2013 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl announces December 30 kickoff 

The 2013 Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl will be played in Fort Worth, Texas, on Monday, Dec. 30, 2013. The 11^th edition of this postseason college football bowl game will kick off at 10:45 a.m. (CT) from Amon G. Carter Stadium on the campus of TCU. The game will air on ESPN and ESPN Radio.

This year’s Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl is slated to feature a team from the Mountain West Conference versus the U.S. Naval Academy, pending bowl eligibility. While the bowl game played in honor of the armed forces has previously hosted the U.S. Military Academy (2010) and the U.S. Air Force Academy (2007-2009, 2012), this is the first year that the bowl is contracted with the Naval Academy.
“The Monday kickoff will be great for our out of town guests to enjoy Fort Worth over the weekend and then watch our game,” said Brant Ringler, Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl executive director. “We are excited to host the Naval Academy and know the Mountain West will have a worthy opponent.”

This will mark the third year for the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl to be held on December 30, as the 2010 and 2011 contests were both held on that date. The most recent Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl was played Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012 featuring a match-up between the Rice Owls and U.S. Air Force Academy Falcons, in which the Owls claimed the bowl victory 33-14. The 2012 showcase drew an attendance of 40,754 and the largest TV audience in the game’s history with an average of 2,584,000 households. The ESPN telecast had a 2.6 average household coverage rating – marking the bowl’s second-highest rating in the event history.

Owned and operated by ESPN Regional Television (ERT), a subsidiary of ESPN, the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl has featured the “armed forces” theme since 2006. Patriotic overtones recognizing all five branches of the service are prevalent throughout the game. Past Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowls have included fan-fest areas showcasing armed forces hardware; flyovers; demonstrations by several of the military’s top skydiving teams; custom homes awarded to wounded warriors; on-field induction ceremonies; armed forces bands and honor guards; the annual Great American Patriot Award presented by Armed Forces Insurance; and the Armed Forces Merit Award presented by the Football Writers Association of America.

Game Preview
•  Navy (3-9, 1-5 Patriot League) will close out the 2013 campaign on Saturday afternoon when it travels to Baltimore to battle 11th-ranked Johns Hopkins (7-4) … the 87th edition of the Navy-Johns Hopkins game is slated for a 4:00 pm faceoff at Homewood Field.
• Saturday’s contest will mark the final collegiate game for Navy’s 11 seniors.
• The Mids are coming off a 14-7 loss to arch rival Army last Saturday in Annapolis … the Black Knights jumped out to a 4-1 lead and while Navy would close to within 2 early in the second half, Army’s attack combo of Garrett Thul and John Glesener was too much to overcome.
• Johns Hopkins, meanwhile, upset top-ranked Maryland last Saturday in College Park, 7-4, in what is one of the longest rivalries in the sport.
• Saturday’s contest will be televised by ESPNU with Mark Dixon (play by play) and Quint Kessenich (analyst) calling the action.

Navy vs. Johns Hopkins – The Series
• Saturday’s contest marks the 87th meeting between Navy and Johns Hopkins … it’s the 64th-consecutive year the two programs have battled and it is the third-longest continuous series between Navy and another team on the lax field behind Army-Navy and Navy-Maryland.
• The Blue Jays own a commanding 58-27-1 advantage in the series, however Johns Hopkins’ amazing 36-game winning streak was snapped in 2010.  Navy again surprised the Blue Jays with an 8-2 victory last spring in Annapolis.
• Johns Hopkins owns a 27-7 record in games played against the Mids on its home field … the last time Navy scored a victory over the Blue Jays in Baltimore was May 10, 1969, when the Mids posted a 9-6 win.
• Seven of the last 14 games between Navy and Johns Hopkins have been decided by one goal, including five of the last 10 … additionally, four of the seven one-goal games have gone into extra minutes.
• Second-year Navy head coach Rick Sowell is 1-0 all-time against the Blue Jays.

Scouting the Blue Jays
• Thirteenth-year head coach Dave Pietramala has guided the 11th-ranked Blue Jays to a 7-4 record this spring which includes a 4-2 mark at home.
• Hopkins has losses to 12th-ranked Princeton (11-8), 11th-ranked Syracuse (13-8), 7th-ranked North Carolina (11-10 OT) and 20th-ranked Albany (10-9).
• Despite those disappointing losses, the Blue Jays are coming off a strong performance that saw them upset No. 1-ranked Maryland last Saturday in College Park, 7-4.  It was a game Hopkins never trailed in.
• Meanwhile, following its matchup against the Mids, Johns Hopkins will face Loyola next Saturday at Homewood Field before capping the regular season with a road trip to West Point to face Army on May 3.
• Sophomore attackman Wells Stanwick and junior attackman Brandon Benn lead the way for the Blue Jays as both have amassed 20-plus goals this season.   Stanwick is atop the scoring leader board with 38 points on 22 goals and 16 assists and owns the nation’s fourth-best shooting percentage at 55.0 percent.  Meanwhile, Benn has punched in a team-best 23 goals and added just one assist as the team’s second-leading scorer.
• Senior attackman Zach Palmer has split his 24 points in half with 12 goals scored and 12 assists dealt out.
• Hopkins stands sixth nationally in extra-man offense, punching in goals on 47.9 percent of its opportunities.  The Blue Jays have scored 23 goals on 48 attempts.  Rookie attackman Ryan Brown has been the sharpshooter on EMO’s, scoring 8 of his 13 goals a man up.
• One of the best faceoff teams in the country, Hopkins is led by senior Mike Poppleton who has won an amazing 66.5 percent (135-203) of his draws and stands No. 2 in the country behind Bryant’s Kevin Massa (71.6).  As a team, the Blue Jays are ranked third, winning 63.7 percent of their draws
• Senior Pierce Bassett has started all 10 games as the Blue Jays’ netminder.  He owns an 8.23 goals-against average and a 58.9 save percentage which is ninth best in the country.

Welcome to the Club!
• On March 12, Navy junior attackman Tucker Hull became the 30th player in program history to join the Mids’ elite list of 100-point scorers.  He is the first player to add his name to the list since 2011 when Andy Warner graduated with 101 points.
• Hull currently stands 24th on Navy’s all-time scoring list with 105 points, just one behind 23rd-place Matt Pawlikowski (1990-93).
• Meanwhile, last Saturday junior attackman Sam Jones joined the elite 100-point list with 2 goals and an assist against arch rival Army.
• Jones is ranked 25th on Navy’s all-time scoring list with 102 points, just one behind 24th-place Billy Looney (2004-07).
• Hull and Jones are only the fourth set of classmates in program history to reach 100 points.  Brendan Schneck (121) and Mike Hannan (101) from the Class of ‘78, Mike Herger (197) and Brian Keith (134) from the Class of 1990 and Ian Dingman (188) and Billy Looney (103) from the Class of 2007 are the others.
• Hull and Jones are just the 13th and 14th players, respectively, to reach the 100-point mark as a junior in program history.  Mike Herger (109), Ian Dingman (102) and Brendan Schneck (121) accomplished it as sophomores.
• Hull led Navy in scoring in each of his first two seasons and is once again one of the leaders this season as he stands No. 2 in scoring with 20 points on 13 goals and 7 assists.
• Jones, who leads the team with 33 points on 21 goals and 12 assists, has reached the 30-point milestone as a freshman, sophomore and junior … he is one of only 7 players in program history to achieve that feat, joining Paul Basile, James Chambers, Ian Dingman, Mike Herger, Jeff Long and Nick Mirabito.
• As a rookie, he and classmate Sam Jones anchored an offense with 38 points on 23 goals and 15 assists.  Last season, Hull produced 47 points on 23 goals and 24 assists.
• Hull is the Mids’ first 40-point scorer since Nick Mirabito turned in 46 points on 23 goals and 23 assists in 2008 … it’s the most points scored by a Navy player since 2006 when Jon Birsner dealt out 36 assists en route to his 54-point effort.
• With his 3 assists against Detroit, Hull joined the Mids’ all-time career assists list … he produced his 46th career assist against No. 1-ranked Maryland to tie to tie Owen McFadden (1964-66) for 17th on the list … he needs 2 to tie 16th-place Brendan Schneck (1977-78).

Fast Facts
• Sophomore attackmen Tucker Hull and Sam Jones have started every game (37) they have played in since their arrival in 2011 … junior midfielder Pat Durkin saw his 19-game starting streak come to an end against Holy Cross, however, he has started 24 of the last 25 games … meanwhile senior midfielder Bryce Dabbs has gotten the starting nod in 23 of the 24 games in which he’s played.
• At least one Navy player has turned in a hat trick in 36 of the last 58 games (dating back to the 2009 season), including seven of the 12 games this season … Sam Jones has registered a team-high 4 hat tricks this season and 10 for his career, while sophomore midfielder Gabe Voumard and junior attackman Tucker Hull have posted a pair of hat tricks …T.J. Hanzsche and Erik Hoffstadt have also turned in hat tricks for the Mids this spring.
• 48 of Navy’s 99 goals (48.5) this season have been unassisted, including 10 of Gabe Voumard’s 12 scores.  Last year 46 of Navy’s 109 goals (42.2) were unassisted.  Additionally, 13 of Sam Jones’ team-high 21 goals have been unassisted.
• Since 2004, Navy owns an amazing 55-2 record when holding its opponents to six or fewer goals, including a 13-1 mark in the last five seasons combined.
• Navy owns a remarkable 54-5 record when scoring 10 or more goals since 2004, including a 30-4 mark in the last five seasons (9-1 in 2009, 10-1 in 2010, 3-2 in 2011, 5-0 in 2012 and 3-0 in 2013).
• At least one pole has scored either a goal or dealt out an assist every year since 1994.  Last year, Pat Kiernan led the charge with 10 points on 7 goals and 3 assists.  He extended the Navy point scoring streak with a goal in the Mids’ win over Detroit.
• The 20-7 win over VMI in the opener marked the Mids’ largest scoring output since dealing Holy Cross a 23-5 loss on April 18, 2004.
• The 13-goal win was Navy’s largest margin of victory since beating Holy Cross 16-3 on March 15, 2008.
• The Midshipmen have scored man-down goals twice this season, marking the most man-down goals since scoring two in 2006.

Television:  ESPNU

The Game: Johns Hopkins plays the first of two straight home games as the Blue Jays (7-4) welcome long-time rival Navy (3-9) to Homewood Field.

A Look Back: On rivalry weekend in the world of college lacrosse, Johns Hopkins picked up a crucial 7-4 win at top-ranked Maryland last Saturday. On the same day, Navy slipped to 3-9 on the year with a 14-7 loss to rival Army at Navy Marine Corps Stadium.

Series History: This week’s game will be the 86th meeting between Johns Hopkins and Navy in a series that dates to a 6-1 Johns Hopkins victory in 1908. The Blue Jays lead the all-time 57-27-1, although the Midhipmen have won two of the last three.

All-Time vs. Number One: Johns Hopkins improved to 8-4 under head coach Dave Pietramala against teams ranked number one in the nation with last week’s 7-4 win at Maryland.

These are the Facts: Johns Hopkins enters this week’s game against Navy with an all-time record of 931-302-15 (.752). The Blue Jays own nine NCAA titles, 29 USILA titles and six ILA titles for a total of 44 national championships.

That’s 102 Games Over .500: Johns Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala picked up his 168th career win with Johns Hopkins’ victory at Maryalnd last week and he now stands at 168-66 overall. Included in that mark is a 145-49 record at JHU and a 23-17 record in three seasons as the head coach at Cornell.
Pietramala ranks second all-time in school history in career coaching victories as only Hall of Fame coach Bob Scott (158 wins from 1955-74) has more victories than Pietramala while patrolling the sidelines at Homewood.

April Reign: Flipping the calendar to April has usually been a good sign for the Blue Jays, who are 51-11 (.823) under head coach Dave Pietramala in games played in April. JHU is 28-5 at home, 21-4 on the road and 2-2 on a neutral field in April under Pietramala’s guidance.

Must be the Speech: There must be something to what Johns Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala says in the locker room that sparks the Blue Jays as Johns Hopkins holds decided scoring advantages in the first and third quarters through 11 games. JHU has outscored the opposition 41-22 in the first quarter and 34-23 in the third. The Blue Jays also hold a 26-18 scoring margin in the second quarter – the bulge slides to a 32-29 advantage in the fourth quarter.

Balancing Act: Johns Hopkins counts eight players with six or more goals and eight players with 12 or more points through 11 games. In all, 18 different players have found the back of the net for JHU and 22 players have at least one point.

The Key to Victory – Part I: Johns Hopkins is 6-1 on the year when scoring in double figures. The Blue Jays are 1-3 when scoring fewer than 10 goals. JHU scored its first win of the season when scoring less than 10 goals with last week’s 7-4 win at Maryland.

The Key to Victory – Part II: Johns Hopkins improved to 7-0 on the year when holding the opposition to less than 10 goals with the win at Maryland. On the flip side, JHU is 0-4 when allowing 10 goals or more.

It’s Been a While: More than six years had passed since Johns Hopkins last won a game when scoring seven goals or less. Prior to last Saturday’s 7-4 win at Maryland, the Blue Jays’ last win when scoring seven or less came on March 3, 2007, when JHU topped Princeton, 7-6, in double overtime in the Face-Off Classic at M&T Bank Stadium. Ironically, the win against Princeton that day came one week after a one-goal loss to Albany; as did last week’s win at Maryland.

EMO Clicking: Johns Hopkins converted on 1-of-2 extra man chances at Maryland and the Blue Jays are now 23-of-48 (.479) on the year and 15-of-31 (.484) in the last seven games. Johns Hopkins currently ranks sixth in the nation in man-up offense. Seven different players have scored at least one extra man goal for the Blue Jays with freshman Ryan Brown (8), sophomore Wells Stanwick (4) and junior Brandon Benn (4) leading the way. Brown’s eight extra man goals are already the most by a Johns Hopkins player since 2004, when Matt Rewkowski had 12 and Conor Ford had eight.

Welcome Back: Junior midfielder Rob Guida returned to the lineup at Maryland after missing eight games with injury. Guida took his customary spot on Johns Hopkins’ first midfield and scored one goal with two ground balls to his credit. He now has two goals, one assist and six ground balls on the year. Both of his goals are extra-man tallies.

Two-for-Two: For the second time in as many seasons, senior attackman John Kaestner stepped into the starting lineup to fill in for an injured player and responded with two goals in a key road win. He scored the first two goals of his career in a 10-8 win at Princeton last season and added a two-goal showing in the win at Maryland last week.

Stanwick Leads Team in Scoring: Sophomore attackman Wells Stanwick had a nine-game streak with multiple points come to an end at Maryland as he was held scoreless for the first time this season.
Stanwick had recorded at least two points in the first nine games he played this season and most recently had a four-goal, one-assist effort against Albany. He had totaled four or more points in four straight games prior to the game at UNC, when he was held to two assist. Despite not registering a point at Maryland last week, he still has totaled 30 points in his last seven games.
Stanwick continues to lead the team in scoring with 22 goals and 16 assists for 38 points on the year and he has far surpassed his goal (9), assist (13) and point (23) totals from last season. He currently ranks 20th in the nation in points per game (3.80).
Stanwick enjoyed the finest game of his career in the 19-9 win over Mount St. Mary’s earlier this season as he totaled five goals and four assists for nine points. Previously he had never had more than two goals, three assists or four points in a game.
He followed that with a two-goal, four-assist effort in the win over UMBC and then added the three-goal, one-assist performance at SU. Stanwick is the first Johns Hopkins player to post nine points in a game since Kyle Barrie had five goals and four assists in a 17-3 win over Navy in 2003. He is also the first JHU player with back-to-back six-point games since Dan Denihan did it against Villanova (8), Ohio State (6) and Maryland (7) during the 2000 season.

Poppleton Rolls On: Senior Mike Poppleton won 13-of-24 faceoffs and grabbed nine ground balls against North Carolina, followed that with a 14-of-23 showing with eight GBs against Albany and won 8-of-15 at top-ranked Maryland last week.
Poppleton, who ranks second in the nation in faceoff winning percentage, is now 135-of-203 (.665) on the year and leads the team with 73 ground balls. He also improved to 325-of-513 (.634) in his career with his showing last week against Maryland and now ranks eighth in school history in career faceoffs won and ninth in faceoffs attempted.

Palmer Tied for Second in Scoring: Despite missing last week’s game after suffering an injury in practice, senior attackman Zach Palmer is still tied for second on the team in scoring with 12 goals goal and 12 assists on the year. He posted three goals and one assist at North Carolina and added one goal against Albany before missing last week’s game at Maryland.
Palmer now has career totals of 71 goals and 68 assists for 139 points. He enters this week’s game against Navy needing just two assists to become the 11th player in school history to amass 70 goals and 70 assists.

Benn Leads Team in Goals: Junior Brandon Benn continues to pace the team in goals (23) and is tied for second in points (24) after scoring once in last week’s win at Maryland. He has scored 53 of his 58 career goals since the start of the 2012 season and has scored at least one goal in all 10 games this season.

What Brown Does For Us: Freshman Ryan Brown has stepped in and made an immediate impact for the Blue Jays in his first year at Homewood. Brown has 13 goals and four assists through 11 games and leads the team with eight extra-man goals. He has registered at least one point in eight of 11 games this season and his eight extra-man goals are already the most by a Johns Hopkins player since 2004, when Matt Rewkowski (12) andConor Ford (8) led a potent JHU extra man unit.
Brown fired home the first hat trick of his career and added an assist for a career-high four points in the15-8 win over Virginia and added two goals at North Carolina. He now has six multi-point and four multi-goal games to his credit this season.

Sanders Breaks Through: Junior midfielder Rex Sanders entered the 2013 season with one career goal to his credit. He has already far surpassed that total as he has scored 12 goals through 11 games. Sanders is tied for fourth on the team in goals (12) and ranks eighth in points (12).

Cattoni Emerging: Freshman Holden Cattoni played in two of the Blue Jays’ first three games, but didn’t register a point in those two outings.
That changed quickly as the hard-shooting lefty punched up back-to-back two-point games against Princeton and Mount St. Mary’s. He fired home a pair of goals against the Tigers and added one goal and one assist against the Mount. He scored an extra man goal against Syracuse, added one goal and one assist vs. Virginia and one goal against Albany and now has six goals and two assists for eight points on the year.

Bassett Among National Win Leaders: Senior Pierce Bassett enters this week’s game at Navy with an 8.23 goals against average and a .589 save percentage after posting 12 saves while allowing just four goals in last week’s win at Maryland. He currently ranks ninth in the nation in save percentage and 12th in goals against average.
Bassett enjoyed one of his finest games of the season against Virginia as he posted 16 saves and allowed just seven goals in 59:02. The 16 saves are tied for the second-highest total of his career and he followed that with a 15-save performance against Albany and the 12-save showing against Maryland that boosted his career total to 468 saves, good for seventh place on JHU’s career saves list. He passed Larry Quinn (462 saves • 1982-85) on the career saves list with his 12 against the Terps.
Bassett also enters this week’s game against Navy tied for second among active Division I goalies in career wins after picking up number 34 against Maryland.

Durkin Fuels Defense: Johns Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala has the luxury of returning the nation’s top defensive player in senior co-captain Tucker Durkin, who has picked up right where he left off a year ago.
Durkin has been on a roll of late as the two players he has primarly covered in the last two weeks – Albany’s Lyle Thompson and Maryland’s Kevin Cooper, combined for one assist in the two games. He held Thompson, the nation’s leading scorer at better than seven points per game, scoreless, while Cooper managed just a first-quarter assist.
Durkin currently ranks fourth on the team in ground balls (24) and leads the team with 15 caused turnovers. Durkin is the anchor of a Johns Hopkins defense that ranks 14th nationally in scoring defense (8.45).

Lightner, Reilly Round Out Starting Defense: While senior Tucker Durkin has drawn the most headlines among JHU’s close defensemen, the Blue Jays also count talented senior Chris Lightner and junior Jack Reillyamong the key pieces to their defensive puzzle.
Lightner leads JHU’s close defensemen and ranks third on the team with 26 ground balls and also has eight caused turnovers to his credit, while Reilly has 11 ground balls and ranks second on the team with 11 caused turnovers. Lightner had five ground balls and two caused turnvoers in last week’s win at Maryland.

Scoring Droughts Abound: Despite the new rules in place this season that aim to quicken the pace (and thus increase scoring), the Johns Hopkins defense has been able to hold the opposition scoreless for long stretches.
In last week’s win at top-ranked Maryland, the Blue Jay defense was dialed in from the opening whistle and held the Terps off the scoreboard for stretches of 11:23, 22:02 and 13:13. Senior goalie Pierce Bassett and close defensemen Tucker Durkin, Chris Lightner and Jack Reilly combined to hold Maryland’s starting attack unit to one goal and one assist and the Terps’ potent first midfield managed just three goals and one assist.
This is the first time this season JHU has held the opposition scoreless for 11 minutes or more three different times in one game.
The four goals the Blue Jays allowed are the fewest Johns Hopkins has allowed against a team ranked in the top five since April 5, 1986, when JHU topped third-ranked North Carolina, 16-4.

• The Blue Jays have held the opposition scoreless for 11 minutes or more 17 times this season.
• The Blue Jays have held the opposition scoreless for 15 mnutes or more 10 times this season.
• The Blue Jays have held the opposition scoreless for 20 minutes or more five times this season.

State Rivalries: Without question the Blue Jays play one of the most difficult schedules in the nation and a big part of the schedule are the in-state rivalries the Blue Jays have. Including the recent win against UMBC, JHU is 60-7 (.896) against teams from Maryland under head coach Dave Pietramala.

Poll Position: The Blue Jays are ranked 11th in this week’s USILA Coaches Poll and the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll as well. The Johns Hopkins Athletic Communications Office uses the USILA Poll to represent JHU’s official ranking at the time of a game. Prior to falling out of the top 20 of the USILA Poll on April 26 and May 3, 2010 (JHU was receiving votes in both polls), the Blue Jays had been ranked in the top 20 in 367 consecutive polls dating back to the first poll in 1973.

More Poll Position: Including this week’s USILA Poll, there have been 406 weekly polls since the inception of the poll in 1973. Amazingly, JHU has been ranked in the top 20 in 404 of those 406 polls. The Blue Jays have been in the top 10 in 381 of the 406 and the top five in 299 of those 406. Johns Hopkins has been ranked number one 104 times since the poll debuted in 1973.

I’m Honored: The Blue Jays return four players who earned All-America honors last season in seniors Tucker Durkin, Pierce Bassett and John Ranagan and junior Rob Guida. Durkin earned First Team All-America honors on defense, while Ranagan and Guida grabbed second team honors at midfield. Bassett earned honorable mention honors in goal and he, Durkin and Ranagan are two-time All-America selections for the Blue Jays.

Odd, But True: Years ending in “3” have been kind, and unkind, to the Blue Jays. Since the formation of the NCAA Tournament in 1971, Johns Hopkins has advanced to the NCAA Championship game three times (1973, 1983, 2003) and the NCAA Semifinals once (1993) in the years ending in three. JHU fell in each of those three title games with the three loses coming by a total of four goals. In each of those instances the Blue Jays subsequently won a national championship within two years.

Representing the Stars and Stripes – Part I: Johns Hopkins head coach Dave Pietramala will serve as an assistant coach for the United States at at the 2014 Federation of International Lacrosse (FIL) World Championships in Denver Colorado. Pietramala will serve under Richie Meade, the head coach at Navy from 1995-2011.

Representing the Stars and Stripes – Part II: Johns Hopkins sophomore defender Rob Enright was a member of the United States Team that won the 2012 FIL U-19 World Championship in Turku, Finland. Enright is the 17th Johns Hopkins player to represent the United States at the U-19 Championships since the formation of the event in 1988.

Working Overtime: The loss at North Carolina snapped a three-game winning streak for the Blue Jays in games that have gone to overtime. With the loss the Blue Jays are now 19-10 all-time in overtime under head coachDave Pietramala.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. —  Army attackmen John Glesener and Garrett Thul combined to score 11 points to lead the Black Knights (7-4, 3-2 Patriot League) to a 14-7 victory over the Navy men’s lacrosse team (3-9, 1-4 PL) Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.  It was Army’s fifth straight win in a series that Navy leads, 57-32-3.

“There’s no amount of words to make you understand how it feels to lose to Army,” said Navy junior attackman Sam Jones (Annapolis, Md.).  “You play to win this game.  I love how hard my teammates play.  We just have to keep fighting, but playing hard isn’t a consolation for winning.”

“I congratulate Army,” said Navy second-year head coach Rick Sowell.  “They played on heck of a game.  We didn’t have an answer for some of the individual matchups.

“Great players can supercede good schemes and they certainly did that today.”

The story of the game from the get-go was possession.  Army nominated the faceoff category, taking 19 of the 23 draws on the afternoon.  Rookie Alex Daly was responsible for all but one faceoff as he single-handedly won the majority of the draws and keyed a pair of Black Knight goals including the game’s first goal which was scored just six seconds in.  That goal, the first of three goals by John Glesener, sparked a four-goal run by the Black Knights.

“We threw everything but the kitchen sink out there to find something that would work, but we just had no answer,” said Sowell regarding the Mids’ faceoff woes.

Navy finally got on the scoreboard with 4:03 remaining in the opening quarter when freshman Patrick Keena (Vienna, Va.) fed junior attackman Tucker Hull (Charlotte, N.C.), who faked Army keeper Sam Somers high, then low and back high for the first of his three goals.

The Mids trimmed Army’s lead to one at 4-3 scoring the first two goals of the second period.  Jones found a wide-openT.J. Hanzsche (Berwyn, Pa.) standing on the crease for an extra-man strike at 11:09 and two minutes later Jones came up with a loose ball and fired in the first of his two goals on the afternoon.  Hanzsche has now scored a goal in each of the last five contests for the Mids.

Army, however, put together its own run that featured a pair of extra-man goals including senior attackman Kip Haddock’s first goal of the season.  Meanwhile, five seconds after Army’s second extra-man goal in the run, Daly won another faceoff and fed Garrett Thul for a goal to put the Black Knights up 7-3 at the end of the half.

Navy came out of the locker room with the hot hand and rallied, scoring a pair of goals in the first 90 seconds of the game and just 30 seconds apart.  Hull slipped defenseman John Burk and threaded the needle past Somers at the 14:00 minute mark.  Junior middie Pat Durkin (Germantown, Md.) took advantage of rookie iddie Shea Mullins losing his footing and fired in his 11th goal of the season to get Navy within two at 7-5.

The Black Knights answered quickly when Thul, the nation’s second-leading goal scorer, sent a highlight reel wrap-around shot past two defenseman which triggered a five-goal run by Army to take a 12-5 lead into the final quarter.

Each team scored a pair of goals in the final quarter of play for the final, 14-6.

Hull paced the Mids with his 11th career hat trick and second of the season as he moved into 24th on Navy’s all-time scoring list with 105 points.  he now trails 23rd-place Matt Pawlikowski (1990-93) by just one point.  Meanwhile, Jones joined Hull among Navy’s 100-point scorers as he registered a pair of goals and an assist.  It’s just the fourth time in program history that classmates have reached 100 points – Brendan Schneck and Mike Hannan from the Class of ‘78, Mike Herger and Brian Keith from the Class of ‘90 and Ian Dingman and Billy Looney from the class of ‘07.

Jones is the 31st player in Navy’s 106-year history of lacrosse to score 100 points and is just the 14th to score 100 points in three seasons.  With 102 points, he stands 26th on Navy’s all-time scoring list.

Senior captain Nolan Hickey (Chaminade, N.Y.) played his final game on his home field and gave an admirable effort with 15 saves.  It was his seventh double-digit save performance of his career and the fifth game with 15 or more saves.

Glesener guided the Black Knights with seven points on three goals and four assists, while Thul punched in a team-best four goals.  Seven players were responsible for the remaining seven goals.

Navy will play its season finale next Saturday when it pays a visit to Homewood Field to face longtime rival Johns Hopkins.  Game time is slated for 4:00 pm and will be nationally televised by ESPNU with Quint Kessenich and Mark Dixon calling the action.

Remarks by the President at Presentation of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy to the U.S. Naval Academy Football Team

East Room

2:12 P.M. EDT

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, everybody.  (Applause.)  Hello.  Please, everybody have a seat.  Well, good afternoon.  Welcome to the White House.

I want to start by recognizing Coach Ken Niumatalolo, my fellow Hawaiian, for being here once again — where is he?  There he is right here.  (Laughter.)  Hard to miss him.  Give him a big round of applause.  (Applause.)  I also want to recognize Vice Admiral Mike Miller, the Superintendent of the Naval Academy, for his outstanding service to our country and for keeping all of you guys in line.  (Laughter and applause.)

It is my pleasure to welcome the Navy Midshipmen back to the White House to receive the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy — again.  They have now won 19 of their last 21 games against the other service academies, making this their 8th trip here in 10 years.  (Applause.)  Michelle and I were thinking about just leaving the key under the rug.  (Laughter.)

This season, you finished 8-5, earned your 9th bowl appearance in the last 10 years.  But perhaps most importantly, after a two-year break, you achieved that very first goal you set at the start of every season:  You beat Air Force, you beat Army, and lugged this 170-pound trophy back to Annapolis.

Against Air Force, you lost your quarterback to an injury in the middle of the game.  You trailed by eight points in the fourth quarter.  But freshman quarterback Keenan Reynolds took over and led you back in overtime.  That’s when an unlikely hero — offensive lineman Jake Zuzek — gave you a –

TEAM MEMBERS:  Zu!

THE PRESIDENT:  Zu! — gave you a 28-21 win when he recovered a fumbled snap in the end zone for his first-ever touchdown.  (Laughter.)  I’m not sure Coach called the fumblerooski, but I bet that Jake will take it anyway.

That set up a winner-take-all game with Army to end the season.  Down three entering the fourth quarter, Keenan again led the comeback, driving the team down the field for 80 yards and the winning score, and showing why he was only the third Navy freshman ever to start at quarterback.  The win gave the Midshipmen their 11th straight victory over Army, which is a series record.

But at Navy, obviously it’s not just about the wins.  It’s about how you win.  This year, your team motto was INAM, which is short for “It’s Not About Me.”  And that ethic of teamwork and discipline and unselfishness was led by your captains, Bo Snelson and Brye French, and it ran through your entire season.

All season long you kept your priorities in line, your mission in focus.  Your work in the classroom helped keep the Naval Academy’s graduation rate in the top 10 of the NCAA for the eighth straight year, including linebacker Keegan Wetzel –- a first-team Academic All-American with a 3.89 GPA in systems engineering.  So give Keegan a big round of applause.  I like that.  (Applause.)

And when you faced adversity, you pulled together.  Over Thanksgiving break, freshman Rafi Montalvo was in a serious car accident and doctors pulled him into a coma.  And even though the Army game was next on the schedule, Coach was one of his first visitors at the hospital down in Florida.  And then pretty soon, his teammates started showing up.  When it came time to take the field against your biggest rival, you all put “Rafi” stickers on your helmets and gave him the game ball after your victory.

So, gentlemen, that’s why I have no greater honor than serving as your Commander-in-Chief.  You’re there for each other and you are there for our country.  In just a few weeks when I visit you all for commencement — and I always have to get ready because Midshipmen, they got strong handshakes, some of them give me chest bumps, I’ve got to just make sure I don’t tip over — 18 of you will be commissioned as ensigns in the Navy, and 10 more as second lieutenants in the Marine Corps.

And in the years to come, you will all follow their footsteps.  You’ll be leading your peers in some of the most complex, dangerous missions on the planet.  You’ll be teaching them to pull together, to keep their mission in focus, to always remember that “it’s not about me.”  And together, your victories will not simply be about football trophies — as impressive as that trophy is — but it will be about our security and our values and protecting our freedom.

So I want you to know that I could not be prouder to have each of you representing this great country of ours.  Americans all across the country feel the very same way.  And every single day, we will stand behind you and support you, and do the very best that we can in our own lives to reflect the courage and the honor and the character of the men and women of the United States Naval Academy.  So God bless you.

And with that, let’s — I understand I’ve got a little something waiting for me.  All right, that’s the official Navy helmet, fitted for me.  (Laughter.)  Pretty sharp.  (Laughter.)  Here’s the general rule:  You don’t put stuff on your head if you’re President.  (Laughter.)  That’s politics 101.  (Laughter.)  You never look good wearing something on your head.  Are we going to — we’re going to have the coach up here.

Game Preview
• Bragging rights will be on the line this Saturday when  Navy (3-8, 1-4 Patriot League) battles arch rival Army (6-4, 2-2 PL) in the annual Star Game … the 92nd edition of the Army-Navy Game is slated for a 2:00 pm faceoff at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.
• Saturday’s contest will mark the final collegiate game for Navy’s 11 seniors … those 11 players and their parents, along with three support staff members from the Class of 2013, will be honored in a pregame ceremony..
• Navy is looking to bounce back after dropping an 11-8 decision to No. 1-ranked Maryland last Friday evening in Annapolis.  The Terps jumped out to a 3-0 lead, but the Mids rallied to score 5 straight and hold a 5-3 second quarter lead.  The Terps, however, regrouped in the second half and a 6-2 run would be the difference maker in the come-from-behind victory .
• Army is coming off a tough one-goal loss to Bucknell.  Although the Black Knights held a 5-3 halftime advantage, the Bison would scored five of the next six goals to take a lead it would not relinquish en route to the 9-8 win at West Point. Army was held scoreless the entire third quarter, giving way to Bucknell.
• Saturday’s contest will be televised by CBS Sports Network with Dave Ryan (play by play), Evan Washburn (analyst) and Sheehan Stanwick Burch (analyst) calling the action.  The Armed Forces Network will also carry the game for our troops bases overseas.

Army vs. Navy – The Series
• Today’s contest marks the 91st meeting between Army and Navy on the lacrosse field, meeting for the 81st-consecutive year … it’s the longest continuous lacrosse series between Navy and another team.
• Navy owns a 57-31-3 series advantage that included 13-straight wins by the Midshipmen between 1998 and 2007 … the Mids have won 14 of the last 19 contests in the series.
• The Mids also own a 52-30-3 advantage in Star Games, winning 11 of the last 15.
• Army, however, has won five of the last six games in the series, including each of the last four games overall and three-consecutive Star Games.
• Navy owns a 28-14-1 advantage in games played in Annapolist, including seven of the last eight.
• 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 24 games against Army … the Mids have held the Black Knights to single digits in nine of the 13 games since joining the league in 2004 … Army has reach double digits just twice in the last nine games against the Mids.

Scouting the Black Knights
• Eighth-year Army head coach Joe Alberici has directed the Black Knights to a 6-4 overall mark, including a 2-2 Patriot League record.
• All four of Army’s losses – Massachusetts, Syracuse, Lehigh and Bucknell – have been against nationally-ranked foes … meanwhile, the Black Knights have wins over Lafayette and Colgate in Patriot League action.
• Army is coming off a tough one-goal loss to Bucknell … the Black Knights held a 5-3 halftime advantage, but the Bison would scored five of the next six goals to take a lead it would not relinquish … Army was held scoreless the entire third quarter, giving way to Bucknell.
• The Black Knights are ranked among the top 10 in scoring defense (#6), holding their foes to 7.60 goals per game, in caused turnovers (#7), posting 9.80 takeaways per contest and in ground balls per game (#10), grabbing 14.7 per contest.
• Army’s two lowest rankings are in shot percentage (#55, 24.1) and saves per game (#50, 10.0).
• Sophomore midfielder John Glesener is atop the scoring leader board for the Black Knights with 44 points on 23 goals and a team-best 21 assists.  Glesener is the only Army player with double digit assists.  He is ranked sixth nationally in points per game and 13th in assists per outing.
• Senior attackman Garrett Thul is the sharp-shooter of the team with a team-best 32 goals, including 5 extra-man strikes.  He is ranked No. 2 in the country with his 3.20 goals per game average behind Cornell’s Steve Mock who is posting 3.70 goals per game.
• Second-year midfielder Alex Newsome has scored 7 of his 14 goals on extra-man.
• Army has used 5 different face-off men this season, however, rookie Alex Daly has taken the majority.  He has won 49.7 percent (78-157) of his draws this season and is pacing the team in ground balls with 40.
• First-year starting keeper Sam Somers has been solid in goal, surrendering 6.79 goals per game and posting a 60.0 save percentage.  He is ranked No. 2 nationally in GAA and sixth in save percentage.
• All-Patriot League defenseman Brendan Buckley is one of three players on the team with double figure caused turnovers and leads the team with 18 takeaways.

Senior Salute
• The Naval Academy Athletic Association will recognize the senior class and its parents prior to start of Saturday’s contest against Army.
• Navy’s 11-player senior class has amassed a 20-30 record, including a 10-13 Patriot League mark.
• The following is a list of Navy’s seniors and their service assignments.

Jay Christopher    Navy Pilot
Bryce Dabbs    Supply Corps
Brye French    Marine Corps Ground
Nolan Hickey    Marine Corps Ground
Brendan Lewis    Naval Flight Officer
Jay Mann    Special Warfare
Evan McGoogan    Special Warfare
Austin Miller    Marine Corps Ground
Cade Norris    Special Warfare
Peter Rogers    Surface Warfare, LHD-1 WASP (Norfolk, Va.)
Chris Talarico    Marine Corps Ground

Kiernan Among Nation’s Top Poles
• Junior long stick defensive midfielder Pat Kiernan is one of the best at his position in the country.
• Kiernan leads Navy in ground balls and is second in caused turnovers.  Additionally, he is among the national leaders in both categories.  He is ranked eighth in caused turnovers per game (2.55) and 21st in ground balls (5.73).
• He is Navy’s record holder for career caused turnovers (50), a stat introduced in 2009 … with 25 caused turnovers this season, he is ranked No. 3 on the Mids’ single-season list … also ranked ninth (14, 2012) and tied for 13th (11, 2011) on the chart.
• Kiernan was a machine against Towson where he registered a career-high 12 ground balls and won 8 of his 10 faceoffs.  Meanwhile, against Lafayette he picked up 7 ground balls and forced 7 Leopard turnovers.
• He is ied for 16th on Navy’s career ground balls list with 134 alongside Eddie McKinnon (1999-02) and Joe Donnelly (1985-88) … he needs 5 to tie 15th-place Matt Pawlikowski (1990-93) … meanwhile, he is 11th on the Mids’ single-season chart with 63 grounders … it’s the most ground balls by a Navy player since 2008 when draw specialist Mikelis Visgauss grabbed 80.
• He also stands 19th on the Mids’ career faceoff wins list, winning 22 of the 43 draws (51.2) he has taken.
• Additionally, he has garnered Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honors three times this season.
• He has produced 12 career points, including  a program-record 10 in 2012.
• He is tied for eighth in the country among active poles with 12 points behind Bryant’s Mason Poli (54 pts), Loyola’s Scott Ratliff (40), Brown’s Roger Ferguson (27), Maryland’s Jesse Bernhardt (19), Dillon Ayers of St. John’s (18), Bellarmine’s Bobby Schmitt (16) and Mark Burns of Mount St. Mary’s (13).  Syracuse’s Matt Harris and Air Force’s Kyle O’Brien also have 12 points
• He is second all-time in career points scored by a Navy defensemen, while his 9 goals are the most in program history.

Welcome to the Club!
• On March 12, Navy junior attackman Tucker Hull became the 30th player in program history to join the Mids’ elite list of 100-point scorers.  He is the first player to add his name to the list since 2011 when Andy Warner graduated with 101 points.
• Hull currently stands 25th on Navy’s all-time scoring list with 102 points, just one behind 24th-place Billy Looney(2004-07).
• Meanwhile, junior attackman Sam Jones is ONE point away from 100.  Should Jones reach that milestone, it would be only the fourth set of classmates in program history to reach 100 points.  Brendan Schneck (121) and Mike Hannan (101) from the Class of ‘78, Mike Herger (197) and Brian Keith (134) from the Class of 1990 and Ian Dingman (188) andBilly Looney (103) from the Class of 2007 are the others.
• Hull is just the 13th player in program history to reach the 100-point mark as a junior.  Mike Herger (109), Ian Dingman(102) and Brendan Schneck (121) accomplished it as sophomores.
• Hull led Navy in scoring in each of his first two seasons and is once again one of the leaders this season as he stands No. 2 in scoring with 17 points on 10 goals and 7 assists.
• As a rookie, he and classmate Sam Jones anchored an offense with 38 points on 23 goals and 15 assists.  Last season, Hull produced 47 points on 23 goals and 24 assists.
• Hull is the Mids’ first 40-point scorer since Nick Mirabito turned in 46 points on 23 goals and 23 assists in 2008 … it’s the most points scored by a Navy player since 2006 when Jon Birsner dealt out 36 assists en route to his 54-point effort.
• With his 3 assists against Detroit, Hull joined the Mids’ all-time career assists list … he produced his 46th career assist against No. 1-ranked Maryland last Friday to tie to tie Owen McFadden (1964-66) for 17th on the list … he needs 2 to tie 16th-place Brendan Schneck (1977-78).

ANNAPOLIS, Md.–The 2012 Navy football team will visit the White House on Friday, April 12 for a ceremony with President Barack Obama. The team will be honored for winning the Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy for the eighth time in the last 10 years. The time and location of the ceremony has not yet been determined.

Navy was victorious over Air Force (28-21 in overtime) and Army (17-13) en route to an 8-5 campaign and the school’s ninth bowl game in the last 10 years.   Navy has won 19 of its last 21 Service Academy games.

The Commander in Chief’s trophy was established in 1972 and is awarded to the Service Academy with the best overall record against the other two academies.  Every year since 1984, except 1993 when there was no outright winner, the President has personally presented the Trophy to members of the victorious Academy’s football team at the White House.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Six Terps registered multiple points, including a game-high four by juniorMike Chanenchuk, to lead the No. 1 University of Maryland men’s lacrosse team to an 11-8 victory at Navy Friday night in front of 6,961 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

The Terrapins are now 8-1 on the season, marking the program’s best record through nine games since 2004. The Midshipmen fall to 3-8 with the defeat. Maryland has now won four-straight in the series with Navy.

Maryland got on the board quickly, just 43 seconds into the game when senior John Haus found senior Jake Bernhardt in the left alley and Bernhardt ripped a shot into the net for a 1-0 lead.

Haus was on the other end of the Terps’ second goal, taking a feed from senior Owen Blye in the right alley and stepped into a shot that beat Navy goalie Nolan Hickey to make it a 2-0 lead with 7:13 left in the first.

The lead grew to 3-0 at the 6:47 mark when sophomore Joe LoCascio dodged down the left alley and laced a shot into the upper right corner.

Navy started the second quarter with a two-man advantage with penalties on Maryland’s Matt Dunn and Jesse Bernhardtand Tucker Hull gave the Mids their first goal of the game just 16 seconds into the second.

That goal started a five-goal run that gave the Midshipmen a 5-3 lead with 8:34 left in the second. T.J. Hanzsche scored the second and fifth goals of the run, while Sam Jones put in goals three and four for Navy.

The Navy scoring run ended just as it began, with a penalty, except this time it was the Terps converting on the extra-man opportunity. Hanzsche was called for a push at the 7:55 mark and Chanenchuk made a good look inside to find Haus on the crease and Haus slipped a shot past Hickey to pull the Terps to within a goal with 7:26 left in the second.

Maryland tied the game at 5-5 less than three minutes later with a transition opportunity that started when sophomore Casey Ikeda stripped Navy’s Gabe Voumard. Haus scooped up the groundball and started the break. Sophomore Jay Carlson got the ball on the left side of the crease, but moved it on to seniorKevin Cooper, who scored easily to tie the game.

Navy opened up the second half with an unassisted goal by Bryce Dabbs less than two minutes into the third, but Maryland tied the game at 6-6 when Chanenchuk slipped a slick pass into Blye on the crease with 11:50 to play, which was the beginning of a 5-0 scoring spurt for the Terps.

The Terps regained the lead for the first time since the Mids tied the game at 3-3 with 11:29 left in the second quarter when they converted on their second extra-man chance of the night. SeniorBilly Gribbin found Chanenchuk at the top of the formation and Chanenchuk scored on a big top-shelf shot to give Maryland a 7-6 lead with 10:03 to go in the third.

Maryland’s extra-man unit poured in its third goal of the game to give the Terps an 8-6 lead at the 3:17 mark. This time it was Gribbin hitting a shot from the right wing off of a feed from Blye.

The Terps opened the fourth quarter with another inside goal as Cooper found Carlson on the crease to make it a 9-6 Maryland lead.

Maryland’s lead was upped to 10-6 with an unassisted goal by Cooper. He split a double-team and managed to get a shot past Hickey inside the near post with 7:30 left to play.

Navy ended the 5-0 Terrapin run with an unassisted goal by Pat Durkin with 5:59 left on the clock, but Chanenchuk made it a four-goal lead once again when he hit on a runner down the right alley 49 seconds later.

The Mids trimmed the Maryland lead back to three when Dabbs scored his second of the game with 4:21 remaining, but that would all Navy could muster and the Terps were able to pull out the victory.

Sophomore Charlie Raffa dominated the faceoff X, winning 14-of-21 draws with seven groundballs. Senior long poleJesse Bernhardt led the Maryland defense with six groundballs to go along with one caused turnover.

Junior goalie Niko Amato finished with six saves for the Terps, while Hickey was credited with 15 for the Mids.

“Lacrosse’s Greatest Rivalry” renews for the 110th time next Saturday, April 13 when Maryland hosts Johns Hopkins at 3 p.m. at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium. The annual Alumni Reunion is set to take place on April 13 as well and the 1973 NCAA championship team will be honored at halftime.

Game Notes:
• With today’s 11-8 win, Maryland is now 54-33-1 all-time vs. Navy.
• With three points on two goals and an assist, senior John Haus now has 25 multi-point and 13 multi-goal games for his career.
• With three points on two goals and an assist, senior Kevin Cooper now has 18 multi-point and nine multi-goal games for his career.
• With three points on a goal and two assists, senior Owen Blye now has 29 multi-point and 12 multi-assist games for his career.
• With four points on two goals and two assists, junior Mike Chanenchuk now has 23 multi-point, 16 multi-goal and six multi-assist games for his career.
• With two points on a goal and an assist, sophomore Jay Carlson now has 10 multi-point games for his career.
• With two points on a goal and an assist, senior Billy Gribbin now has 11 multi-point games for his Maryland career.

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The No. 1 Maryland men’s lacrosse team (7-1, 2-1 ACC) returns to action at local rival Navy (3-7, 1-4 Patriot) on Friday, April 5 at 7 p.m. at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

• The game will be broadcast live on the CBS Sports Network with Dave Ryan handling the play-by-play and Evan Washburn providing the analysis.

• Maryland is coming off of a 9-7 win at then-No. 15 Virginia last Saturday in Charlottesville. Sophomore attackman Jay Carlson led the offense with three goals, including the game-winner, while senior midfielder John Haus also had three points on two goals and an assist. Junior goalie Niko Amato made 14 saves and also had an assist on a goal by senior long pole Jesse Bernhardt, who had a career-high two scores vs. the Cavaliers.

• For the season, senior attackman Kevin Cooper leads the Terps in points, goals and assists with 28, 15 and 13, respectively. Five other Terps have scored double-digit goals. Carlson also has 15, with Haus, Owen Blye and Jake Bernhardt each having 12 and junior Mike Chanenchuk has 11. Defensively, Amato has stopped 60.0 percent of the shots put on goal by opponents and has a 7.09 goals-against average, both of which leads the ACC. Sophomore faceoff man Charlie Raffa leads the team with 56 groundballs, while Jesse Bernhardt leads the team with 12 caused turnovers.

• The Midshipmen are coming off of a 12-7 loss at Lehigh last Saturday. After opening the season with back-to-back home wins over VMI and Detroit, Navy has gone 1-7 over its past eight games, but three of those losses were by just one goal and another was a two-goal loss. Navy’s offense is led by junior attackman Sam Jones, who has 17 goals and 10 assists on the season for 27 points. Senior goalie Nolan Hickey has started all 10 games in cage for the Mids, but was lifted in the fourth quarter vs. the Mountain Hawks on Saturday for freshman John Connors. Junior long pole Pat Kiernan leads the squad with 59 groundballs and 25 caused turnovers.

The Count Down
10 … Since 2002 Maryland has won 99 of the 108 games in which the Terps have scored 10 or more goals for a .917 winning percentage.
9 … Maryland is 116-25 in games since 2002 when it allows nine goals or less, for an .823 winning percentage.
8 … The Terps are ranked among the top 10 in eight team statistical categories by the NCAA.
7 … Maryland has shot 30% or better in six of its seven victories this season.t
6 … Six Terps have already reached double-digit in goals.
5 … Owen Blye has five career goals vs. the Midshipmen.
4 … Niko Amato is ranked fourth in the NCAA with a 7.09 goals-against average.
3 … The Terps have won three consecutive games in the series vs. Navy.
2 … Maryland and Navy are two of just six programs to have reached the 700-win mark.
1 … Jay Carlson’s .652 shooting percentage would lead the NCAA, but he is one shot shy of the 3.0 shots per game average required.

Coaching Match-Up
• John Tillman is in his sixth season as a head coach, and third with the Terps, with a 52-31 career record for a 62.7 winning percentage. Tillman is 32-12 (.727) as Maryland’s head coach. He had a 20-19 record in three seasons as the head coach at Harvard.

• Rick Sowell is in his second season as the head coach of Navy and has a 9-13 record coaching the Mids. Overall, he is in his 14th season as a head coach with a record of 95-94 (.503).

• Tillman has a 2-0 career record against Navy, with the 2011 and 2012 meetings as the Terps’ head coach being the only decisions. He has a 4-0 record vs. Sowell-coached teams, having won both meetings vs. Sowell’s Stony Brook teams while Tillman was at Harvard.

Series History vs. Navy
• The Maryland-Navy rivalry is the second-longest in Terrapin lacrosse history with Maryland holding a 53-33-1 advantage, dating to 1924. The 53 wins are the second-highest number of victories Maryland has against any team. Maryland has defeated Duke 61 times.

• Maryland has won 15 of the last 20 meetings. Prior to Maryland’s current three-game winning streak in the series, the Mids had won five of the previous six meetings.

• When Navy and Maryland get together it’s fair to assume it is going to be a close game. During the past 32 meetings, 17 have ended with a winning margin of one or two goals, including four straight 6-5 Terp victories from 1999-2002.

• The 2012 game was tied at 5-5 late in the second quarter, but Maryland scored eight of the game’s final nine goals to earn a 13-6 victory over Navy at Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium on April 6. Senior Joe Cummings led the Terps with five points on three goals and two assists, while Owen Blye, Billy Gribbin and Drew Snider each chipped in two goals apiece. Curtis Holmeswon 15-of-20 faceoffs with seven groundballs for the Terrapins.

• The 2011 meeting saw the Terps outscore the Mids 6-1 in the first quarter en route to a 10-4 victory at a rain-soaked Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis. A balanced-scoring attack was led by long pole Brian Farrell, midfielder Jake Bernhardt and attackman Owen Blye, who each scored two goals. Leading the defense was Max Schmidt with three caused turnover and two groundballs. Dan Burns and Curtis Holmes also finished with three groundballs. Redshirt freshman goalieNiko Amato finished the game with four saves. Aiding in the defensive effort was another solid face-off effort from Holmes, who won 10-of-18 draws.

• In 2010 the Terps got back on the winning side of the ledger with an 11-9 home win. The attack unit of Grant Catalino, Travis Reed and Ryan Young combined for eight goals and five assists to pace the Terps. Maryland dominated the Mids when the ball was on the ground, winning the groundball battle 47-26. Brian Farrell and Max Schmidt led the way for the Terps with five groundballs each. Brian Phipps finished the afternoon with 10 saves, to go along with four groundballs

• The one-goal game streak came to an end with a one-sided 10-4 Navy victory in Annapolis in 2009. Will Yeatman and Ryan Young scored two goals apiece for the Terps, but that was all the offense could muster. Maryland had a 2-1 lead after the first quarter, but Navy outscored the Terps 6-0 in the second and third quarters combined to take control of the game.

• The run of one-goal games was pushed to four in 2008 with a game that could have been dubbed “A Tale of Two Halves.” The Mids scored all five of their goals in the first half, while the Terps did the same in the second half, but could only muster four scores to give Navy a 5-4 decision. Jason Carter was tremendous in the second half for Maryland in cage, stopping six Navy shots. Offensively the Terps were led by Dan Groot and Max Ritz, who each had a goal and an assist and Ryan Young, who had a pair of assists.

• In a double-overtime thriller on April 6, 2007 in Annapolis the Terps pulled out a miraculous 8-7 win over the Mids, thanks in large part to three tremendous individual efforts. All-America defender Ray Megill provided the initial spark, getting the Terrapins back in the game after the Mids went on a three-goal run to build a two-goal lead. Megill took his first-ever collegiate face-off, won the ball clean and scored to cut the Navy advantage to one. Navy maintained a one-goal lead as the seconds dwindled down. As the clock neared 0:00, junior midfielder Drew Evans laced a low-to-high shot from 16 yards to send the game into overtime. After the game went to a second OT, sophomore midfielder Dan Groot snapped Navy’s three-game winning streak with a tough shot from the left alley.

• The one-goal games continued in 2006 as the Mids pulled out a 7-6 victory at Byrd Stadium on April 8. The game , which was scheduled for April 7, was pushed back a day due to a large thunderstorm. It was another last-second goal that lifted Navy to the win over the Terps. This time it was attackman Ian Dingman scoring the game-winner with just eights seconds left in the game. Joe Walters scored a pair of goals for Maryland, while Bill McGlone, Max Ritz, Dan Groot and Xander Ritz scored the remaining Maryland goals.

• The 2005 game was another of those one-goal affairs as the Mids and Terps battled into the game’s final seconds before Navy emerged with a 9-8 win on Graham Gill’s game-winning goal with 14 seconds left in the contest.

• The most goals the Terps have ever scored on the Mids in a single game came in 1998′s 21-7 Maryland victory.

• Maryland has also won all four meetings in the NCAA Tournament. The Terps captured their last national championship in 1975 with a 20-13 win over Navy. Maryland also defeated Navy in NCAA semifinal games in 1971, 1976 and 1979.

The Stretch: Carolina, Virginia, Navy, Hopkins
• Since 1978 Maryland’s schedule has been highlighted by a four-game stretch in the middle of its season: North Carolina, Virginia, Navy and Johns Hopkins. In the 36-year span only four times has the stretch been interrupted with another game added in between one of these traditional four (1981, 1997, 2001, 2003).

• Overall, Maryland is 65-77 (.458) since 1978 vs. those four teams during that time.

• The Terps have swept the four games only once – in 1987. Only twice (1981 & 1988) has Maryland lost all four games. Six times (1978, 1979, 1989, 1996, 1998, 2001) the Terps have won three of the four games. Johns Hopkins broke up the Terps’ bid for a perfect stretch four times, while Carolina and Virginia broke it up one time each.

Maryland As The No. 1 Team
• The Terps took over the top spot in the USILA Coaches’ Poll on Feb. 18 after two impressive wins to open the 2013 season. The Terps became the outright No. 1 team in the country on Feb. 25 following their 12-10 victory at then-No. 1 Loyola on Feb. 23 and held the top spot for four weeks until dropping to No. 2 following a 10-8 loss to North Carolina on Mar. 23. This was the ninth time Maryland has earned the No. 1 ranking since 1986.

• Maryland regained the No. 1 ranking in both polls on April 1, following its 9-7 win at Virginia and previous No. 1 Notre Dame’s 12-10 loss to St. Johns on March 30. This marks the first time that Maryland has regained the No. 1 ranking after having lost it during the season.

• Overall, Maryland has played 27 games as the No. 1-ranked team and is 18-9 in those games.

• This season, the Terps have played four games as the nation’s outright top team and is 3-1, defeating Duke, 16-7, in Durham on March 2, topping Stony Brook, 13-7, at home on March 10, going on the road to beat Villanova, 10-7, on March 16 and dropping a 10-8 decision to North Carolina on March 23.

• The last time Maryland was the top team in the nation was in March of 2006 after the Terps defeated then-No. 1 Duke, 8-7 on the road in overtime. Maryland defeated Towson as the No. 1 team the following Saturday, but fell, 7-6 in double-OT, to Bucknell on Tuesday, March 14. The Terrapins were still No. 1 in their 9-4 win at UMBC to close out their two-week stay at the top of the polls.

• The last time the Terps were the nation’s top team was in April of 2004. Maryland’s two-week run at the top of the polls ended with a 9-6 loss to No. 4 Navy in College Park.

• This season’s ranking is also the earliest the Terps have achieved the No. 1 ranking in a season. Previous to this week, the earliest Maryland was ranked No. 1 was March 10, 2006.

• The longest Maryland has held on to the No. 1 ranking was seven weeks in 1987. That streak came to an end with a 13-8 loss to No. 4 Johns Hopkins in the NCAA Semifinals.

Get To 10 And Win
• One axiom of lacrosse is that if you score 10 goals or more your chances of winning are pretty good. Well, a look at the results since 2002 shows that when Maryland scores 10 or more goals there’s not just a pretty good chance the Terrapins will win; it’s an almost certainty. Since 2002 Maryland has won 99 of the 108 games in which the Terps have scored 10 or more goals for a .917 winning percentage.

• Maryland scored 10, but fell at North Carolina, 11-10, on March 24, 2012 and again came out on the losing end, despite scoring 11 in a 13-11 loss at Colgate on May 5, 2012. The Terps scored 11 vs. Johns Hopkins on April 16, 2011, but the Blue Jays won the game in overtime, 12-11. On April 3 of last season the Terps lost to No. 1 Virginia by a final of 11-10, giving Maryland its only loss when scoring 10 or more goals in 2010. In 2009 the Terps lost to Georgetown, 13-10 on Feb. 21 and lost again when scoring 10 in the ACC Semifinals in a 16-10 defeat at North Carolina. Prior to that, Maryland had not lost when scoring 10 or more goals since dropping an 11-10 decision to Virginia in the semifinals of the ACC Tournament in Durham, N.C. The Terrapins got to 10 goals in the 100th game against Johns Hopkins, but the Blue Jays took the game 14-10. Virginia is the only team to beat the Terps twice when allowing 10 or more goals. The Wahoos did it first in 2002 with another 11-10 decision.

Holding Opponents To Single-Digits
• The Terps have been extremely impressive (winning 91.7 percent of its games since 2002) when it scores 10 or more goals, they have been nearly as impressive when holding opponents to less than 10 goals during that span.

• Since 2002 Maryland is 116-25 in games, for a .823 winning percentage, when it has held opponents under 10 goals. The Terps have played 188 total games since 2002. Maryland has held opponents to nine goals or less 75.0 percent of the time.

Shooting Tells The Story
• The difference between winning and losing for Maryland this season is simple – when the Terps shoot well they win. As it turns out 30% is the magic number for the Terps this season. Maryland is 7-1 on the year and has shot 30% or better in six of its seven victories and under that mark in its one defeat.

W- Mount St. Mary’s: 23 goals, 46 shots = 50.0%
W- at Hartford: 16 goals, 51 shots = 31.4%
W- at Loyola: 12 goals, 36 shots = 33.3%
W- at Duke: 16 goals, 29 shots = 55.2%
W- Stony Brook: 13 goals, 30 shots = 43.3%
W- at Villanova: 10 goals, 26 shots = 38.5%
L- North Carolina: 8 goals, 37 shots = 21.6%
L- at Virginia: 9 goals, 32 shots = 28.1%

• Since 2005 the Terps are a remarkable 61-4 (.938) when shooting 30% or better in a game. The only four losses were: 13-10 to Georgetown in 2009 (the Terps shot 10 of 30 for 33.3% vs. the Hoyas), 11-10 to No. 1 Virginia on April 3, 2010 (10 of 33 for 30.3%), 12-11 in overtime on April 16, 2011 to No. 3 Johns Hopkins (11 of 28 for 39.3%) and 13-11 at Colgate on May 5, 2012 (11 of 31 for 35.5%).

• If 30% is the benchmark, then 40% shooting is in a class all to itself and Maryland has shot 40% or better in 14 games since the start of the 2008 season. Out of those 14 games, Maryland shot 50% or better in four of them.

Three Terps Named To Tewaaraton Watch List
• Senior midfielders Jesse Bernhardt and John Haus are joined by junior goalie Niko Amato on the 2013 Tewaaraton Award Watch List. The Terrapin trio are three of 92 selections on the Watch List.

• The Tewaaraton Award annually honors the top male and top female college lacrosse player in the United States. The selection committees are made up of top collegiate coaches and are appointed annually by The Tewaaraton Foundation. Committees will make additions to these lists as the season progresses and athletes earn a spot along side these elite players. The lists will be narrowed to 25 men’s and women’s nominees in late April. In mid-May, five men’s and five women’s finalists will be announced. These finalists will be invited to Washington, D.C. for the 13th annual Tewaaraton Award Ceremony, May 30 at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of the American Indian.

Bernhardt Named Senior CLASS Finalist
· Maryland senior long pole Jesse Bernhardt was named one of the 10 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award. Fan voting consists of one-third of the final total to determine the winner, so click on the graphic to vote for Jesse. Fans can vote once per day per device, so come back every day to cast your vote for Jesse.

The 700 Club
· Maryland’s 15-6 victory over Penn on April 14, 2009 was the program’s 700th victory in 84 seasons of varsity men’s lacrosse. The Terps join Johns Hopkins, Syracuse, Navy and Army as the only programs with 700 or more Division I wins.

· Two things that make Maryland’s accomplishment all the more impressive is that the Terps reached the 700-win plateau in just their 84th season. Only Syracuse reached win No. 700 in as few seasons, but it took the Orange 53 more games than Maryland. In fact, Maryland needed only 940 games to reach 700 wins and only Johns Hopkins needed fewer games (932) to hit the historic number, but the Blue Jays did so in their 105th season.

Terps’ 88th Season Of Lacrosse
• The Terps boast an all-time record of 744-250-4 (.747), dating back to the first varsity team in 1924 (a team was not fielded in 1944 and 1945 due to World War II). Maryland has finished every one of its previous 87 seasons with a .500 or better record, including last season when the Terps went 12-6. The program reached the 700-win milestone with a 15-6 victory over Penn on April 14, 2009 at Ludwig Field.

• During the decade of the 2000s, Maryland went 111-49 for a .694 win percentage, making it the winningest decade in Terrapin lacrosse history. In the decade of the 1990s, Maryland posted a 95-47 record. The .669 winning percentage matched Maryland’s win percentage of the 1980s when the Terps went 83-41 and also compiled a .669 win percentage. So far, Maryland is 25-9 in the 2010′s for a .735 winning percentage.

Terps On ESPNU
• Maryland has had 44 games on ESPNU since 2006. Maryland is 26-19 (.578) all-time in games broadcast on ESPNU.

• The Terps are scheduled to play four games (at Duke (W, 16-7), at Virginia (W, 9-7), vs. Johns Hopkis and the ACC tournament semifinals) on ESPNU in 2013.

Going Purple
· Once again this season, the Terps will be wearing purple “MY” stickers, to show their support for the fight against pancreatic cancer, which touched everyone in the Maryland lacrosse familywith the passing of Maria Young on April 17, 2011.

· This past fall the Terps, Maryland alums and family and friends came together for the inaugural Forever Young Walk/Run for Pancreatic Cancer Awareness. More on Ms. Young and her amazing story can be found here: Forever Young.

· If you’re interested in more information about the Lustgarten Foundation, including how to make a donation, click here to visit the foundation’s website. You can also get more information on pancreatic cancer at CurePC.org.

In case you’re wondering here are some facts about pancreatic cancer from the American Cancer Society:
· More than 43,000 new cases of pancreatic cancer present each year
· There are more than 36,000 deaths from pancreatic cancer each year
· The lifetime risk of having pancreatic cancer is about 1 in 71.
· The risk is about the same for both men and women.

Going Gray
· Maryland players will also be wearing gray stickers with the number 42 in honor of Zack Wholley’s father, John, who passed away from brain cancer on August 28, 2011.

· If you’re interested in more information, please visit the National Brain Tumor Society website.

In case you’re wondering here are some facts about brain and spinal cord tumors from the American Cancer Society:
· About 22,910 malignant tumors of the brain or spinal cord (12,630 in males and 10,280 in females) will be diagnosed. These numbers would likely be much higher if benign tumors were also included.
· About 13,700 people (7,720 males and 5,980 females) will die from these tumors.
· Overall, the chance that a person will develop a malignant tumor of the brain or spinal cord in his or her lifetime is about one in 150 for a man and one in 185 for a woman.

Going Teal
• Maryland players will also be wearing teal stickers in honor of Andrew Walsh’s mother, Gia, who was recently diagnosed with ovarian cancer.

· If you’re interested in more information, please visit the Ovarian Cancer Institute website.

Here are some facts about ovarian cancer from the American Cancer Society and the Ovarian Cancer Institute:
· Ovarian cancer is the ninth most common cancer among women, excluding non-melanoma skin cancers.
· Ovarian cancer will strike over 20,000 women this year.
· It ranks fifth in cancer deaths among women, accounting for more deaths than any other cancer of the female reproductive system.
· Ovarian cancer accounts for about 3% of all cancers in women. A woman’s risk of getting ovarian cancer during her lifetime is about 1 in 71.
· Currently, there are no effective means of early detection.
· Only 25% of cases are diagnosed early before the cancer has spread to the pelvic region. For these women, the 5-year survival rate is 90%.

Consecutive 10-Win Seasons
• Maryland’s 10-9 win over the Lehigh on May 11, 2012 extended the Terps’ streak of double-digit win seasons to 10. (Special thanks to Patrick Stevens of the D1scource.com).

• How does Maryland’s string of 10+ win seasons stack up against the rest of the college lacrosse programs? Take a look at programs with at least six-straight 10-win seasons:

Maryland (10): 2012 (12-6), 2011 (13-5), 2010 (12-4), 2009 (10-7), 2008 (10-6), 2007 (10-6), 2006 (12-5), 2005 (11-6), 2004 (13-3), 2003 (12-4)
Virginia (8): 2012 (12-4) 2011 (13-5), 2010 (16-2), 2009 (14-2), 2008 (14-4), 2007 (12-4), 2006 (17-0), 2005 (11-4)
Notre Dame (7): 2012 (13-3), 2011 (11-3), 2010 (10-7), 2009 (15-1), 2008 (14-3), 2007 (11-4), 2006 (10-5)
Duke (6): 2012 (15-5) 2011 (14-6), 2010 (16-4), 2009 (15-4), 2008 (18-2), 2007 ( 17-3)
Siena (6): 2012 (11-5), 2011 (13-5), 2010 (12-5), 2009 (12-6), 2008 (10-6), 2007 (10-6)

• Cornell’s string of seven-straight 10+ win seasons came to an end in 2012 with a 9-4 final mark.

Maryland In Season Openers
• Maryland has an 84-3-1 (.960) lifetime record in season openers dating back to the 1924 season. The Terps have won their last 19 openers and 26 of the last 27, with the only loss coming to Duke in 1993, when they fell to Duke 9-5 on March 6.

• After losing their 1925 opener to Yale, 5-3, the Terps went on to win 40 consecutive season openers from 1926 through 1967. The streak was broken when Maryland tied Princeton, 6-6, in the 1968 opener. Following the deadlock, Maryland went on to win its next 14 openers, giving the Terps a 54-0-1 record over a 57-year span (Maryland did not field a team in 1944 and 1945 due to World War II.)

20 Straight in Season Openers
• After beating Mount St. Mary’s to open the 2013 season the Terps have an 20-game winning streak in season openers. Five of those wins came against Villanova (1994-98) and the last nine over Denver, Mount St. Mary’s (twice), Air Force, Hobart, Duke, Georgetown (four times), Bellarmine (twice), Presbyterian, Detroit Mercy and Hartford. Over the 20-year stretch, Maryland outscored its foes 290-105 (an average score of 14.5-5.3) in those games.

• The Terps have not allowed more than seven goals to any opponent in a season opener over the last 20 years. Maryland has not allowed an opponent to score 10 or more goals in a season opener since Syracuse beat the Terps, 16-13 on March 9, 1983.

A Family Affair
· Many school’s refer to their sports programs as families, but the Maryland men’s lacrosse program is truely a family affair. Since 2002, the Terps have had 13 sets of brothers, including three on this season’s roster, don the red and black together for at least one season.

Harry & Thomas Alford: 2004-05-06-07
Jake & Jesse Bernhardt: 2010-11-12-13
Justin & Owen Blye: 2009-10-11
Brian & Kevin Cooper: 2011-12-13
Billy & Bobby Gribbin: 2012-13
Brendan & Ian Healy: 2003-04-05
Bryn & Curtis Holmes: 2010
Bryn & Travis Holmes: 2007
Dan & Mike LaMonica: 2002
Chris & Willy Passavia: 2002-03
Brian & Michael Phipps: 2007
Max & Xander Ritz: 2005-06
Mark & Michael White: 2008-09-10-11

The current Big East Conference has announced that it will be renamed the American Athletic Conference and will rebrand as such across all platforms, associations and media at the conclusion of the 2012-13 sports seasons. The announcement was made today by Commissioner Mike Aresco after unanimous approval by the Conference’s Board of Directors.

“We worked with our institutions, sports marketing experts, media partners, and also solicited opinions and reactions from collegiate sports fans to create a compelling list of names,” said Aresco. “Versions that included the word `American’ led every list. American Athletic Conference represents a strong, durable and aspirational name for our reinvented Conference.

“We engaged our fans through social media and focus groups in multiple cities, and we conducted extensive quantitative research,” Aresco added. “We also received terrific input from our partners at ESPN and CBS Sports. Our name is a nod to tradition, but at the same time makes clear our determination to be a Conference with national impact and appeal. The American Athletic Conference will represent core American values of optimism, energy, growth and innovation. We have a broad geographical footprint that represents unity as well as diversity.”

“Our exciting new name is the result of a thorough process that has energized our Conference,” said Judy Genshaft, President of the University of South Florida and Chair of the Executive Committee. “The American Athletic Conference brand will embody the values of competition and sportsmanship that our student-athletes have always exemplified.”

“The American Athletic Conference is a brand that suggests a national scope and quality membership,” said Burke Magnus, Senior Vice President, College Sports Programming, ESPN. “It is an exciting time for the new conference and ESPN looks forward to our future together.”

“We congratulate the American Athletic Conference on the selection of a terrific new name for college sports,” said Sean McManus, Chairman, CBS Sports. “We look forward to partnering with The American as they introduce their new brand and increase their presence as a conference going forward.”

Beginning with the 2014-15 academic year, the American Athletic Conference will consist of the University of Central Florida, the University of Cincinnati, the University of Connecticut, East Carolina University, the University of Houston, the University of Memphis, Southern Methodist University, the University of South Florida, Temple University, Tulane University and the University of Tulsa. The U.S. Naval Academy will become a football-only member in 2015. With 12 football schools in the fold by 2015, it will play a football championship game.

A full set of marks for the American Athletic Conference will be presented in the coming weeks.