ANNAPOLIS, Md. —  T.J. Hanzsche (Fr./Berwyn, Pa.), Sam Jones (Jr./Annapolis, Md.) and Gabe Voumard (So./Cape May, N.J.) pitched in hat tricks for the Mids, while long pole Pat Kiernan (Jr./Ridgewood, N.J.) posted a career-high seven caused turnovers and picked up seven ground balls to lead the Navy men’s lacrosse team to a 12-11 victory over Patriot League foe Lafayette Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.   The Midshipmen are now 54-5 when scoring 10 or more goals since the start of the 2004 season, including 8-0 over the last two seasons.

The win snapped a three-game skid by the Mids that featured a pair of one-goal losses to Fairfield and Georgetown.  Meanwhile it also extended Navy’s home-game winning streak to four in a row dating back to last year’s regular-season finale against Johns Hopkins.

The game featured multiple runs by both teams as the see-saw affair was highlighted by six ties.

“We tried to get away from them several times, but just couldn’t shake them,” said second-year Navy head coach Rick Sowell.  “Jim Rogalski is doing a heck of a job with his team.  Their attack is tough, but we felt confident we could match up well.”

The Mids opened the game scoring back-to-back goals just 37 seconds apart, including the game’s first goal at 12:40 by Hanzsche.  The rookie attackman received his first collegiate starting nod and became the 16th different Navy player to score a goal this season.

“We weren’t looking for T.J. to be the answer, but we were hoping he’d be part of the solution for us.  He played calm and within himself and definitely took advantage of the opportunities he was presented with.  I think he’s a dynamic player.”

Lafayette evened the score by the end of the quarter with sophomore attackman Brian Bock scoring the first of his game-high four goals and rookie attackman Kevin Wanke punching in his first of four goals with an extra-man strike.

Navy and Lafayette exchanged goals in the second quarter, however a turnover on a failed clear attempt by Sonny Round was converted into the go-ahead goal by the Mids when short stick defensive middie Cade Norris (Sr./Honeoye Falls, N.Y.) found Jones to give the Mids a 4-3 halftime advantage.

Navy took a two-goal lead when Voumard found a seam on the left wing just 1:13 into the second half.

Lafayette responded with three straight goals over a one-minute, 14-second span to take its first lead in the game at 6-5 with 10:51 to go in the third quarter.  Bock scored the first two goals, including a near point blank shot after a turnover by Navy defenseman Nik Mullen (Jr./Wading River, N.Y.) in front of the Navy goal, while Bock provided the assist on the third goal in the run.

The Mids stunted the Leopards’ run at 8:52 when attackman Tucker Hull (Jr./Charlotte, N.C.) came around the left side of the goal and Jones found him to knot the game at 6-6.

Lafayette came right back two minutes later with rookie middie Brendan Dunlap scoring from 15 yards out on a 5-on-3 advantage and giving Lafayette the lead once again.

Navy, though, would score the final two goals of the third quarter, both by Hanzsche, to regain the lead by quarter’s end.  The second of Hanzsche’s goals was scored off a heads-up play by midfielder Jay Mann (Sr./Cockeysville, Md.).  After an offside call against Lafayette with four seconds remaining in the period, Navy took advantage of the quick whistle and Mann found Hanzsche just outside of the crease for a buzzer beater.

While Bock’s extra-man goal at 13:16 in the fourth quarter once again tied the game (8-8), Navy went on to score four of the next five goals to take a lead it would not relinquish.

The Midshipmen held a comfortable 12-9 lead with 2:18 remaining, but a disciplined Lafayette team scored twice in the final 17 seconds which included its fourth extra-man goal of the game against the nation’s top-ranked man-down squad.  The Mids came into the contest having given up just two goals in 24 extra-man opportunities, but surrendered the four goals on Lafayette’s six attempts.

Hanzsche, Jones and Voumard paced Navy with each scoring three goals and adding an assist, while Hull is now just one point shy of the 100-point list after posting a pair of goals in Saturday’s win.  Midfielder Bryce Dabbs (Sr./Damascus, Md.) also scored a goal and dealt out an assist.

Kiernan played a nearly flawless game as he caused seven of Lafayette’s 17 turnovers, while contributing a team-high tying seven ground balls.  Close defenseman Austin Miller (Sr./North Bethesda, Md.) also picked up seven ground balls in a solid defensive effort by the Mids.  Senior keeper Nolan Hickey (Garden City, N.Y.) finished the game with 13 saves, including nine in the opening half.

Navy just edged Lafayette in the faceoff battle, taking wins on 14 of the 26 draws.  Rookie Sean Reilly (Doylestown, Pa.) won 11 of the 21 for the Mids, while pole Pat Menezes (Fr./Wading River, N.Y.) was 2 for 3 in his first appearance at the “x” and Evan McGoogan (Sr./Cranberry Township, Pa.) was 1-for-2.

Lafayette was anchored by its starting attack which accounted for eight of the 11 goals, including four each by Bock and Wanke.

The Midshipmen return to action on Tuesday when they play host to Towson at 7:00 pm at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

Game Preview
• After playing three straight games on the road, the Navy men’s lacrosse team returns home to face Patriot League foe Lafayette on Saturday … the 15th edition of the Navy-Lafayette series is set for a 12:00 pm faceoff at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
• The Mids are coming off a puzzling 11-2 loss that saw Bucknell hold Navy scoreless for 51 minutes.  The Midshipmen built a 2-1 advantage with 6:08 remaining in the opening quarter, but were blanked for the remainder of the game as the Bison scored 10 consecutive goals to deal the Mids their third straight loss.
• Lafayette has lost two in a row, dropping an 8-5 decision to Marist last Saturday and a mid-week contest to Delaware, 11-9.  The Leopards were tied up with the Blue Hens, 7-7, going into the final quarter, but Delaware scored four straight goals and held Lafayette scoreless for over 10 minutes.
• A radio broadcast of Saturday’s contest will be carried by WNAV 1430 AM/99.9 FM with Pete Medhurst and Joe Miller handling the call … coverage begins with the Navy lacrosse pregame show at 11:45 am … the game will also be streamed online via Navy All-Access (subscription) with live stats available at NavySports.com.

A Win over Lafayette would …
• snap the Mids’ three-game skid.
• give Navy a 14-1 series advantage over Lafayette and stretch the Mids’ winning streak to four in a row against the Leopards.
• improve the Mids’ record to 9-0 against Lafayette in games played in Annapolis.
• give Navy’s Rick Sowell a 5-1 record all-time against Lafayette, including a 2-0 mark while at Navy.
• give Rick Sowell a 95-90 career record and a 9-9 mark at Navy.
• push Navy’s all-time record to 759-317-14.

Scouting the Leopards
• First-year head coach Jim Rogalski has led Lafayette to a 2-4 record this season with the Leopards actually posting a better record on the road (2-1) as opposed to playing at home (0-3).
• After opening the season with an 11-10 overtime victory against Georgetown, the Leopards have dropped four of their last five games including each of their last two.
• Lafayette was tripped up at home last Saturday by Marist and dropped an 11-9 decision to Delaware on Tuesday after the Blue Hens outscored the Leopards 4-2 in the final quarter.
• Six of the Leopards’ 10 starters return including junior goalkeeper Jake Hyatt who has started all 5 games between the pipes this season where he owns a 9.98 goals-against average and a 58.0 save percentage.  He is averaging 13.8 saves per game which is ranked ninth nationally, while the team as a whole is ranked 10th.
• Additionally, Lafayette’s top two scorers return in sophomore attackman Brian Bock, who led the way a year ago with 30 points on 15 goals and 15 assists, and fellow second-year attackman Cory Scheuerle, who posted 16 points on 14 goals and 2 assists.  Bock recorded 7 goals and 8 assists this spring, while Scheuerle has scored 3 goals.
• After seeing action in 8 of the 13 games a year ago and earning 4 starts, attackman Sonny Round is off to a fantastic start to his sophomore campaign.  He is Lafayette’s leading scorer with 15 goals and 5 assists.  Meanwhile, rookie Kevin Wanke has been solid for the Leopards with 7 goals and 4 assists.
• Senior Greg Rau won 47.7 percent (51-107) of his faceoffs a year ago and is winning at about the same clip this season.  He has won 41 of his 82 draws.
• Senior defenseman Geoff Stears owns a team-high 10 takeaways and is third on the team with 13 ground balls.
• Lafayette has had more extra-man opportunities than any other team in the country with 35.  On Tuesday, Delaware was flagged eight times with the Leopards scoring on three of their eight opportunities.  On the year, Lafayette is 13-for-35 (37.1) on extra-man.

Navy vs. Lafayette – The Series
• Saturday’s contest marks the 15th meeting between the two programs, and the 11th since the Midshipmen joined the Patriot League in 2004.  Navy leads the series, 13-1.
• The two teams first met in 1926 with Navy earning a 23-0 win … Navy and Lafayette battled one another three times between 1929-31 … the 1931 contest was the last time the two programs had met before the Mids joined the Patriot League.
• The Mids won 10 straight against the Leopards before dropping the program’s only loss to Lafayette on March 12, 2010 in Easton.
• Navy has scored double digits in 11 of the 14 games, while the Mids have held Lafayette to single digits 13 times.
• In the 14-game history, the Mids have outscored the Leopards, 180-64 … since joining the league in ‘04, Navy has outscored Lafayette, 116-63.

Meet the Mids
• Navy will hold its annual “Meet the Mids” event following its game against Lafayette on Saturday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
• Members of the Navy men’s lacrosse team will be available for autographs on the Blue Concourse, with the first 300 kids in line for the postgame autograph session receiving a Navy lacrosse “Meet the Mids” t-shirt, compliments of Annapolis area Papa John’s and Chick-fil-A.
• Navy’s 2013 lacrosse poster and an autograph card will be available, while prizes will also be handed out.
• For more information on the event or to purchase tickets, call 1-800-US4-NAVY or visit NavySports.com(.)

National Leader Board
• According to the latest national statistics released on Monday by the NCAA, the Mids are ranked among the top 20 in four categories including No. 1 in a pair.
• The Mids jumped from No. 4 to No. 1 in caused turnovers this week, averaging 11.8 per contest.  Senior close defenseman Austin Miller, meanwhile, is eighth nationally causing 2.4 turnovers per game while junior long pole Pat Kiernan is 12th, averaging 2.0 per contest.
• Navy is also ranked No. 1 in man-down defense, surrendering just two goals on 24 attempts (91.7).  The Mids have not given up an extra-man goal in their last three games.
• Navy is eighth in ground balls (35.6) which is a huge improvement over 2012.  The Mids were ranked 43rd in ground balls per game, averaging 27.67.
• The Mids are also ranked among the top 20 in saves per game, averaging 13.2.
• Navy dropped out of the top 20 following the Bucknell loss in scoring margin (10th to 26th), scoring defense (13th to 21st), scoring offense (17th to 33rd) and points per game (20th to 35th).

Home Field Advantage
• 2013 marks the 52nd season Navy has played at least one game at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
• Navy owns a 43-19 record (69.4) in games played at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium since the start of the 2004 campaign, outscoring its foes, 674-454.
• Since playing its entire home schedule at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium beginning in 2004, Navy has lost back-to-back games at home just 5 times … in 2006, the Mids lost to Georgetown, 9-5, and then suffered a 9-8 setback against Johns Hopkins … in 2008, Navy again lost regular-season decisions to the Hoyas and Blue Jays before the Mids’ season concluded with a 10-4 loss to Hopkins in the quarterfinals of the NCAA Tournament … Navy lost back-to-back home games in 2010 to Loyola, 8-7 OT, and North Carolina, 11-4 … in 2011, Navy dropped a one-goal decision to Colgate, a 10-4 contest to No. 7 Maryland and a 14-9 decision to Army … last season, the Mids dropped a one-goal heart breaker to fourth-ranked North Carolina and followed up with a 14-9 loss to Bucknell in the league opener.
• In its 106-year history, Navy has lost 3 straight home games just 5 times …
1980    #1 Virginia, #2 Johns Hopkins, #9 N. Carolina
1985    Washington College, N. Carolina, Army
2003    #13 Rutgers, Air Force, #4 Georgetown,
#4 Maryland
2008    #4 Georgetown, #7 Johns Hopkins,
#4 Johns Hopkins
2011    Colgate, #7 Maryland, #17 Army
… and four-straight home games just once
2003    #13 Rutgers, Air Force, #4 Georgetown,
#4 Maryland
• The 2003 campaign marks the only season in which Navy has lost 4 straight home games at the stadium.
• Having played at least a game a year at the stadium for 42 consecutive years, Navy stepped away in 2003, allowing for state-of-the-art renovations to take place, including the Field Turf surface and two video boards … Navy has played all of its home games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium since the beginning of the 2004 campaign.
• Navy had won 20 consecutive home games against Patriot League foes before dropping a 10-9 decision to Colgate in 2009.
• Opponents have scored double digits against the Mids just 14 times in games played on their home field over the last 10 seasons … Navy has held 21 of its 63 opponents to five or fewer goals since 2004 in games played at home (includes 2010 game vs. VMI played at Rip Miller Field).

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Coming off back-to-back double-digit wins, Maryland continues its November homestand as Lafayette visits Comcast Center Tuesday evening. The Terps had their most offensively efficient game of the young season last Friday against LIU Brooklyn, shooting 56.5 percent from the floor while recording 28 assists on 35 field goals.

Storyline

• In the 91-74 win over LIU Brooklyn, Maryland again showed off its depth on the way to a double-figure win. For the second game in a row, nine players received at least 10 minutes of action. Seth Allen had a team-high 19 points, Alex Len had 18 and Dez Wells had 15. Pe’Shon Howard dished out 13 assists, the most by a Terp since Greivis Vasquez on Feb. 24, 2010. That’s just two shy of the Maryland single-game record of 15 (Greivis Vasquez vs. NC State, 2/9/08, Terrell Stokes vs. Western Carolina, 11/14/98).

• Len, Allen and Wells are all averaging double-figure scoring through three games. Len leads the way at 17.3 points per game and also has 11 blocks. Allen found his long-range shooting touch against LIU Brooklyn by connecting on 5 of 6 3-pointers and 7 of 10 field goals, while also adding four assists. Wells had somewhat of a breakout game against the Blackbirds, filling up his stat line with 15 points, eight rebounds, five assists, three blocks and two steals in a team-high 33 minutes.

• With his 19 points, Allen was a big part of Maryland’s bench outscoring LIU Brooklyn’s 36-0. All five players that came off the bench contributed: Shaquille Cleare had 8, Jake Layman had 4, Logan Aronhalt had 3 and Charles Mitchell had 2. Since being outscored by Kentucky’s bench in the season opener, the Maryland bench has outscored its opponents 63-13 over the past two contests.

On Maryland’s Assists vs. LIU Brooklyn

• Maryland’s 28 assists against LIU Brooklyn were nine more than the team’s season-high of 19 last year. In fact, the last time a Maryland team had more assists in a game was in the 2002-03 season, when the Terps had 29 on two occasions. The Terps also had 28 assists in a game on 2/9/11 vs. Longwood and 12/31/05 vs. VMI. The school record for assists in a game is 37.

• Pe’Shon Howard’s 13 assists are tied for the fourth-most in a single game by a Terp. The only better performances are: Greivis Vasquez (2008) and Terrell Stokes (1998) with 15; and Steve Blake (2002) and Terrell Stokes (1996) with 14.

Quick Hitters

• Maryland’s 22-point margin of victory over Morehead State matched its largest in all of last season (vs. Samford).

• Maryland is outscoring its opponents by an average of 15.7 points per game when Alex Len is on the floor (plus-6 vs. Kentucky, plus-23 vs. Morehead State, plus-18 vs. LIU Brooklyn). Pe’Shon Howard is next highest at plus-12.3 (Howard was a season-high plus-24 against LIU Brooklyn).

• The Terps have made as many or more free throws than the opponent attempted in the last two games. Against Morehead State, the Terps made 17 and the Eagles attempted 8. Against LIU Brooklyn, Maryland made 13 and the Blackbirds attempted 13.

• The Terps showed off their depth against Morehead State - Alex Len logged the most minutes of any player with 24, and 10 players saw at least 13 minutes. That helped enable a strong defensive effort that held Morehead State to 31.7 percent shooting and just 7.1 percent from 3-point.

• In each of the last two games, each player in Maryland’s 10-man rotation has scored. Against LIU Brooklyn, all 10 players also had at least one rebound.