Patriot League institutions according to this week’s NCAA statistics report, Colgate junior Peter Baum and Navy sophomore Tucker Hull are set to square off Saturday in Hamilton, N.Y..
• Baum, who owns the nation’s seventh-leading scoring streak at 35-consecutive games, is leading the country with his 5.75 points per game, while Hull stands No. 2, averaging 5.71 points per contest.
• Baum is also the nation’s top goal producer (4.13), while Hull is 11th, scoring 2.86 goals per game.
• Hull has registered hat tricks in five of the seven games this season.
• Hull, who possesses a more balanced game, is ranked No. 2 in assists per game, dealing out 2.86 per contest.

Kiernan Among Navy’s Top Scoring Defensemen
• Navy sophomore long stick defensive midfielder Pat Kiernan has produced eight-career points, including seven this season.
• He is ranked third all-time for career points scored by a  Navy defensemen, while his seven goals are tied as the most.
• Among the NCAA’s top active defensemen, he is just outside of the top five … there are only five defensemen in the entire nation who have scored 10 or more career points.
• For a single season, Kiernan’s seven points are tied as the most by a Navy player alongside Zack Schroeder who  produced seven points on three goals and four assists in 2009.
• Meanwhile he has turned in more goals this season (6) than any Navy defenseman in program history.

Patriot League Success
• Since joining the Patriot League in 2004, Navy is 51-14 (78.1) against conference members, which includes an 11-2 mark in the Patriot League Tournament … the Mids are 40-12 in regular-season action.
• The Mids have lost regular-season contests to …
Army (3)    2008, `10, `11
Bucknell (4)    2005, `09, `11, `12
Colgate (3)    2006, `09, `11
Lafayette (1)    2010
Lehigh (1)    2011
… and dropped the program’s first Patriot League Tournament contest at the 2008 semifinals against eventual champion Colgate and its second to Army in the 2010 championship contest.
• Ten of the 14 losses were in games played either at the opponent’s field or at a neutral site.
• Navy owns a 27-4 record at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium against Patriot League competition since joining the conference in 2004 … the Mids are 21-4 during the regular season.
• The Mids have produced undefeated marks in conference action twice, 7-0 in 2004 and 6-0 in `07.
• Navy has won at least a share of the Patriot League regular-season title in five (2004-05-06-07-08) of the seven years it has been a member of the league.
• Additionally, the Mids have claimed the league’s tournament crown five times (2004-05-06-07-09).
• 31 different Mids have garnered All-Patriot League recognition, while 19 of the 31 have earned honors multiple times.

Hull Hauls in the Points
• Seven games into the season, Navy sophomore attackman Tucker Hull has already eclipsed his team-high 38 points from a year ago.
• Hull is the first 40-point scorer for the Mids since Nick Mirabito turned in 46 points on 23 goals and 23 assists in 2008.
• He is just 12 points shy of joining Navy’s single-season top 20 points list … 20th-place Mike Hannan produced 52 points during the 1978 season … Mike Buzzell holds the scoring record with 85 points in 1979.
• Meanwhile, Hull is just 22 points shy of joining Navy’s list of elite 100-point scorers … there are just 29 current members of the group with the last player joining the list just a year ago, as Andy Warner graduated with 101-career points.

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. — Navy senior RJ Wickham (Penn Yan, N.Y.) picked up his second Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week citation this season following a week that saw the Midshipmen run their winning streak to three in a row with wins over Towson and Holy Cross.  In addition to Wickham, Colgate’s Peter Baum (offense) and Bobby Lawrence (defense) and Lehigh’s Matt Poillon (rookie) were among those players recognized by the conference office as players of the week at their respective positions.

Wickham put together a pair of solid performances together last week, producing a 65.8 save percentage and a 6.50 goals-against average.  He opened the week with a nine-save effort against Towson and helped anchor the Navy defense to a pair of scoreless stretches  by Towson.  The Mids were able to overcome a 2-1 halftime deficit by keeping the Tigers off the scoreboard for 20 minutes between the second and third quarters.  The defense again held Towson without a goal for a nine-minute stretch in the fourth quarter before giving up two garbage goals in the final 30 seconds.

Meanwhile, after Holy Cross closed to within a goal at 8-7 with 10:57 to go in the third quarter, Wickham would post seven saves down the stretch to keep the Crusaders off the board for the remainder of the contest.  He finished the game with a season-high 16 saves, pushing his career total to 411 and making him just the eighth player in the program’s 105-year history to eclipse the 400-career save milestone.  He is the first Navy player to post 400 saves since his current goalkeeper coach, two-time Kelly Award winner Mickey Jarboe, set the school record with 701 saves in 2000.

Wickham is ranked eighth on the Mids’ all-time saves list, trailing seventh-place Scott Bartkowski (1980-83) by 28 saves.

Wickham is one of only four Navy goalkeepers to garner the Patriot League’s weekly award since Navy joined the league in 2004, and in terms of player-of-the-week recognition, he is the most decorated Navy goalkeeper having received the honor seven times.

The Midshipmen return to action on Saturday when they travel to Hamilton, N.Y. to battle 12th-ranked Colgate, who stands 7-1 overall and 1-0 in Patriot League play.  Faceoff is set for 2:00 pm at Andy Kerr Stadium.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The Navy lacrosse team staged a strong second half effort on both ends of the field as the Mids earned a 13-7 victory over Holy Cross Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.  Navy outscored the Crusaders 5-1 in the second half, holding Holy Cross scoreless for the final 26 minutes of the contest, as the Mids to improve to 4-3 on the year, including a 2-1 mark in Patriot League action.

“That was one heck of a win for our program,” said first-year Navy head coach Rick Sowell.  “We had a lot of different guys stepping up and making big plays at different times throughout the game.  Erik Hoffstadt scored a huge goal for us on extra-man that gave us a little padding.  Ben Sampson and Pat Kiernan provided offense as long poles.  Evan McGoogan came in and was able to win some faceoffs.  And our goalkeeper, RJ Wickham, who played an all-around solid game, stepped up and made some big saves in the second half when we needed them.  It was just an all-around great team effort.”

The Mids built a 4-2 advantage over the Crusaders in the opening quarter, sparked by the play of sophomore long poles Pat Kiernan (Ridgewood, N.J.) and Ben Sampson (Doylestown, Pa.).  Kiernan punched in a career-high tying two goals, while Sampson, in just his second-career appearance, scored his first-collegiate goal midway through the first quarter.  Kiernan has now scored six goals this season, including five in the last three contests.

Navy pushed its lead to 7-2 early in the second quarter, as the Mids scored three goals in 1:23 seconds, including back-to-back strikes by senior co-captain Taylor Reynolds (Babylon, N.Y.).

Holy Cross, however, fought its way back into the game, scoring four of the final five goals of the first half to find itself down by just two, 8-6, at the half.  The four goals were scored by four different players – Clay Haarmann, John Hannan, Myles Gilespite, Nick Rabiecki – and three of the four were unassisted.

The Crusaders trimmed Navy’s lead to one at 8-7 with just under 11 minutes to go in the third period on another unassisted goal by Gillespie.  While Holy Cross looked to have all the momentum in its favor, an extra-man goal by sophomore midfielder Erik Hoffstadt (Dover, Del.)  at 9:16 in the third period gave Navy just what it needed – breathing room.

The goal was the first of five straight by the Mids, as Navy’s defense solved Holy Cross’ offensive attack and did not give up a goal for the final 25:57.

“The six to eight minute period in which they made their run in the first half, well that happens in the game of lacrosse,” said senior goalkeeper RJ Wickham (Penn Yan, N.Y.).  “I think we adjusted well in the second half and I would say it was really good defense holding them to one goal in the second half.  The seniors, myself, Matt Vernam and Ian Crumley, we were trying to use our leadership on defense to buckle down and play the way we know how.”

“Credit Holy Cross for the grit and belief they played with,” added Sowell.  “We knew we were in for a battle.  We got off to a strong start, but they didn’t give in.  They kept coming back at us.

“I think Erik’s (Hoffstadt) goal gave us an opportunity to catch out breath a little bit and regroup.”

Seven different player provided goals for the Mids, anchored by sophomore attackman Tucker Hull’s (Charlotte, N.C.) ninth-career hat trick and fifth of the year.  Hull put together his third eight-point performance of the year with five assists to go along with his three goals.  With 40 points on 20 goals and 20 assists, Hull has already scored more points than he did as a freshman (38).

“Honestly, the other players make me look good,” said Hull, who is the nation’s No. 2 scorer, averaging better than five points per game.  “My teammates are working to get open all of the time and I just happen to be the one with the ball in my stick.”

Reynolds, Kiernan, Hoffstadt and senior midfielder Nikk Davis (Cockeysville, Md.) scored two goals apiece, while Sampson and sophomore attack Sam Jones (Annapolis, Md.) each got into the scoring column.

Wickham put together one of his strongest days in goal with a season-best 16-save performance, while giving up seven goals to the Crusaders.  With the 16 saves, Wickham became just the eighth goalkeeper in the program’s 105-year history to reach the 400-save milestone.  Ironically, he is the first Navy keeper since Mickey Jarboe, the Mids’ current goalkeeper coach, achieved the feat in 2000, stopping 701 shots over his four-year career.

Meanwhile, Navy continued to be riddled at the faceoff x, as senior Logan West (Berlin, Md.) managed just two wins in 11 attempts.  Junior Evan McGoogan (Cranberry Township, Pa.), however, came on to find some success getting the ball to his wings, as he was credited with wins on eight of his 13 draws.

The Midshipmen will be back in action next Saturday when they make the trip North to Hamilton, N.Y. to battle 17th-ranked Colgate, who is off to a 7-1 start including a 1-0 mark in Patriot League play.  Faceoff is slated for 2:00 pm  at Andy Kerr Stadium.

“We are in the same situation we were in last year (a three-game winning streak going into the Colgate game),” added Hull.  “It’s going to be tough moving forward with the schedule that we play, but we can’t have last year.  We want to win.”