March 4, 2006

Box Score

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Preseason All-American Jon Birsner (Levittown, N.Y.) scored three goals and added a pair of assists to lead the seventh-ranked Navy lacrosse team to an 11-3 victory over No. 14 North Carolina Saturday at Fetzer Field in Chapel Hill. For the second-straight year and the third time in the last four years, Navy is off to a 3-0 start, while the 2-2 Tar Heels have dropped two in a row.

Navy used a combination of bullish offensive power and disciplined defense to claim its fourth-consecutive win over the Tar Heels. While the series is now knotted up at 10 wins apiece, it marks just the third win by the Mids in Chapel Hill and the first time they have earned back-to-back wins in the Tar Heel state. The Mids earned a 9-8 overtime victory over UNC in 2004.

"To win at North Carolina is not easy," said 12th-year Navy head coach Richie Meade, a 1976 graduate of North Carolina. "I have tremendous respect for John Haus and the North Carolina program and winning this game comes at an important time in our schedule."

North Carolina took an early 1-0 advantage, as rookie midfielder Bobby McAuley scored just 43 seconds into the game despite being crushed by sophomore defenseman Brendan Teague (Annapolis, Md.). Navy, though, regrouped and a goal by senior All-American midfielder Steve Looney (Silver Spring, Md.) sparked a 5-0 run by the Midshipmen, including goals by Birsner and another by Looney just seven seconds apart (1:59, 1:52) at the end of the opening quarter.

With Navy leading 5-1 with 13 minutes to play in the second quarter, Carolina's Bart Wagner found Kyle Henderson who momentarily stopped Navy's run with goal at 8:26 in the second stanza. Birsner, however, gave the Mids a 6-2 lead heading into the half, as he targeted a goal at the 2:36 mark.

The Mids opened the third quarter by scoring five-consecutive goals, including two by Preseason All-American attack Ian Dingman (Deferiet, N.Y.), who drilled a team-high four goals.

North Carolina scored the final goal of the game, as McAuley found Wagner with 4:15 remaining in the contest.

"Something I thought was missing from our first two games was our transition game," said Meade. "We were able to score some transition goals today thanks in part to our success in the face-off game. We also made some nice plays in the middle of the field which is a strength for us."

Junior face-off specialist William Wallace (Bloomfield Village, Mich.) dominated the "x", winning 10 of the 16 draws he took. In addition, he earned his first assist of the season after winning the draw following Birsner's goal at 1:59 and feeding Looney for the Mids' fourth goal of the game.

On the defensive side of the field, the Mids held UNC to 12 shots on goal with senior All-American keeper Matt Russell (Madison, Conn.) registering nine saves. On the year, Russell owns a 74.2 save percentage, while Navy's defensive unit is giving up just 2.67 goals per game.

The Mids return to action next Saturday when they travel to Torero Stadium at the University of San Diego to face Patriot League foe Bucknell in The FIRST 4 Men's Lacrosse Invitational. Navy and Bucknell, the second game of a doubleheader which also includes Duke and Loyola, are slated to face off at 10:30 pm Eastern/7:30 pm Pacific and will be televised live on CSTV, and can also be heard via the radio on 1430 WNAV. Reserved tickets to The FIRST 4 are available in advance at tickets.com or by calling the University of San Diego box office at 619-260-7550. For additional event information please go to www.thefirst4.com.

"Our win against North Carolina was significant and last year we were in the same position at 3-0 before playing at Bucknell. I hope that we have learned a lesson from last year and we can stay focused this week before heading out to San Diego to play Bucknell."

G-o N-a-v-y