April 29, 2010

Game Preview
• Second-seeded Navy (6-7, 4-2 Patriot League) will begin its quest for a sixth Patriot League Tournament title in seven seasons when it travels to West Point, N.Y. to battle third-seeded Lafayette (8-5, 3-3 PL) on Friday at 5:45 pm.
• The Mids are coming off one of the program’s most memorable wins, as junior attackman Andy Warner’s goal in overtime led Navy to a 9-8 victory over No. 17 Johns Hopkins ... the win snapped a 36-game losing streak against the Blue Jays ... Navy overcame a 5-0 first quarter deficit by scoring six unanswered goals in the second quarter ... leading scorer Patrick Moran’s extra-man goal midway through the fourth quarter sent the game into OT .  
• Lafayette is coming off back-to-back one-goal losses to Army and Lehigh a week ago ... had the Leopards beaten Army, they would have been in the driver’s seat, however the two losses pushed them from first to third in the conference standings.
• Top-seeded Army (8-5, 6-0 PL) will play host to fourth-seeded Bucknell (8-5, 3-3 PL) in the first semifinal beginning at 3:00 pm ... Army is hosting the tournament for the second time in the last three years after securing an undefeated conference mark ... Bucknell made its way into the tournament by way of its 8-7 overtime win against Colgate last Saturday, with the winner of that game earning the last spot in the tourney ... Bucknell’s three league losses were by one goal to each of the other three tournament qualifiers ... Army’s three wins over Navy, Lafayette and Bucknell were by a combined three goals.
• Both Patriot League semifinal contests will be televised live by CBS College Sports with Dave Ryan (play by play) and former Duke All-American Matt Danowski (analyst) calling the action ... Sunday’s championship game will also be broadcast by CBS College Sports beginning at 3:00 pm.
• Additionally, Navy’s contest will be broadcast over the radio waves by 1430 WNAV, 1050 WFED and Sirius (Ch. 121) with Pete Medhurst handling the call, beginning with the Navy lacrosse pregame show at 5:30 pm ... the game will be streamed online (audio and video) via Navysports.com with live stats also available at NavySports.com.

Taking the Field In ...
10  -  Attackmen Andy Warner and Ryan O’Leary have registered a goal or an assist in each of the last 10 games ... senior middie Joe Lennon, however, owns Navy’s longest consecutive scoring streak having scored in 16 straight games dating back to last year’s Patriot League Tournament semis.
9  -  The Mids have given up nine or more goals in six games this season, including five of the last eight.
8  -  Navy has reached double digits in the scoring column in eight of the 11 games against Lafayette
7  -  The Mids are making their seventh Patriot League Tournament appearance ... Navy is the only team who has played in all seven tournaments.
6  -  Patrick Moran has produced hat tricks in six games in 2010 which is tied as the 11th most in the country.
5 -   The Mids have played seven one-goal games this season (3-4), including a program-record five overtime contests.
4  -  The Class of 2010 owns a 4-1 record in Patriot League Tournament games ... its lone loss was against Colgate (2008) the last time the tournament was hosted by Army.
3  -  Navy’s man-down unit has surrendered just three goals on 16 attempts (81.3) in its last seven games.
2  -  RJ Wickham is ranked No. 2 in the country in save percentage, stopping 61.5 percent of the shots he has faced on goal.
1  -  Since joining the Patriot League in 2004, Navy has lost just one Patriot League Tournament contest en route to five conference titles and a 10-1 record.

Previewing Lafayette
• Under the direction of 2010 Patriot League Coach of the Year Terry Mangan, Lafayette enters Friday’s contest as the No. 3 seed in the Patriot League Tournament, boasting an 8-5 overall record and a 3-3 conference mark.
• Lafayette has qualified for the four-team Patriot League Tournament for the first time since its inception in 2004.  In fact, the following is a breakdown of the past Patriot League Tournament participants ...
    Army (6)    2005-06-07-08-09-10
    Bucknell (6)    2004-05-07-08-09-10
    Colgate (5)    2004-06-07-08-09
    Holy Cross    ---
    Lafayette (1)    2010
    Lehigh (2)    2005-06
    Navy (7)    2004-05-06-07-08-09-10
• Lafayette was one of the hottest teams in the country early on as it claimed wins in each of its first six games ... however, the Leopards have lost five of their last seven, including each of their last three.
• Lafayette blew out the Mids, 15-8 in mid-March, beat Bucknell by one (16-15) in Lewisburg and dropped a one-goal decision to Army (15-14) at home.
• Averaging 12.92 goals per game, Lafayette is ranked sixth in the country in scoring offense ... 2010 Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Steve Serling leads the charge, scoring 3.62 points per game ... he is ranked seventh nationally in both goals (2.77) and assists (2.31) per game.
• As hot as its offense is, the Leopards’ defense is giving up big numbers ... Lafayette is surrendering 10.69 goals per game and is ranked 41st out of 58 teams ... goalkeeper Vinny DePasquale is 34th in goals-against average (10.78) and 24th in save percentage (53.7) ... as a team, however, Lafayette is sixth in saves per game, turning away 12.46 shots.
• Lafayette has taken care of the ball this year, turning it over less than 15 times per game (14.54) which is the fourth-lowest turnover average.

Series History
• Saturday’s contest marks the 12th meeting between the two programs, and the eighth since the Midshipmen joined the Patriot League in 2004 ... however, this is the first Patriot League Tournament appearance for the Leopards.
• The Mids have won 10 of the previous 11 games played and have scored double digits in eight of the 11.
• 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.
• Lafayette snapped the Mids’ 10-game winning streak in the series in dominating fashion, defeating Navy 15-8 in Easton in mid-March.
• In the 11-game history, the Mids have outscored the Leopards, 142-42 ... since joining the league in ‘04, Navy has outscored Lafayette, 78-41.
• Navy head coach Richie Meade owns a 6-1 record against Lafayette, while Lafayette’s Terry Mangan, the 2010 Patriot League Coach of the Year, is 1-6.

Last Time Out vs. the Leopards
• Lafayette scored 10 second-half goals, including four straight to open the third quarter, en route to claiming a 15-8 victory over 17th-ranked Navy at Rappolt Field in Easton, Pa. The 15th-ranked Leopards came into the game averaging 14.0 goals per game and thanks to seven different goal scorers, Lafayette scored 15 goals for the third time this season.
• Navy scored the game's first goal when sophomore attackman Ryan O'Leary fed senior midfielder Joe Lennon on the left wing for a goal just 1:11 into the contest. The lead would not only be short-lived, it would be the last for the Mids as Lafayette scored four straight goals to take a 4-1 advantage with less than one minute having elapsed in the second quarter. Two of the four goals were a result of extra-man opportunities.
• The Mids finally put some offense together when O'Leary and Lennon once again worked together with Lennon's 15-yard shot rippling the top of the net with 8:40 to go in the opening half. The Mids trimmed the Lafayette lead to 4-3 when junior midfielder Brian Striffler face-dodged his defender and his overhand shot found its way past Lafayette keeper Vinny DePasquale eith 3:34 to play.
• Bitten a handful of times by goals scored in the last minute of play, Navy's defense was caught sleeping as senior midfielder Steve Serling fed fellow middie Kevin Dunbar from behind the cage with just 20 seconds remaining for the final goal of the half and a 5-3 advantage.
• Lafayette scored back-to-back goals just 12 seconds apart and in the first 1:08 of the second half to spark a huge run. The Leopards scored four straight goals to open the second half and with 9:45 remaining in the third, Lafayette owned a 9-3 lead leaving the Mids to climb out of a huge hole.
• Navy scored two more times in the third (Striffler and senior attackman Brendan Connors), while Lafayette scored another to take a 10-5 lead heading into the final stanza. Lafayette scored five more goals in the final quarter, including one man-down goal, one extra-man goal and a final goal on an open cage en route to capturing a 15-8 win.
• The seven-goal loss was the largest margin of defeat in a Patriot League contest, regular season or tournament, by the Mids. The 15 goals marked the most goals scored against Navy by a Patriot League foe and the most goals scored by a Navy opponent since Johns Hopkins put up 15 against the Mids a year ago in Baltimore.
• Lafayette ended the game outshooting the Mids, 54-39, while also owning the ground ball category with a 41-26 advantage.

Five Mids Earn All-League Kudos
•  Five Midshipmen were named to the 2010 All-Patriot League Team announced Tuesday, including sophomore RJ Wickham who was named the league’s goalkeeper of the Year.
•  Navy accounted for five of the 27 spots among the first and second teams, including three first-team selections.
•  Earning first-team recognition were senior midfielder Pat Moran, who is a three-time first-team selection, along with junior defenseman Michael Hirsch and Wickham.
•  Second-team members included junior attackman Andy Warner and two-time selection middie Joe Lennon.
• Moran is the eighth player in program history to garner All-Patriot League recognition three times and is one of five who have been three-time first-team selections.
• With Wickham’s selection, Navy has now captured one of the five major awards in six of the seven years it has been a member.

Patriot League Success
• Since joining the Patriot League in 2004, Navy is 46-8 (85.2) against opponents from the conference, which includes a 10-1 mark in the Patriot League Tournament.
• The Mids have lost regular-season contests to ...
    Army (2)    2008-10
    Bucknell (2)    2005-09
    Colgate (2)    2006-09
    Lafayette (1)    2010
... while dropping the program’s first Patriot League Tournament contest at the 2008 semifinals against eventual champion Colgate ... seven of the eight losses were in games played either at the opponent’s field or at a neutral site.
• Navy owns a 22-1 record at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium against Patriot League competition since joining the conference ... the Mids are 16-1 during the regular season, dropping a 10-9 decision to Colgate last spring, and 6-0 in the conference tournament.
• The Mids have produced undefeated marks in conference action twice, 7-0 in 2004 and 6-0 in ‘07.
• Navy has won at least a share of the Patriot League regular-season title in five (2004-05-06-07-08) of the seven years it has been a member of the league.
• Additionally, the Mids have claimed the league’s tournament crown five times (2004-05-06-07-09).
• 31 different Midshipmen have garnered All-Patriot League recognition, while 19 of the 31 have earned honors multiple times.
• In 2008, three-time All-American Jordan DiNola was selected as the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year ... though Navy has fielded the nation’s top-ranked scoring defense five times since joining the league, DiNola is the first Midshipman who has been named the league’s top defensive player.
• Richie Meade was named the 2004 Patriot League Coach of the Year after leading the Mids to a flawless 7-0 mark in league competition ... he received the award a second time after guiding Navy to a 6-0 record in 2007.

Navy-Johns Hopkins Rewind
• A week after a crushing loss to arch rival Army, all thoughts of that game were erased when junior attackman Andy Warner’s goal with 10 seconds remaining in overtime led Navy to a 9-8 win over longtime rival Johns Hopkins ... the win snapped a 36-game losing streak, the sport’s longest, which first began in 1975.
• Johns Hopkins delivered the Mids a blow in the first quarter, taking a 5-0 advantage with nearly no letting up to be seen ... however a goal by senior midfielder Patrick Moran 40 seconds into the second quarter sparked a 6-0 run by the Mids and gave Navy a 6-5 advantage at the break.
• Navy’s defense held Hopkins scoreless for better than 19 minutes before the Blue Jays scored three in a row to open the third quarter and take an 8-6 lead.
• Once again, the Mids rallied ... Hopkins was held scoreless for the final 22-plus minutes, as the Jays posted their last goal with 3:40 remaining in the third quarter.
• Ryan O’Leary found Brendan Connors with 10 seconds remaining in the quarter to trim the lead to one and Evan Sullivan fed Moran for the game-tying goal at 9:39 in the fourth quarter.
• Scoring their first career goals were rookie midfielders Jay Mann and Bucky Smith ... both were scored during the Mids’ 6-0 run.
• Robby Battle (7-12) and Logan West (6-9) combined to win the faceoff battle, 13-8 ... the 13 wins were the most by Navy this season ... Battle, meanwhile, paced Navy with seven ground balls.
• Navy improved to 5-0 this season when leading at the half and have now won 19 straight.
• The win snapped a five-game nonconference losing streak ... prior to the win over Hopkins, the Mids’ last win over a non-Patriot League school was VMI in its season opener.

Commitment Makes the Difference
• Navy is in the midst of one of its most dominant runs in school history ... since the start of the 2004 season, Navy owns a 76-33 record (69.7).
• Navy’s 76 wins over the last seven years are the sixth most in the country, while its 69.7 winning percentage is the seventh best.
• Having made six straight NCAA Tournament appearances, it’s the third-longest consecutive streak behind Johns Hopkins (38) and Maryland (7).
• During that same stretch, Navy is 31-26 (54.4) against ranked teams and 45-7 (86.5) against unranked foes.
• Since the start of the 2004 season, Navy owns a 12-16 (42.9) record against teams ranked higher than it in the USILA Coaches Poll ... against lower ranked or unranked teams, Navy is 64-17 (79.0).
• The Mids have posted a 37-13 (74.0) record at home, outscoring their foes, 543-343, during that span ... just 10 teams have reached double digits on Navy’s home field during that stretch.
• The Mids are also respectable on road, owning a 28-15 record (65.1) in true road affairs over the last seven years and defeating 14 ranked teams in the process ... three of Navy’s 14 road losses have come against unranked Patriot League opponents.
• The Mids have produced the top-three win totals in school history during this stretch ... in 2004, Navy won 15 games en route to its NCAA Championship game appearance and in ‘05, the Mids produced 12 wins in earning their second-consecutive NCAA Tournament berth ... Navy won 11 games in 2006, ‘07 and ‘09.
• The Class of 2007 became the winningest class in school history on March 21, 2007, when it claimed its 45th win in 56 contests ... the Class of ‘07 won 49 of its 64 contests (76.6).
• Navy won 10 or more games in a program-record six straight seasons (15 in 2004, 12 in 2005, 11 in 2006, ‘07 and ‘09 and 10 in 2008).

Won By One
• Navy has played 65 one-goal games during Richie Meade’s 16-year tenure (224 games) and has won 28 (43.1).
• Among the 65 games, 24 of them have gone into extra minutes with Navy winning 11 (45.8).
• Over the last three seasons, 18 of the Mids’ 45 contests have been decided one goal and Navy has produced wins in nine of the 18.
• Navy is 3-4 in one-goal games this spring, earning overtime victories against Bucknell (8-7), Colgate (10-9) and Johns Hopkins (9-8) ... the Mids have one-goal losses to Loyola (8-7 OT), Towson (10-9) and Army (6-7).
• Over the last three seasons, 18 of the 45 Navy games have been one-goal outcomes (9-9).
• Both of Navy’s Patriot League Tournament wins in 2009 were not only by one goal, but also the same score, 9-8 ... the Mids needed triple overtime to capture their semifinal win over Colgate and rallied in the fourth quarter to defeat Bucknell in the title game.

Extra, Extra
• Navy has played a program record five overtime games this season, posting a 3-2 mark.
• Among the 60 Div. I programs, 43 schools have played at least one overtime game this year.
• The Patriot League leads the way with five of its seven members having played three or more overtime contests ... outside of the Patriot League schools, Canisius is the only other team to have played three or more extra frame games.
  5 OT Games (1) - Navy
  4 OT Games (2) - Army, Bucknell,
  3 OT Games (3) - Canisius, Colgate, Lehigh,
  2 OT Games (15) - Binghamton, Duke, Hartford, Hobart, Johns Hopkins, Lafayette, Marist, UMBC, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, Princeton, Sacred Heart, Vermont, VMI
  1 OT Game (22) - Air Force, Brown, Bryant, Cornell, Delaware, Denver, Drexel, Georgetown, Hofstra, Holy Cross, Jacksonville, Loyola, Manhattan, Maryland, Penn, Robert Morris, St. John's, Saint Joseph's, Siena, Syracuse, Villanova, Wagner
   0 OT Games (17) - Albany, Bellarmine, Dartmouth, Detroit, Fairfield, Harvard, Massachusetts, Mount St. Mary's, North Carolina, Presbyterian, Providence, Quinnipiac, Rutgers, Stony Brook, Towson, Virginia, Yale