ANNAPOLIS - Behind a five-goal second quarter, Towson men’s lacrosse (3-4) powered through to defeat Navy (3-4), 8-7, on Tuesday evening at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium.

Towson got off to a slow start, allowing Navy to take a 3-0 lead. Senior Andrew Wascavage made six stand-up saves that frame for Towson. Sophomore Cory Dobynsbroke the ice for the Tigers at 10:38 in the second, scoring off a Rob Zoppo pass. His goal kicked off a scoring run where Towson posted five of the next seven goals to finish the half tied at five. Junior Thomas DeNapoli, Zoppo, and Hodgson each tallied an unassisted goal from about 12 yards out over a span of 1:33 to knot the score at 4-4 with 3:38 left in the half. Dobyns and Zoppo paired up again just before the half to tie the game again, 5-5, with 16 seconds showing on the clock.

Dobyns and junior Andrew Hodgson each had a pair of goals for Towson. Navy’s Bryce Dabbs led the Mids with two goals. Wascavage made 14 saves in net for the Tigers, while Nolan Hickey stopped seven shots for Navy. The win marked the first time Towson has defeated the Naval Academy in Annapolis.

“Against a great team like Navy, you’re obviously fortunate to come away with a win,” said head coach Shawn Nadelen. “It was a big win for our guys, rebounding from a tough overtime loss to Marist. It gives us confidence and really shows the coaching staff what we can do.”

Navy scored two quick, tough goals to start the second half and go up 7-5 with 7:17 remaining in the third quarter. Junior Andrew Hodgson posted his first man-up goal since his freshman year at 4:10 off an assist from Dobyns (7-6).The Tigers evened it at 7-7 on junior Devin Grimaldi’s second career goal assisted by senior Neil Hutchinson and took their first lead of the game on an unassisted tally, and eventual game winner, from sophomore Greg Cuccinello at 10:28 in the fourth quarter.

Next up, Towson travels to No. 17 Duke on Saturday, March 16 for a 1 p.m. contest with the Blue Devils.

NOTES: Towson fared well from 10-15 yards out, scoring four goals from that distance … junior Devin Grimaldiscored his second career goal … junior Andrew Hodgson scored his first man-up goal since 2011 … the win marked the first time Towson has beaten Navy in Annapolis … Towson was not called for any penalties and went 1-3 on EMO.

College Men’s Lacrosse: Towson 8, Navy 7
Towson (3-4)     0-5-1-2/8
Navy (3-4)         3-2-2-0/7

GOALS: TOW – Dobyns 2, Hodgson 2, Cuccinello, DeNapoli, Grimaldi, Zoppo; NAVY – Dabbs 2, Voumard, Jones, Durkin, Heneveld, Hull. ASSISTS: TOW – Zoppo 2, Bolewicki, Dobyns, Hutchinson; NAVY – Voumard, Hull, Jones. SAVES: TOW – Wascavage (14, 60:00, 7 goals allowed); NAVY – Hickey (7, 60:00, 8 goals allowed).SHOTS: TOW – 28; NAVY – 35. GROUND BALLS: TOW – 29; NAVY – 30. FACE-OFFS: TOW – 7-19; NAVY – 12-19. CLEARS: TOW – 20-25; NAVY – 17-20. EMO: TOW – 1-3; NAVY – 0-0. ATTENDANCE: 824.

ANNAPOLIS, Md. —  Fresh off its 12-11 victory over Patriot League foe Lafayette this past Saturday, the Navy men’s lacrosse team (3-3, 1-1 Patriot League) will step away from conference action to face Towson (2-4) on Tuesday evening.  Meeting for the 12th time in series history, the Mids and Tigers will face off at 7:00 pm at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

After being held to just two goals by Bucknell the week prior, Navy’s offense caught fire on Saturday against the the Leopards where five players accounted for the 12 goals including three players with hat tricks.   The Mids outscored Lafayette 4-2 to start out the fourth quarter to take a 12-9 advantage, but Lafayette closed to within one after scoring back-to-back goals in the final 17 seconds of the game.

Towson, meanwhile, has won two of its last three contests but surrendered a 10-9 decision in overtime to Marist at home last Friday.  Knotted at nine through three quarters, neither team could get on the board in the fourth, forcing overtime.  Jack Doherty punched in his fourth goal of the night with just one second remaining in overtime to lead the Red Foxes to victory.

The game will be streamed online via Navy All-Access (subscription) with live stats available at NavySports.com.

Opening Face-Off
Towson lost a tough one against Marist at home on Friday, 10-9 in overtime. Navy is coming off a narrow 12-11 win over Lafayette at home on Saturday. Today’s game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. and can be heard live on the Towson Sports Network on www.towsontigers.com with Spiro Morekas and Hunter Lochte calling the action.

Updating the Tigers
Junior Thomas DeNapoli’s career-high five goals (and fourth-straight hat trick) led the Tigers in the OT loss to Marist. The Red Foxes scored five of the last seven goals in the game to seal the win. DeNapoli’s 18 goals and 21 points lead Towson. Senior Andrew Wascavage has a 9.48 goals-against-average and a save percentage of .540 in net for the Tigers.

Scouting the Midshipmen
Navy is 3-3 on the season after squeaking out a 12-11 win in Annapolis last weekend.. The win snapped a three-game losing streak. Navy had won the first two games of the season. The Midshipmen have outscored opponents 62-56 so far and hold edges in ground balls (217-202), caused turnovers (70-61) and shots (223-216). Sam Jones leads Navy with 11 goals. He is followed closely behind by Gabe Voumard’s 10 goals. The goalie of record is Nolan Hickey. He has a goals-against-average of 9.11 and a save percentage of .584.

Towson-Navy Series History
Navy leads the all-time series 7-4. The Midshipmen have won the last two games contested. The series began in 1975 with Navy winning the opening salvo, 13-9. The teams did not play again until 1991 when the Tigers won at home, 15-8. Navy and Towson played regularly throughout the ‘90s before the series went on a 13-year hiatus. It resumed in 2010. Towson has never won at Navy.

Towson-Navy By the Numbers

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).

DALLAS, March 5, 2013 – The National Football Foundation (NFF) announced today the names of 77 players and five coaches who comprise the 2013 Football Bowl Subdivision Ballot for induction into the College Football Hall of Fame.

“Having a ballot and a voice in the selection of the inductees is one of the most cherished NFF member benefits,” said NFF Chairman Archie Manning, a 1989 Hall of Fame inductee from Ole Miss. “There is no group more knowledgeable or passionate about college football than our membership, and the tradition of the ballot helps us engage them in the lofty responsibility of selecting those who have reached the pinnacle of achievement in our sport.”

The ballot was mailed this week to the more than 12,000 NFF members and current Hall of Famers whose votes will be tabulated and submitted to the NFF’s Honors Court, which deliberates and selects the class.  Chaired by Gene Corrigan, a former ACC Commissioner and NCAA president, the 14-member NFF Honors Court includes an elite and geographically diverse pool of athletics directors, conference commissioners, Hall of Famers and members of the media.

“It’s an enormous honor to just be on the ballot when you think that more than 4.92 million people have played college football,” said NFF President & CEO Steven J. Hatchell. “The Hall’s requirement of being a First-Team All-American creates a much smaller pool of only 1,500 individuals who are even eligible to be on the ballot, so being in today’s group of 77 names means an individual is truly among the greatest to ever have played the game, and we are proud to announce their names today.”

The FBS Hall of Fame Class will be announced live in New York City during a noon press conference on May 7 from the NASDAQ OMX Market Site and inducted at the 56^th NFF Annual Awards Dinner December 10, 2013 at the landmark Waldorf=Astoria Hotel in New York City.

To be eligible for the ballot, players must have been named a First Team All-America by a major/national selector as recognized and utilized by the NCAA for their consensus All-America teams; played their last year of intercollegiate football at least ten years prior; played within the last 50 years and cannot be currently playing professional football.  Coaches must have coached a minimum of 10 years and 100 games as a head coach; won at least 60% of their games; and be retired from coaching for at least three years. If a coach is retired and over the age of 70, there is no waiting period. If he is over the age of 75, he is eligible as an active coach.  In both cases, the candidate’s post-football record as a citizen may also be weighed.

Once nominated for consideration, all player candidates are submitted to one of eight District Screening Committees, depending on their school’s geographic location, which conducts a vote to determine who will appear on the ballot and represent their respective districts.  Each year, approximately 15 candidates, who are not selected for the Hall of Fame, will be named automatic holdovers and will bypass the district screening process and automatically appear on the ballot the following year. Additionally, the Veterans Committee may make recommendations to Honors Court for exceptions that allow for the induction of players who played more than 50 years ago.

Of the 4.92 million individuals who have played college football since Princeton first battled Rutgers on November 6, 1869, only 918 players have earned induction into the College Football Hall of Fame, or less than .0002 percent of those who have played the game during the past 144 years. From the coaching ranks, 200 individuals have achieved Hall of Fame distinction.

Today’s ballot, which was mailed to NFF members, also contains the 92 players and 27 coaches for the divisional ranks who are up for Hall of Fame consideration this year. The divisional class will be announced May 16 via a national press release from Dallas, Texas.

The 2013 Divisional College Football Hall of Fame Class will be inducted and enshrined simultaneously this summer in Atlanta, Ga., at the NFF Annual Enshrinement Festival. They will be joined during the festival by the 2012 Football Bowl Subdivision Hall of Fame Class, which was inducted this past December in New York City.

If you would like to become a member and receive a voting sheet for this year’s ballot, please contact NFF Director of Membership Ron Dilatush at rdilatush@footballfoundation.com.

Ballots without valid membership numbers will be invalidated.

- A list of candidates and capsule bios are provided on the following pages. -

2013 PLAYER CANDIDATE CAPSULE BIOS

Trev Alberts, Nebraska-Linebacker-Named unanimous First Team All-America, BIG-8 Defensive Player of the Year and Academic All-America in 1993…Recipient of the 1993 Butkus Award and two-time First Team All-Conference pick…NFF National Scholar-Athlete in 1993.

Tony Boselli, Southern California-Offensive Tackle-Two-time First Team All-America in 1992 and 1994 (consensus-1994)… 1994 Outland Trophy finalist…Named top offensive lineman in Pac-10 (1994)… 1994 NFF National Scholar-Athlete.

2013 COACH CANDIDATE CAPSULE BIOS

Jim Carlen-West Virginia (1966-69), Texas Tech (1970-74), South Carolina (1975-1981)-Led teams to eight bowl games and 13 winning seasons in 16 years as head coach…1973 National Coach of the Year…Three-time Southwest Conference Coach of the Year… Coached Heisman Trophy winner George Rogers at South Carolina.

LEWISBURG, Pa. —  The Bucknell men’s lacrosse team (3-1, 1-0 Patriot League) overcame an early 2-1 deficit to go on and defeat Navy (2-3, 0-1 PL) 11-2 in both teams’ Patriot League opener played Saturday afternoon at Christy Mathewson Stadium in Lewisburg, Pa.  After opening the season with a pair of wins, the Midshipmen have lost three straight games, all on the road.

The Mids looked to have the hot hand early, jumping out to a 2-1 lead thanks to goals by junior attackman Sam Jones (Annapolis, Md.) and sophomore middie Gabe Voumard (Cape May, N.J.).  Senior midfielder Bryce Dabbs (Damascus, Md.) threaded the needle and sent his pass from the goal-line extended just out of the reach of multiple Bison defenders, hitting Jones for a goal just 1:06 into the contest.

Bucknell senior attackman Chase Bailey answered with a sidewinder at Navy keeper Nolan Hickey’s (Garden City, N.Y.) ankles with 10:27 left in the first period.

Voumard, meanwhile, punched in his seventh goal of the year when he dodged his defender on the left side of the goal for a crease-line goal at the 6:08 mark.

With just under three minutes remaining in the opening period, Bucknell’s Thomas Flibotte got free for a shot that was initially saved by Hickey, but got away from his stick, ricocheted off the pipe and Todd Heritage was Johnny on the spot, picking up the ball in front of the goal and stuffing it in the top right corner.  The Heritage goal sparked four in a row for the Bison which featured a p air of goals by rookie attackman Sean Doyle to give Bucknell a 5-3 halftime lead.

The Bison opened the second half the same way it ended the first, peppering the Navy defense as they outscored the Mids 6-0 in the second half.  The Bucknell defense, meanwhile, kept the Mids off the scoreboard for the final 51 minutes of the contest.

“They really took it to us today,” said second-year Navy head coach Rick Sowell.  “Give credit to Bucknell, they really came out and played well.  I felt like we prepared and practiced well all week and were ready to play, but unfortunately we just did not have a good day.”

Bucknell outshot the Mids, 57-14, as Navy got off more shots in the first quarter (6) than it did the entire second half (4).  The Mids’ lack of possession stemmed from their 22 turnovers, most of which were unforced.

Doyle paces all scorers in the game with three goals, while Heritage, Bailey and Flibotte added a pair of goals.  Sophomore middie David Dickson continued  to flourish as the team’s play-maker, dealing out a team-best three assists to go along with his goal.

Jones extended his point-scoring streak to eight straight dating back to last season, while Voumard has now punched in a goal in each of the last four games for the Mids.

Hickey finished the game with a career-high 18 saves in goal, while backup keeper John Connors (Bellmore, N.Y.) contributed one.

The Midshipmen return to action next Saturday when they play host to Lafayette beginning at 12:00 pm at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

Game Preview
• Looking to bounce back after dropping a pair of one-goal decisions a week ago, the Navy men’s lacrosse team (2-2) will travel to Lewisburg, Pa. on Saturday to face Bucknell (2-1) in both teams’ Patriot League opener … the 13th edition of the Navy-Bucknell series is set for a 1:00 pm faceoff at Christy Mathewson Stadium.
• After leading by as many as three goals, Navy’s offense sputtered in the middle portion of the game to open the door to a rallying Georgetown squad.  After the Mids took an 8-7 lead with 2:54 to go in regulation, Georgetown answered with a goal 32 seconds later to send the game into overtime where Jeff Fountain notched the game winner.
• While Navy has lost two games by a combined two goals, Bucknell enters the weekend with a 2-1 record winning the two games by a combined three goals including a 10-8 win over Bryant last weekend.

A Win over Bucknell would …
• give Navy a 3-2 start for the first time since 2009 when the Mids began the year 6-2.
• snap a 2-game skid against the Bison.
• give Navy an 8-5 series advantage and would tie the series in games played in Lewisburg at 3-3.
• give Navy head coach Rick Sowell his first win over Bucknell as a head coach … he is 0-1 against the Bison.
• give Rick Sowell a 95-89 career record and a 9-8 mark at Navy.
• push Navy’s all-time record to 759-316-14.
• give the Mids a 6-4 all-time record in Patriot League openers, including a 2-3 mark against Bucknell in openers.
• be Navy’s first win in a Patriot League opener since beating Lehigh, 8-3, in 2010.

Scouting the Bison
• Eighth-year Bucknell head coach Frank Fedorjaka has the Bison off to a 2-1 start, winning their two games against Delaware and Bryant by a combine three goals while dropping a one-goal decision to Mount St. Mary’s.
• Bucknell came from two goals behind in the fourth quarter to defeat Delaware.  Freshman midfielder Thomas Flibotte scored the game-winner with 3:30 to go.
• Ironically, Bucknell owned a two-goal decision over Mount St. Mary’s in the fourth, but gave up two goals in the final 1:35 to suffer its lone loss (12-11) of the season.
• A five-goal second quarter helped Bucknell build an 8-4 halftime lead over Bryant, one it would not relinquich.
• Bucknell has seven returning starters on its roster, including senior goalkeeper Kyle Feeney who owns a 9.23 goals-against average and a 50.0 save percentage.
• Leading the way offensively for the Bison are senior attackman Chase Bailey, second-year midfielder David Dickson and junior attackman Todd Heritage.  Bailey and and Dickson are atop the scoring leader board with 10 points.  Bailey has six goals and four assists, while all 10 of Dickson’s points have come off assists.  Dickson stands sixth in the country averaging 3.33 assists per game.  Heritage, meanwhile, has punched in a team-best eight goals including three on extra-man.
• Junior Jackson Place garnered Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week honors on Monday after producing a career-high six caused turnovers.  The starting close defenseman has seven on the year.
• Rookie long pole Alex Spring has been stout, pacing the team with 14 ground balls.
• Bucknell enters the weekend ranked No. 1 in the country in turnovers per game, giving up 11.00.  The Bison are fifth nationally in caused turnovers, knocking away 11 per game.
• The two areas Bucknell has struggled at the most this season are faceoffs and saves per game.
• The Bison have yet to decide on a faceoff man, spreading the draws between Gavin Sullivan (9-25), Ryan Gutowski (8-22) and Eric Monfort (8-18).  As a team, the Bison have won just 37.9 percent (25-66) of their draws and stand 56th among 62 teams in the country .
• Bucknell is ranked 56th in saves per game, averaging just 8.67.

Navy vs. Bucknell – The Series
• Saturday’s contest between Navy and Bucknell marks the 13th game in a series that began in 1996 …Bucknell has won three of the last five, including each of the last two.
• Navy had won three straight in the series before rookie Charlie Streep’s goal as time expired snapped the Mids’ winning streak in 2009 during the regular season.
• However, the Mids got sweet revenge on Bucknell’s home field when they scored a 9-8 win in the 2009 Patriot League Championship Game to earn an automatic bid to play in the NCAA Tournament.
• Seven of the 12 games in the series have been decided by one goal, including five of the last six … three of the seven one-goal contests have entered into extra minutes, including two of hte last three … in 2010, midfielder Patrick Moranstuck his shot 1:20 into overtime to lead the Mids to an 8-7 OT win … meanwhile, in 2011 Navy scored four goals in the fourth, including a pair by Nikk Davis in the final 18 seconds of the game to send it into overtime … rookie Todd Heritage, however, found an opening and scored the game-winner for the Bison.
• Bucknell holds a 3-2 advantage in games played in Lewisburg.
• Last year the Bison dealt the Mids their worst loss in series history, beating Navy, 14-9, on its home field.  The 14 goals by Bucknell were the most scored by the Bison in the 12-game history (previously 12 in the 2011 double-overtime win), while the five-goal difference marked the largest margin of victory by either team in the series since Navy scored an 11-5 win over the Bison on March 13, 2004.

Taking the Field In …
10    Navy has lost just five games (53-5) when scoring 10 or more goals since the start of the 2004 season … Navy was 5-0 last season when reaching 10 goals and is 2-0 in 2013.
9    Navy has lost nine straight games when giving up between 8-10 goals to its opponents … the winner of each of the last five Navy-Bucknell games has had to score at least 8 goals for the victory.
8    Junior Sam Jones paced Navy with 3 goals in its overtime loss to Georgetown last Sunday … it marked his eighth collegiate hat trick.
7    Juniors Pat Durkin and Sam Jones head into the Bucknell game riding 7-game point scoring streaks.  Durkin has scored a goal in each of the 7 games.
6    Six of Navy’s 2013 opponents are either ranked or receiving votes in the 2012 USILA Coaches Preseason Poll – #1 Maryland, #3 Johns Hopkins, #11 Colgate, #13 Fairfield and #17 Lehigh, while Bucknell is receiving votes.
5    Saturday’s contest marks the fifth time in Navy’s 10 years as a member of the Patriot League that it will open up conference play against Bucknell … the Bison have won three of the four previous openers against the Mids.
4    Sophomore Gabe Voumard punched in a career-high 4 goals at Fairfield a week ago marking his first collegiate hat trick.  Last we he contributed 5 goals and 2 assists for 7 points.
3    Junior attackman Tucker Hull needs 3 points to become only the 30th player in program history to score 100 points during their career … the last player in was Andy Warner, who scored 101 points from 2008-11.
2    Junior Tucker Hull has been held without a point in just 2 of the 29 games he has played at Navy.
1    Over the last six seasons, 26 (10-16) of the Mids’ 76 contests have been decided by one goal … the Mids are 0-2 this season in one-goal contests.

Weekend Rewind
• A goal by Jeff Fountain scored 2:56 into overtime led Georgetown to a 9-8 overtime victory over the Mids last Sunday in Washington, D.C.
• Five of the last six meetings between the Mids and Hoyas have been decided by one goal and all five have been in favor of Georgetown.  Meanwhile, three of the last five matchups have been decided in overtime, however, this marked the first in Washington, D.C..
• Navy held a 3-goal advantage in with 6:45 remaining in the second quarter but was held to just one goal over the next 17 minutes, giving way to the Hoyas to work their way back into the game.
• Georgetown led twice in the game, scoring the first goal just seven seconds into the contest and the final goal.  In between, there were five ties, including three in the final quarter of play.
• Goals by Pat Durkin, Tucker Hull and Sam Jones extended point scoring streaks for the trio … Durkin and Jones own a team-best seven straight games with a point, while Hull is riding a five-game streak with assists in each of those games.  Durkin, meanwhile, has punched in a goal in each of the last seven contests.
• Junior attackman Tucker Hull dealt out an assist to go along with his goal, moving into a tie for 18th on the Mids’ all-time career assists list with 45.
• Senior team captain Nolan Hickey played a solid game between the pipes that featured a second consecutive career-high 15-save performance.  He also recorded his best single-game save percentage at 62.5 percent.
• After being held scoreless in the opener, Gabe Voumard has produced 8 points on 6 goals and 2 assists in the last 3 games, including 1 goal and 2 assists against Georgetown.  All 6 of his goals this season have been unassisted.
• Senior faceoff specialist Evan McGoogan moved into 16th place on the Mids’ all-time faceoff wins list after taking 6 of the 16 draws against the Hoyas.  He owns 58 career wins.
• Navy’s man-down unit continues to flourish … the Mids were flagged twice against the Hoyas, but held firm … on the year, Navy has surrendered just two goals on 22 man-up opportunities by its opponents and is ranked 8th nationally (.091).
• Navy was outshot (33-30) and outground balled (39-32) for the first time this season.
• Navy had won seven in a row when leading after three quarters of play.  Under Rick Sowell, the Mids are 8-2 when going into the final quarter with the lead.  In addition to Georgetown, North Carolina is the only other team to overcome a third quarter deficit and win under Sowell’s direction.

Hull Approaches Century Mark
• Navy junior attackman Tucker Hull led Navy in scoring in each of his first two seasons and is once again atop the leader board this season with 12 points on 6 goals and 6 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.
• Hull is only 3 points shy of joining Navy’s elite list of 100-point scorers, while Jones is 20 points away from 100 … there are just 29 current members of the group with the last player, Andy Warner, joining the list in 2011 with 101-career points.
• With his 3 assists against Detroit, Hull joined the Mids’ all-time career assists list … he produced his 45th career assist at Georgetown to tie Bruce Seitz (1980-83) and Eddie McKinnon (1999-02) for 18th on the list … he needs 1 to tie 17th-place Owen McFadden (1964-66).

Patriot League Success
• Since joining the Patriot League in 2004, Navy is 52-16 (74.5) against conference members, which includes an 11-2 mark in the Patriot League Tournament … the Mids are 41-13 in regular-season action.
• The Mids have lost regular-season contests to …
Army (3)    2008, ‘10, ‘11, ‘12
Bucknell (4)    2005, ‘09, ‘11, ‘12
Colgate (3)    2006, ‘09, ‘11
Lafayette (1)    2010
Lehigh (2)    2011, ‘12
… and dropped the program’s first Patriot League Tournament contest at the 2008 semifinals against eventual champion Colgate and its second to Army in the 2010 championship contest.
• Eleven of the 16 losses were in games played either at the opponent’s field or at a neutral site.
• Navy owns a 24-5 record at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium against Patriot League competition since joining the conference in 2004 … the Mids are 18-5 during the regular season.
• The Mids have produced undefeated marks in conference action twice, 7-0 in 2004 and 6-0 in ‘07.
• Navy has won at least a share of the Patriot League regular-season title in five (2004-05-06-07-08) of the nine years it has been a member of the league.
• Additionally, the Mids have claimed the league’s tournament crown five times (2004-05-06-07-09).
• 31 different Mids have garnered All-Patriot League recognition, while 19 of the 31 have earned honors multiple times.

WASHINGTON, D.C. —  For the second time this week, the Navy men’s lacrosse team was stung by a one-goal loss, this time a 9-8 overtime decision against long-time rival Georgetown on Sunday afternoon at Multi-Sport Field in Washington, D.C.  The Mids dropped a 10-9 decision against 15th-ranked Fairfield on Tuesday following a Sam Snow goal with just 4.1 seconds left in the contest.

“It’s another tough loss for us,” said Navy head coach Rick Sowell, who spent nine seasons (1990-98) as an assistant coach at Georgetown.  “Defensively we were doing a great job and we started off sharp on offense, but then it just sputtered.  But I think it all cirlces back to turnovers.  Until we figure out how to play better and cleaner, we are going to have games like these.  All that said, we had a chance to win the game with 30 seconds left and came up short two games in a row”

In general Navy has struggled over the years in one-goal games, finding itself in 15 one-goal contests over the last four seasons with the Mids posting a 4-11 record during that stretch.

Five of the last six meetings between the Mids and Hoyas have been decided by one goal and all five have been in favor of Georgetown.  Meanwhile, three of the last five matchups have been decided in overtime, however, this marked the first in Washington, D.C.

Although it didn’t look to be the case early on in the game after the Mids jumped out to a 3-1 first-quarter decision, it was a classic Navy-Georgetown matchup that saw the game tied four times in the second half.

The Hoyas grabbed a 1-0 lead just seven seconds into the game after faceoff specialist Tyler Knarr won the first of his 13 draws that led to a Reilly O’Connor goal.

Navy, though, bounced back scoring three goals in three minutes which was capped by the first of three goals by junior attackman Sam Jones (Annapolis, Md.) at 10:35 in the first quarter.

Neither team would score for the next 18 minutes, but Jones pushed the Mids’ lead to 4-1 after sophomore Gabe Voumard (Cape May, N.J.) fed Jones on the left crease.  Georgetown, however, trimmed the Mids’ lead to two at the half after Jeff Fountain around the cage and took Navy keeper Nolan Hickey (Garden City, N.Y.) on a low to low shot.

Fountain sent another ankle biter Hickey’s way to open the second half, climbing to within one at 4-3, but a loose ball found its way into Voumard’s stick in front of the Georgetown goal and Voumard found junior attackman Tucker Hull(Charlotte, N.C.) standing on the crease to push the Mids’ lead back to two.

Georgetown tied the game for the first time by scoring a pair of goals in just 22 seconds, the first by Brian Casey and the second by Charles McCormick who bounced his shot in from the left corner.

The Mids answered 44 seconds later when Georgetown’s John Wujciak was flagged for unnecessary roughness and freshman Patrick Keena (Vienna, Va.) and junior Tyler Nechanicky (Montgomery Village, Md.) worked together to score an extra-man goal with 4:42 left in the third period.

The game would go back and forth the rest of the way with Georgetown answering each of Navy’s go-ahead goals, including Casey’s game-tying goal with 2:22 left in regulation.

Navy won the ensuing faceoff and junior middie Pat Durkin (Germantown, Md.) had his shot blocked with 1:18 to go.  The Hoyas picked up the ground ball, however, were unable to clear the ball when Wujciak lost the ball.  Navy went the length of the field and called a timeout with 30 seconds left.  The Mids got the ball to Jones, who had the hot hand, but Jones was well defended and the Hoyas jammed up Jones who was unable to get a pass or shot off before the final horn.

Knarr beat Navy senior Evan McGoogan (Cranberry Township, Pa.) on the overtime faceoff and the Hoyas immediately called a timeout.  Casey fired off a shot that was saved by Hickey, however, the Mids were called for an off-the-ball push which put the ball back in the sticks of the Hoyas.  Georgetown worked the ball around and Navy senior defensemanAustin Miller (North Bethesda, Md.) peeled off Jeff Fountain to double Zac Guy and Guy found a wide open Fountain for the game-winner on the left crease with 2:04 remaining in the overtime period.

Jones led Navy with three goals, while Durkin added a pair of goals and Voumard scored a goal and added a pair of assists in the loss.  Hickey put together his second consecutive 15-save performance, while junior long pole Pat Kiernan(Ridgewood, N.J.) produced a team-high three caused turnovers.

Navy has turned the ball over at an alarming rate this season, committing 77 turnovers in its four games including 17 in Sunday’s loss.

“As an offense, you take what the defense gives you,” said Jones.  “There were too many times we pushed it when it wasn’t there and it cost us.  There’s no solution in terms of what they (our opponents) are doing.  We have to toughen up mentally.  It’s a gut check for us.”

“There are no excuses for our turnovers,” said Sowell.  “We’ve been playing since Jan. 9.  We can’t blame it on the weather and we can’t blame it on early season jitters.  This is our fourth game of the year and we probably do more stick work than any other team in the country.”

While Navy has held its own in the faceoff game this season, the Mids struggled mightily against the Hoyas winning just six of the 19 draws.

“Knarr had our number today,” said Sowell.  “We tried three different guys and just couldn’t get any success going our way.  It won’t be easy for us all year, but we are working every day to get better.”

The Hoyas were led by Fountain’s three goals, while Casey contributed a pair of goals and two assists.  Freshman Alex Joyce was excellent between the pipes in the first half, posting nine saves in the contest.

The Midshipmen will play their third straight road game when they make the trip to Lewisburg, Pa. next Saturday to face Bucknell in both teams’ Patriot League opener.  Game time is slated for 1:00 pm.

FAIRFIELD, Conn. –  Preseason All-American midfielder Sam Snow scored Fairfield’s last three goals of the contest, including the game-winner with 4.1 seconds left, leading the 15th-ranked Stags (2-0) to a 10-9 victory over the Navy men’s lacrosse team (2-1) on a rainy Tuesday afternoon in Fairfield, Conn.

“No doubt this was a hard-fought game,” said second-year Navy head coach Rick Sowell.  “We had the shot to go ahead and just came up one play short.”

In one of the most exciting fourth quarters in recent memory, the game featured seven ties including five in final quarter of play.  After a scoreless third period, the two teams headed into the final quarter of play deadlocked at 4-4.  Neither team was able to get more than a one-goal lead in the final stanza as the teams went toe to toe over the final 15 minutes.

Junior attackman Tucker Hull gave the Mids a 5-4 lead just 34 seconds into the fourth period, but Fairfield’s Jordan Greenfield answered just seven seconds later after the Stags won the faceoff.

After being held without a point in the first three quarters, Snow came alive in the fourth and punched in the first of his team-high four goals with 13:06 remaining to push the Stags ahead, 6-5.  Snow’s goal was set up after Navy senior midfielder Bryce Dabbs’ pass to teammate Pat Durkin went awry and Nick Guida fed Snow.  To add insult to injury, Dabbs was called for a one-minute unreleasable illegal body check.  Navy, though, was able to kill off the penalty.

Four minutes later, sophomore midfielder Gabe Voumard put the Mids on his shoulders and scored back-to-back goals over a 35-second span to give the Mids a 7-6 advantage with 8:46 to play.  Voumard’s first goal was scored when Hull’s shot bounced off the pipe and into Voumard’s stick, while his second of the run came when he powered past his defender down the left alleyway.

Fairfield tied it at 7-7 when Greenfield fed Eric Warden from eight yards out on the right wing with 7:07 to go.

Navy junior attackman Sam Jones put the Mids back up at 8-7 when Hull fed Jones who found himself wide open in tight with just goalkeeper Jack Murphy to beat.

Snow scored back-to-back goals (5:04, 3:56) to give the Stags a 9-8 lead, including a tough-to-defend low-to-low shot with 3:56 remaining in the contest.  Voumard, however, answered with his fourth goal of the game at the 1:23 mark when he again powered his way past his defender and scored from seven yards out.

Navy’s Evan McGoogan won the ensuing faceoff but instead of Navy playing for the final shot, Dabbs took a 15-yard shot from the left wing that went straight into the stick of Murphy.  Fairfield, in turn, was able to set up for the final shot, as Greenfield found Snow in the middle of the field and was able to get off a diving ankle-biter for the game-winner with 4.1 seconds left in the contest.

The game spoiled a sensational performance by senior team captain Nolan Hickey who made a career-high 15 saves, including multiple door-stop shots.   On the opposite side, Murphy was also stellar in goal taking away 14 potential goals by the Mids.

While Voumard paced Navy with four goals, five other players contributed goals including senior midfielder Jay Mannwho became the 15th different Navy player to score a goal this season.

“I was a little disappointed early with Gabe in his lack of aggressiveness, but the light went on and he had a big fourth quarter for us,” said Sowell.  “He showed today that he certainly is capable of being a force.  We are expecting him to continue to step forward and be a leader on this team.”

Snow led Fairfield with four goals, while Greenfield chipped in two goals and two assists.

Meanwhile, Navy’s man-down defense was stellar, facing two one-minute unreleasable penalties and seven overall flags.  The Stags went 0-for-7 on extra-man, as the Mids have now squelched 18 of the 20 man-up opportunities by their foes.

“We’re committing foolish penalties which is a concern and we have to learn how to play with better control,” said Sowell.  “That said, I’m proud of the way we’ve been able to fight through these situations.”