Collegiate Men's Lacrosse

GreatAmerican · April 5, 2008, 9:46pm

<h1>9 Navy def. #3 Maryland, 54-</h1>

For Immediate Release
Friday, April 4, 2008
Men's Lacrosse Contact: Stacie Michaud (410) 293-8773

No. 9 Navy Lacrosse Upsets No. 3 Maryland, 5-4

COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Anchored by a stingy defense that kept third-ranked Maryland scoreless for the first 41 minutes of the contest, the No. 9 Navy men's lacrosse team held off a furious comeback by the Terps to earn a 5-4 victory Friday night at Byrd Stadium in College Park. The one-goal Navy decision marks the fifth game this season for the Midshipmen that has been decided by one goal.

The first quarter featured a combined 14 turnovers between the two teams and 12 shots, including a 10-yarder by sophomore midfielder Patrick Moran (Annapolis, Md.) that managed to find its way through Maryland keeper Brian Phipps' legs to give the Mids a 1-0 lead seven minutes into the contest.

Navy's offense flourished in the second quarter, as the Mids put 10 of their 14 shots on goal, scoring four goals by quarter's end. The first was a bouncer by second-year middie Joe Lennon (Westminster, Md.) from 13 yards out at the 11:47 mark.

The Mids scored back-to-back goals a minute apart, including an extra-man strike by sophomore attack Tim Paul (Parkton, Md.) from Moran at 4:41. A minute later, senior attack Gregory Clement (Dallas, Texas) sat on the crease and converted a Matt Bitter (Manhasset, N.Y.) pass to push the Mids' lead to 4-0. With just 44 seconds remaining in the half, the Mids utilized their transition game to generate a fifth goal, this time short stick defensive midfielder Geoff Leone (Massapequa, N.Y.) penetrated up the middle before giving the ball up to Paul for his second goal of the night.

With no goals at the break, it was the first time the Terps have been held scoreless since April 2, 2005, when Virginia held Maryland without a goal in the opening quarter en route to a 10-2 win.

While the Mids owned a five-goal cushion heading back onto the field, the second half was the exact opposite of the first, as Navy was held to just nine shots, including one in the final quarter of play, while the Terps peppered the Mids with 15 shots, including 10 on goal.

Navy's defense continued to smother the Terps early on, but a busted assignment left rookie attack Ryan Young alone behind the cage and he was easily able to loop his pass to senior middie Drew Evans to end Maryland's scoreless streak at 4:03 in the third. Maryland put up a second goal in the quarter when it executed its first of two extra-man goals on the night, as Max Ritz found Dan Groot who produced his ninth goal of the year straight up the gut.

Maryland continued its comeback midway through the fourth quarter, as the Terps scored a pair of goals less than two minutes apart to narrow Navy's lead to one. Groot returned the Ritz favor from the third quarter when he found Ritz anchored on the left side of the field and he fired in a six-yarder on an extra-man opportunity. At 8:07, Grant Catalino made it 5-4 as he faked Navy keeper Tommy Phelan (Towson, Md.) high before taking the shot at his ankles.

Navy, who saw several quality shots either gobbled up by keeper Jason Carter or clang off the pipe, was held scoreless over the second 30 minutes of actio, marking its first scoreless half since dropping an 11-1 decision to Johns Hopkins in 1999. Moran came just inches away from posting his second goal of the night as his crank shot ricocheted off the cross bar at the 8:49 mark.

Meanwhile, the Mids struggled to take care of the ball in the closing minutes, surrendering the ball back to the Terps nine times in the final quarter.

With only a minute remaining in the game, Groot looked to connect with Young, but he overthrew his teammate, giving the ball back to the Mids. Navy worked the ball to the offensive end of the field, but Paul was stripped and Maryland defenseman Joe Conosky was there to pick up one of the Terps' 11 grounders in the final stanza. Rushing down the field, junior midfielder Jeff Reynolds eventually got his feet set and cranked a shot that would be broken up by a Navy defenseman and sail above the goal and out of play. Though the Terps maintained possession, it would was only fitting that Maryland would turn the ball over with three seconds remaining as Navy was able to escape College Park with the win.

"This was a critical game for our program," said 14th-year Navy head coach Richie Meade. "We played really well in the first half, but in the second half our defense was fine while our offense just seemed out of sync. We mishandled the ball and just weren't crisp. I think had we gotten a goal at any time in the second half, it would have settled us down, but we didn't and we had a tough time. Everything just went flat in the second half.

"We were fortunate we got a chance to win tonight," Meade added. "I thought last week we could have won the game, but I didn't think we deserved it. This week, we worked hard to win this game and I'm happy for our players that we were able to get the win."

Navy has now won each of the last three games played in College Park, including one-goal decisions in the last two. Eight of the last 10 contests between the two programs have been decided by one goal.

Phelan enjoyed a strong night in goal for the Midshipmen where he made 11 saves, five in the first half and six in the second. Meanwhile, Navy's defense, ranked No. 1 in the country, held Maryland to just four goals, its lowest goal output since its 10-2 loss at Virginia in April of 2005. The Terps entered the game ranked seventh in the country by averaging 12.2 goals per game, hitting the double-digit mark in seven of its nine games coming into Friday's contest.

"It's a great feeling to beat a team of this caliber," said Phelan, who made just his third start in goal for the Mids and called this easily the biggest win of his young career.

Paul led Navy with two goals for the Mids, while senior Nick Mirabito (Binghamton, N.Y.) was held pointless by the Terrapin defense for the second straight year. Maryland is the only team to know the secret to shutting down Mirabito, as the senior attack has been held without a point just twice in his 57-game career.

The Mids return to action next Saturday when they travel to West Point for the annual Army-Navy Star Game at Michie Stadium. Action is set for 12:00 pm and will be televised by ESPNU.

GreatAmerican · April 5, 2008, 9:48pm

Navy 5, Maryland 4

By Christian Swezey
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, April 5, 2008; Page E04

The Maryland men's lacrosse team did not score in the first half against Navy last night at Byrd Stadium. The Midshipmen were held scoreless in the second half.

In the end, Navy's first half was enough for a 5-4 victory before 7,106.

The series has been marked by late-game heroics on both sides. Maryland sent the game into overtime last year on a goal with seven seconds left in regulation. In 2006, the winning goal by Navy came with eight seconds left. The Midshipmen scored the winner in 2005 with 14 seconds left. And in 2003, the winning goal by Maryland came with 37 seconds left.

Last night, the main late-game performance came from Navy junior goalkeeper Tommy Phelan. The third-ranked Terrapins (7-3) closed to 5-4 following a goal by freshman Grant Catalino with 8 minutes 7 seconds left.

Maryland had four shots following Catalino's goal. Two went wide; Phelan saved the other two for the ninth-ranked Midshipmen (9-2).

Maryland's last chance came when junior Jeff Reynolds, the leading goal-scorer among the midfielders, had a one-on-one with Phelan with 11 seconds left. But a Navy defender checked the ball from his stick as he readied to shoot, junior Bobby Lennon got the groundball and the Midshipmen escaped.

"I knew our defense was going to play well enough that, no matter how many chances they got, we were going to play well enough to keep them out of it," said Phelan, who totaled 10 saves.

Said Navy Coach Richie Meade: "It was a great win. We had a couple chances to take a 6-0 lead. . . . That sixth goal would have been big. Instead, they closed it to four and started thinking they could get back into it."

In Maryland's three most important victories this year -- over Georgetown, North Carolina and Virginia -- it led at the end of the first quarter and did not relinquish the lead.

Last night, Navy led 1-0 at the end of the first quarter following a goal by sophomore Patrick Moran. It was 2-0 before the Midshipmen scored three times in less than four minutes -- two goals by sophomore Tim Paul sandwiching one from senior Greg Clement -- to take a 5-0 lead with 44 seconds left in the first half.

Meantime, the Terrapins were shut out in the first half for the first time since a 10-2 loss to Virginia on April 2, 2005.

Senior Brendan Teague played particularly well in his matchup against Catalino, Maryland's second-leading goal scorer. Teague caused three turnovers and had two groundballs in the first half. When Catalino did get past Teague, late in the half, he had a point-blank shot. It was saved by Phelan.

Maryland leading scorer Travis Reed, a freshman attackman, did not play after he was suspended indefinitely following an unspecified violation of team rules. And it took a while for Maryland's offense to get going. It scored its first goal with 4:03 left in the third quarter. Two extra-man goals and the goal by Catalino in an unsettled situation made it 5-4.

"Four goals is not enough to win a Division I lacrosse game," Maryland Coach Dave Cottle said.

GreatAmerican · April 5, 2008, 9:52pm

By Mike Preston | Sun reporter
April 5, 2008

COLLEGE PARK - No. 8 Navy took a five-goal lead at the end of the first half and then held on for a 5-4 win over No. 6 Maryland last night at Byrd Stadium.

It was a tale of two halves for both teams. Maryland (7-3) had several chances to score late, but midfielder Dan Groot overthrew attackman Ryan Young near the back line with 56 seconds left, and the Terps' Jeff Reynolds missed on another shot with 12 seconds remaining.

Maryland had pulled within 5-4, scoring the first two goals of the fourth quarter. Senior midfielder Max Ritz scored on an underhand shot from 15 feet to cut Navy's lead to 5-3 with 9:30 remaining, then Terps freshman attackman Grant Catalino scored to finish off a fast break with 8:07 left.

Maryland was aided by numerous Navy turnovers in the second half as the Mids took only one shot in the fourth quarter. It was entirely different from the first half, when Navy was deliberate, but efficient. The Mids finished with 24 turnovers.

"You go in with a 5-0 lead, and then if you get the sixth goal when you come out, it's a real momentum switch," Navy coach Richie Meade said. "They got the first goal and, once you get within four goals, then it becomes doable."

The Terps were without their leading scorer, Travis Reed, the freshman attackman out of Boys' Latin who was suspended because of a violation of team rules. Reed leads the Terps in goals (18) and assists (five).

Maryland needed Reed last night. Navy dominated the first two quarters, and was ahead 5-0 at the half. The Mids controlled the pace of the game with a deliberate offense, but also ran when an opportunity presented itself.

Maryland had no answers for Navy as the Mids outshot the Terps 19-12 and held a 20-10 advantage on groundballs. Navy also won five of seven faceoffs in the first half.

It might have been worse, but Maryland's Brian Phipps was superb in goal with eight saves. But Phipps alone couldn't save the Terps. The Mids took a 1-0 lead with 8:09 left in the first quarter when sophomore midfielder Patrick Moran sent a high, 20-yard shot past Phipps.

Navy kept the pressure on the goalie in the second quarter with 15 shots. Mids midfielder Joe Lennon scored on a long, low bounce shot with 11:47 left to make it 2-0.

<a href="mailto:mike.preston@baltsun.com">mike.preston@baltsun.com</a>

GreatAmerican · April 5, 2008, 10:00pm

By BILL WAGNER, Staff Writer
Published April 05, 2008

COLLEGE PARK - What a difference a week makes.
Last Saturday, Maryland came out fired up and played with tremendous energy, enthusiasm and emotion in building a huge first half lead to key an upset of top-ranked Virginia.

Meanwhile, Navy played a poor first half filled with mistakes and bad decisions in digging a huge hole it ultimately could not overcome against Georgetown.

Six days later, it was a completely different story for both teams. Navy swaggered onto field at Byrd Stadium and displayed remarkable focus, intensity and effort during a dominant first half. Host Maryland, on the other hand, slept-walked through the opening 30 minutes - getting held scoreless on offense and dictated to on defense while watching an early deficit steadily increase.

What happened in the first half would prove decisive just barely.

Sophomore attackman Tim Paul scored twice as ninth-ranked Navy knocked off No. 3 Maryland, 5-4, last night before 7,106 at Byrd Stadium. Senior attackman Greg Clement contributed a goal and an assist for the Midshipmen, who built a 5-0 halftime lead then held on for dear life.

"This was a very critical game for us and a great win," said Navy head coach Richie Meade, whose squad improved to 9-2.

Goalkeeper Tommy Phelan had a terrific outing to anchor an outstanding defensive effort by the Mids, who held the Terrapins 8 12 goals below their season average. Phelan, making his third straight start in the cage, took away several sure goals in posting the first half shutout and finished with 10 saves.

"You score four goals, you don't win a Division I lacrosse game," Maryland head coach Dave Cottle said. "I give (Navy) credit. They played an outstanding game. It was a tale of two halves and Navy got what they deserved."

Maryland played without freshman attackman Travis Reed, the team's leading scorer with 18 goals. Reed was suspended due to a violation of team rules. Reed's absence certainly seemed to affect the Terrapins' offense, which lacked purpose and struggled to generate quality chances in the first half.

Navy close defensemen Jordy DiNola and Brendan Teague locked up Ryan Young and Grant Catalino, the Terps' other two standout freshmen attackers. It marked the first time Maryland was shut out in a half since April 2, 2005 against Virginia.

"We really challenged our defense this week. I thought in the first half against Georgetown we were soft and did not play mentally tough," Meade said. "Fortunately, the defense played very well tonight."

Navy, meanwhile, had a sound offensive game-plan and executed it flawlessly in the first half - controlling possession, dodging hard from behind and finding open shooters out front.

Sophomore midfielder Patrick Moran (Severn School) fired in a hard overhand crank shot off a feed from behind by Greg Clement to open the scoring. Joe Lennon scored unassisted off a hard bouncer to make it 2-0 and Paul used a wicked crank shot to score an extra man goal set up by a nice skip pass by Moran.

Clement scored from the crease after taking a nifty inside pass from Matt Bitter while Paul added another cannon blast of a shot after taking a feed from defensive midfielder Geoff Leone in transition to complete a 4-0 second quarter for the Midshipmen.

"Navy's second quarter was one of the best anyone has placed against us all year," Cottle said.

For reasons unknown, Navy did not play the same way on offense in the second half. The Midshipmen were not nearly as aggressive and committed 14 turnovers in the third and fourth quarters.

"We struggled offensively in the second half. Maryland came after us some more and we mishandled the ball. Everything went flat. We were just out of sync, we weren't crisp," Meade said.

One could see momentum slowly shifting to Maryland, which finally got on the scoreboard with 4:03 remaining in the third quarter when midfielder Drew Evans cut to the crease and scored on a perfect pass from Young. Dan Groot scored an extra man goal less than three minutes later and suddenly the Terps were right back in the game.

Meade stated otherwise afterward, but it appeared the Midshipmen tried to stall away the fourth quarter instead of trying to build on the lead. Regardless of the mindset, Navy took just one shot over the final 15 minutes while committing several costly turnovers.

Meade had said the Mids could not afford to foul the Terrapins, who have been very effective on extra man offense of late. Navy did not commit a penalty for 43 12 minutes, but then was whistled for two in a row in short order and paid the price.

Ritz and Groot switched places in combining for another extra man goal at the 9:30 mark and that cut the Maryland deficit to 5-3. Just 37 seconds later, Catalino came open on the doorstep and used three quick fakes to beat Phelan to pull the Terps within one.

Navy tried to salt away the rest of the clock, but Paul committed his second turnover in as many possessions to give Maryland the ball with 1:14 to go. Cottle called timeout to set up a play, but Groot overthrew Young while trying to work the ball behind the net and the visitors regained possession.

Paul lost the ball again with 23 seconds to go and Maryland defender Joe Cinosky gobbled up the ground ball. Cinosky passed ahead to midfielder Jeff Reynolds, who found a lane and got off a high percentage shot. Fortunately for Phelan, a Navy defender got a piece of Reynolds' stick, causing the shot to fly way high.

"It's a great feeling to beat a team of this caliber," said Phelan, who entered the starting lineup on March 23 as a result of an injury to Matt Coughlin (hamstring). "I knew based on past years it would be a close game and I knew my defense was going to make the plays we needed to pull out the win."

GreatAmerican · April 6, 2008, 8:50pm

John Tillman, a 1991 Cornell graduate and former player for Hall of Famer Richie Moran, is holding his own in his first year at the helm of the Harvard men's lacrosse program.

Tillman's lacrosse roots have deep Ithaca ties.

After playing on East Hill, Tillman headed across town to South Hill and took up an assistant coaching position under current Ithaca College coach Jeff Long. He stayed there four seasons, and helped groom the 1992 Bombers team that reached the national semifinals. From 1996 to 2007, he served as an assistant to Richie Meade at Navy.

But when Harvard came calling this summer, Tillman jumped at the chance.

"I wasn't unhappy, I had a great life," said Tillman, who will coach against his alma mater for the first time at noon today at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass. "I lived in a great town; I worked with just great kids and great people.

"But if you want to be the best person you can be, you want to challenge yourself," he said. "You're talking about the most recognizable school in the world."

So far, the Crimson are 4-4 with three losses against teams that were nationally ranked at the time they played. Harvard's last two games were defeats to No. 3 Duke (10-3) and No. 20 Denver (10-9, OT). Tillman said he'd like to get Harvard's non-conference schedule to be as difficult as possible.

That'll help against the Cornells and Princetons of the world, which have combined to win every Ivy League title since 1992. Cornell's had a hand in each of the last four.

"I think (Cornell coach Jeff Tambroni) and their staff have done a really good job," Tillman said. "You look at when Dave Pietramala took over in 1998 ... that program hasn't been the same since. That's a credit to what Dave and Jeff and Ben (DeLuca) and Kyle (Georgalas) and those guys have done.

"They've done a super job."

Obviously, Tambroni thought Harvard made a strong hire by bringing in Tillman.

With Ivy League programs like Brown, Dartmouth and Harvard on the rise, Tambroni knows his job is going to stay difficult, if not get tougher.

"(Tillman) has earned the respect of the entire coaching community," he said. "He will be extremely successful before he's done."

GreatAmerican · April 7, 2008, 3:10pm

by Andrew Vitelli, The Examiner

BALTIMORE (Map, News) - As Navy¹s Tommy Phelan took the field at Byrd Stadium, the junior goalie was convinced he already knew the outcome of his ninth-ranked team¹s game against third-ranked Maryland.

I knew from the start that we were going to win this game, the former standout at Loyola Blakefield said. No question.

He made sure his prediction became fact by holding Maryland¹s potent attack scoreless for the first half en route to a 5-4 victory over the Terrapins in front of a crowd of 7,106 on Friday night.

In a game that was supposed to feature Maryland¹s offense that averaged 12.2 goals per game against Navy¹s stingy defense that has held the opposition tofewer than five, Phelan seized the spotlight in the Midshipmen¹s biggest win of the season.

It was the biggest game of my career, Phelan said of Navy¹s fourth victory over the Terrapins in the past five seasons. I just loved every minute of it.

Phelan made 11 saves in just his third career start, as he continued to establish himself as one of the team¹s best players after replacing starter Matt Coughlin, who suffered a hamstring strain against Bucknell. Phelan made 13 saves in an 8-3 win over Colgate on March 23 before making the same number in an 11-10 overtime loss to Georgetown on March 29.

But against the Terrapins (7-3), his job was made easier after Maryland freshman Jake Reed, who has a team-high 18 goals and five assists, was suspended before the game after being charged Thursday morning with possession of marijuana and driving under the influence. Reed was pulled over early Thursday morning while riding a motorized scooter in a parking lot on Knox Road in College Park, and marijuana was found during a search by police.

I made a mistake and I am sorry I let my teammates, coaches and fans of the Maryland men¹s lacrosse program down, Reed, who has no timetable set for his return, said. I¹m taking full responsibility for my actions and am accepting all penalties that have been imposed on me by my coaches and family.

Still, the victory by Navy (9-2) was integral for the Midshipmen remaining in contention for an at-large bid to the 16-team NCAA Tournament if they fail to qualify automatically by winning the Patriot League Tournament.

This was a very critical game for us, said Navy coach Richie Meade. I felt like we worked hard enough to win.

The victory, in which Navy held Maryland to its lowest output in three years, also was pivotal for Phelan, who had spent the past two years as a seldom-used reserve.

But now that he has his chance, he¹s making the most of it. Navy plays at 11th-ranked Army (7-3) on Saturday at noon on ESPNU in a game in which the winner gains the inside track toward claiming the Patriot League¹s regular season title.

We could be the best team in the league and they can be ranked the worst, and it¹s still going to be a battle: That¹s just the way those two schools are, Phelan said. There¹s no question this Army-Navy game could top almost a national championship game, because everyone puts their spirit, puts their guts into it. They know who they¹re representing when they either win or lose.

<a href="mailto:avitelli@baltimoreexaminer.com">avitelli@baltimoreexaminer.com</a>

GreatAmerican · April 7, 2008, 7:04pm

For Immediate Release
Monday, April 7, 2008
Men's Lacrosse Contact: Stacie Michaud (410) 293-8773

Navy's Defense Gains Praise from Patriot League

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - Navy junior net minder Tommy Phelan (Towson, Md.) and first-year starting defenseman Andy Tormey (Syracuse, N.Y.) earned recognition from the Patriot League office Monday afternoon as both players were named to the league's list of men's lacrosse players of the week. Phelan took home goalkeeper of the week kudos, while Tormey was named the league's defensive player of the week. Both are first-time Patriot League player of the week selections.

Anchoring a defensive unit that shut down one of the most potent offensive arsenals in the country, Phelan and Tormey helped lead the Midshipmen to a 5-4 upset over No. 3 Maryland last Friday at Byrd Stadium in College Park. Navy's swarming defense held Maryland scoreless for the first 41 minutes of the game, as it was the first time since 2005 the Terps had been held scoreless in a half. Navy's top-ranked defense held in check the Terps who came into the game ranked seventh in the country with their 12.2 goals per game. Managing just four goals, it was Maryland's lowest goal output since April of 2005 when the Terps dropped a 10-2 decision to Virginia, the same game in which they were held scoreless in a half.

Tormey handled defensive duties against starting attack man Brett Weiss, allowing him to get off just one shot in the contest, while he also pushed up on some of the Terps' powerful midfielders. The Navy junior caused one Maryland
turnover in the contest, while picking up a team-high tying five ground balls. Additionally, Tormey played an instrumental role in Navy's clearing game in which the Mids were successful in 17 of their 18 attempts, a season best.

Making just his third start in goal and second in a row against a top-5 program, Phelan played a pivotal role in leading Navy to its first win over a top-3 opponent since 2004. Making five stops in the first half and six in the second, he helped shut down a Maryland offensive unit that put up 13 goals against the then No. 1-ranked Virginia Cavaliers a week earlier. Two of his stops were against Grant Catalino, the team's second-leading scorer, and another was against Jeff Reynolds, the team's most accurate shooter.

Since taking over the goalkeeping duties from an injured Matt Coughlin (Brightwaters, N.Y.), Phelan has surrendered 18 goals while making 37 saves (.673 sv%, 5.93 GAA). He held Colgate to just three goals, giving up two in the final minutes, while keeping Maryland well below its 12+ goal average. He has produced double-digit saves in each of his three starts, including a career-high 13 against Colgate and nationally-ranked Georgetown.

The sixth-ranked Midshipmen will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to West Point where they will face No. 17 Army in the annual Star Game. Faceoff is set for 12:00 pm at Michie Stadium. Saturday's contest will be televised live on ESPNU with Rob Simmelkjaer (play by play) and former Army head coach Jack Emmer (analyst) calling the action. Pete Medhurst will lend his voice to the broadcast on 1430 WNAV and 1050 WFED. Additionally, a pay-per-view video feed will be available via Knight Vision on Army's web site at GoArmySports.comThe</a> Official Web site of Army Athletics or follow the game for free via the live stats link found on the lacrosse schedule page.

GreatAmerican · April 14, 2008, 9:30pm

April 7th, 2008 by Jon Brand

As the college lacrosse world starts looking towards the end of the regular season, conference tournaments and, ultimately, where teams will be seeded in the NCAA tournament come May, were going to keep tabs on who we think the top 8 seeds in the tournament will be. This week, we inaugurate Inside Lacrosses Top 8 Teams with pretty much the same lineup we had when we unveiled our mock-first round brackets last week.

There is one notable exception, however, and a couple of minor changes. Hopkins was routed by Duke this week, capping an inglorious five week stretch for the Blue Jays, so theyve dropped out (much to the chagrin of our readership, Im sure) and have been replaced by Navy, who, despite not scoring in the second half, topped Maryland 5-4.

All the prescription thats fit to print, after the jump.

How they got here: An 8-0 record to open the season, including dominant ACC wins over Maryland and North Carolina. They stumbled with their first loss of the season to Georgetown in March, but have responded with three in a row, including a big win over reeling Hopkins at home this weekend.

What they need to do from here: Attackmen Zack Greer and Matt Danowski need to keep having a great season theyve combined for 123 points on the season so far. If Duke wants the top seed in the ACC tournament, they have to beat UVA next weekend. And if they want to get the number one seed in the NCAA tournament, they need to at least win the ACC tournament, if not also beat Virginia in the regular season.

What they cant do from here: They cant lose to Virginia and then bow out in the first game of the ACC tournament that would give UVA the edge seeding-wise.

A quick note: When talking about the ACC tournament in any of the segments here, were operating under the condition (and our prediction) that Duke will beat UVA next week to secure the top seed.

If UVA beats Duke, however, that would leave three of the four ACC teams at 2-1. More on the tiebreaking procedures later.

How they got here: They won their first nine games before an ACC loss at Maryland two weekends ago. Theyve beaten Syracuse, Hopkins and UNC, all of which came in overtime. Brian Carroll has been a big finisher for the Wahoos this season, netting two OT game-winners.

What they need to do from here: To maintain this ranking, they need to at least win one out of the two ACC tournament games (their first-round/semi-final game will be a rematch with the Terps). If they lose to Duke in the regular season, it wont be a terrible loss, especially if the Devils keep winning. And their strength of schedule will be better than Cuse and they beat them head-to-head - so they have that advantage if they lose one more.

What they cant do from here: Lose that first-round ACC game. A loss to the Terps would be detrimental to the Cavs high seed. They need that extra ACC win to boost their SOS.

<h1>3 Syracuse (8-1)</h1>

How they got here: Syracuses only loss of the season so far has come against Virginia, an OT thriller at the Face-Off Classic in Baltimore. Theyve won six straight since then, including big OT wins over Hopkins and Georgetown. Steven Brooks has been their leader in crunch time he has two game winning goals and two OT-forcing goals on the season.

What they need to do from here: Win out. Basically, the Orange need to take care of business the rest of the way to keep a good seed. They have five games left, with the Cornell game tomorrow their biggest test. A win against the Big Red could add some punch to their SOS.

What they cant do from here: Lose to Cornell AND to either Albany or UMass. If they just lose to Cornell, they might drop a seed, but a loss to down Albany and UMass teams (who typically play them close) could prove costly.

<h1>4 Maryland (7-3)</h1>

How they got here: Big wins early and often. In the first game of the season, the young Terps convincingly took out a veteran Georgetown team. Then they beat UNC and UVA in back to back games, putting together their best performance of the season. This past weekend, they stumbled against Navy, though.

What they need to do from here: To accentuate their seeding, they would need to win the ACC tournament outright, but they probably cant get past Duke. To maintain their place, they definitely need to beat Hopkins this weekend. Theyll have to find someone to replace leading scorer Travis Reed, who was suspended indefinitely following a DUI arrest last week.

What they cant do: Lose to Hopkins or Penn. A loss to one of those teams would probably drop the Terps seed, but not significantly.

<h1>5 Georgetown (7-2)</h1>

How they got here: After a slow start (losses to Maryland and Syracuse), the Hoyas have been playing good lacrosse. They handed Duke their first loss of the season and followed up with a big OT win at Navy.

What they need to do from here: Theyre 3-0 against ECAC opponents heading into their last four games, which are all against conference foes. The most important game will be the Loyola matchup this weekend the Greyhounds are also undefeated in league play.

What they cant do: At this point, it would be hard to see the Hoyas not getting an at-large if they lose to Loyola, but their strength of schedule suffers from here on out, so its not improbable if they lose more than once. They cant have any lapses against weaker ECAC teams, which has happened already (they eked out an OT win against Hobart earlier in the season).

How they got here: Early wins over Cornell, Notre Dame and then a solid victory over Hopkins in Baltimore. Though UNCs lost all of their regular season ACC games, their victories over other top teams helps their seeding. Plus, their strength of schedule is high.

What they need to do from here: A win in the ACC first-round over Duke would be great for their tournament placement, but thats unlikely. Just need to beat Ohio State and Hofstra to close out the regular season.

What they cant do: Lose to OSU or Hofstra. The Ohio State game is on neutral ground, in Baltimore, and the Buckeyes have lost all of their games in OT. And Hofstra is at home.

<h1>7 Cornell (8-1)</h1>

How they got here: They started the season off well, with an OT win over Navy, but lost to Carolina a few weeks later. Since then, theyve rattled off seven straight wins, with two one-goal wins over Army and Yale.

What they need to do from here: A win over Syracuse tomorrow would be nice, but its vital to take the Ivy games against Brown and Princeton (both also currently undefeated in Ivy League play) later in the month.

What they cant do: Not win the Ivy Leagues AQ. They were one goal away from a loss to Yale and Harvard played them close on Saturday, so the Big Red will have to be careful of their last three Ivy opponents. If they dont beat Syracuse and lose the Ivy AQ, Cornell might miss the NCAA tournament.

How they got here: After an 8-1 start to the season, Navy had started to focus more on their out-of conference schedule (which usually gives them the tournament caliber games they need) with an OT loss to Georgetown. But they bounced back in their biggest test of the year so far with a huge win at Maryland.

What they need to do from here: A win in the Patriot League tournament is the key to their invite to the tournament, so their last conference game against Army will be key to securing the top spot and home-field advantage. Also, the last regular season game vs. Hopkins could provide the extra boost they need for seeding.

What they cant do: Lose the Patriot League AQ. While it wouldnt knock the Mids out of the tournament if they lost the conference tournament, it might drop them out of seeding talk come tournament selection time.

GreatAmerican · April 14, 2008, 9:44pm

Game 12: Navy at Army - Star Game
Saturday, April 12 12:00 pm West Point, N.Y. Michie Stadium

Media Information
Television: ESPNU, Rob Simmelkjaer (play by play), Jack Emmer (analyst)

Radio/Internet: 
Listen: 1430 WNAV, 1050 WFED (Pete Medhurst); Sirius Ch. 127
Listen & Watch: Knight Vision on GoArmySports.comThe</a> Official Web site of Army Athletics
Listen: Navy All-Access on NavySports.com</a> - Official Athletic Site for Navy Athletics
Live Stats: Live Stats on GoArmySports.comThe</a> Official Web site of Army Athletics

Game Preview
Having already locked up at minimum a share of the Patriot League regular season title, the Midshipmen are looking to extend their 13-game winning streak over Army (7-3, 3-1 Patriot League) on Saturday when sixth-ranked Navy (9-2, 5-0 Patriot League) travels to West Point for the annual Star Game ... faceoff is slated for 12:00 pm at Michie Stadium.
Saturday's contest will be televised live on ESPNU with Vice President, Corporate Projects at ESPN Rob Simmelkjaer (play by play) and former Army lacrosse coach Jack Emmer (analyst) calling the action.
The Voice of Navy Lacrosse Pete Medhurst will make the call live on 1430 WNAV, as well as 1050 WFED.
Additionally, fans can log onto GoArmySports.comThe</a> Official Web site of Army Athletics where a pay-per-view video feed is available ... a live stats link will also be provided on the schedule page via Army's web site.
Navy's defense held No. 3 Maryland scoreless for 41 minutes, while sophomore attack Tim Paul scored a pair of goals, including the game-winner to lead the Mids to a 5-4 upset victory over the Terps ... it was Navy's fifth game of the season decided by one goal.
Army had its five-game winning streak snapped last Friday by Patriot League foe Bucknell ... the Bison jumped out to a 6-0 halftime lead and never looked back as it claimed a 7-4 win over the Black Knights ... it was Army's first Patriot League loss of the season.

Taking the Field in ...
10 The Mids are just a win away from turning in a program-record fifth-straight 10-win campaign under head coach Richie Meade.
9 Navy has held the lead at halftime in 10 of its 11 games this season.
8 The Midshipmen have scored eight or more goals in 18 consecutive games against Army.
7 Nick Mirabito (18-19) is one of only seven players in the country who have amassed 18 goals and 18 assists this season.
6 Nick Mirabito has scored at least one goal in all six contests against Army, five of the six he has turned in multiple goals ... has scored 13 goals in six games.
5 Navy has held its opponent to five or fewer goals in eight of its 11 games, including each of its five Patriot League contests.
4 Navy is 4-0 in road games this season.
3 A win over Army would mark the third time in its five years (2004 (7-0), '07) as a member of the Patriot League that it will have turned in an undefeated record in conference action.
2 Navy's two losses this season have been overtime decisions to sixth-ranked Cornell and fourth-ranked Georgetown.
1 Navy is No. 1 in the country in wins over the last five years with 58 ... Duke is second with 56 wins.

The Army-Navy Rivalry
Not just a rivalry played on the gridiron, the Army-Navy lacrosse tradition dates back more than 80 years, when the Academies played the inaugural game on May 31, 1924, with the Mids prevailing, 5-0, at West Point.
Army and Navy battled each other from there out on a yearly basis until 1929 when the series was sidelined for four years ... the series resumed in 1933 with an 8-5 Army victory and has not been interrupted since.
In 2004, Navy joined the Patriot League for lacrosse ... with the new conference affiliation, it guaranteed the two service academies would meet at least once a year, and possibly a second time in the Patriot League Tournament.
There have been only four years in which the two programs have met twice in a season, including each of the last two seasons ... in 1978, the Mids earned a 16-13 regular-season victory over the Black Knights in Annapolis ... nearly three weeks later, the fourth-ranked Midshipmen defeated No. 5 Army, 16-15, at home in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
In 1981, 12th-ranked Army upset the No. 6 Mids on their home field, claiming a 9-8 victory ... Navy, however, picked off No. 3 Army at West Point, 16-10, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament a month later.
The two programs played one another twice in 2005, '06 and '07, as Army and Navy met during the regular season, as well as the championship game of the Patriot League Tournament ... Navy earned wins in all six games, including the April 16, 2005, matchup in which an Army-Navy record crowd of 12,117 piled into Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and cheered the Mids to a 12-9 victory.
The Midshipmen lead the overall series, 56-26-3, dominating the series as of late by winning 13 in a row ... it is the longest winning streak by either team in the series. 
Additionally, Navy owns a 51-26-3 advantage in Star Games, including 10-straight wins. The Mids have won 13 of the last 15 Star Games. 
The largest margin of victory by either team has been an 11-point spread that has occurred on five different occasions ... the most recent 11-goal win was by Navy in last year's Patriot League Tournament semifinal matchup in Annapolis where the Mids handed the Black Knights a 12-1 loss.

Navy vs. Army - The Series
Saturday's contest marks the 86th edition of Army vs. Navy on the lacrosse field and the 76th consecutive year the two programs have battled one another ... it's the longest continuous lacrosse series between Navy and another team.
Navy owns a commanding 55-26-3 series advantage, winning 13-straight contests, including 10 Star Games.
The last time Army defeated Navy was on April 25, 1997, when the Black Knights edged the Mids, 14-12, in Annapolis.
Navy has scored eight or more goals in 18-straight games against Army ... in 15 of those contests, the Mids have reached double digits ... during the Mids' current 13-game run, Navy has been held to single digits just twice.
The MIdshipmen own a 27-13-2 advantage over Army in games played at West Point, including wins in each of the last five meetings.
Since joining the Patriot League in 2004, Navy has faced Army twice in a season three times ... there have been only five times in the 86-game history (dating back to 1924) that the two programs have battled twice in one season (1978 and 1981 in the NCAA Tournament, 2005, 2006 and 2007 in the Patriot League Tournament).

Last Time ...
Patriot League Tournament
Tenth-ranked Navy dominated Army from the opening face-off, as the Midshipmen defeated the fourth-seeded Black Knights, 12-1, in the first of two Patriot League Tournament semifinal games in Annapolis.
The 11-goal victory ties the series record for largest margin of victory which it has accomplished five times in the 85-game history.
The one-goal output by Army marks the fewest goals it has scored against Navy since 1989 when the Mids defeated the Black Knights, 12-1.
Eight different players put goals on the scoreboard for the Mids, including four who each tucked in a pair.
Seniors Tommy Wallin and Billy Looney, along with Tim Paul and Nick Mirabito each scored two goals and added an assist, while senior Ian Dingman punched in a goal and dealt out a pair of assists.
Navy scored just 45 seconds into the contest as Wallin fed Paul as he was cutting to the middle of the field, just two yards outside of the crease.
Wallin poked in his first goal of the game at the 8:41 mark, triggering five goals over the next five minutes by five different players.
One of the highlights of the opening quarter was when Dingman fed All-Patriot League long stick midfielder Victor Barger for his fourth goal this spring off four shots ... after a lengthy scrum ensued off a face-off, Navy picked up the loose ball with Dingman finding Barger on the doorstep.
Mirabito scored the last goal of the first quarter and the first marker in the second quarter to push Navy's lead to 7-0 with just over seven minutes to play in the opening half.
Paul fed Mirabito at the top of the crease when Mirabito was met by an Army defender who sent him airborne. Mirabito, though, stuck the goal.
Army finally got on the scoreboard with 6:19 to go in the second quarter when middie Kevin LoRusso rippled the back of the net off a shot from nearly 10 yards out.
Navy then scored back-to-back goals by Looney and Paul to head into the locker room with a 9-1 advantage.
The Mids went on to score three in the final quarter, including the first-collegiate goal by sophomore Sean Standen.
Navy's defense, led by All-Patriot League players Jordan DiNola, Andrew Dow and Brendan Teague, held Army scoreless in the second half.
The Mids more than doubled-up Army's shot production as they scored 12 goals on 33 shots against Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year Adam Fullerton, while the Black Knights put up just one goal on 14 shots.

Last Time ... Regular Season
Seniors Tommy Wallin, Ian Dingman and Billy Looney scored goals in the final nine minutes to lead No. 8 Navy to a 12-9 victory over arch rival Army in front of 11,370 fans at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. 
Seven different players scored goals, while another two chipped in assists as Navy concluded the Patriot League portion of its schedule undefeated.
It looked as thought it would be a blowout early on as the Mids opened up a 3-0 lead seven minutes into the game.
Army briefly stopped Navy's momentum at the 6:20 mark when sophomore Brooks Korvin fired off a shot from seven yards out.
Navy took a 6-2 lead when Wallin found midfielder William Wallace cutting to the middle with just 32 seconds remaining in the half.
On the ensuing face-off, the Mids failed to get a specialist out in a reasonable amount of time and Army was awarded possession. 
The Black Knights wasted little time in setting up, as rookie Brandon Butler found Jason Peyer who tucked in his first-collegiate goal against the Mids with just five ticks left in the opening half.
Navy scored back-to-back goals just 29 seconds apart in the first three minutes of the second half to open up a five-goal lead, its largest of the game. 
Army, though, went on a five-goal run to knot the score at the end of the third quarter. 
After a goal by Justin Bokmeyer at the 12:17 mark, the Black Knights scored three-straight goals in unique fashion. 
Wigdzinski fired off a shot that was initially saved by Navy keeper Colin Finnegan, but the ball popped up and Finnegan lost site of it as it fell to the ground and literally rolled across the line.
Five minutes later, Ryan Chase sent a shot that again was initially saved by Finnegan, but Peyer snatched it out of the air and poked it in the open net. 
At the 3:43 mark, Korvin got off a slow bouncing shot as he was falling to the ground that somehow found its way into the goal.
Army knotted the game at eight-all when second-year middie Alex Rhoads punched in a shot from 10 yards out.
Navy regained the lead, when Mikelis Visgauss won the draw to start the fourth and fed senior Victor Barger who raced to the left side of the field and found a gap.
Army tied the game at 9-9 (10:43) when Bokmeyer threaded a pass from the left side of the field that went right through a pack of players and LoRusso dunked it in as he sat on the crease.
Wallin gave the Mids the lead for good with 8:31 to go as he fought off a triple-team that sent him to the ground as he release a shot from five yards out.

Upon Further Review
The following are a few highlights/notes from last Friday's Navy-Maryland game.
The 5-4 decision secured Navy's first win over an opponent ranked among the top three since beating the top-ranked Terps in 2004, 9-6.
The 5-4 Navy win marked the Mids' fifth one-goal game of the season, however the first one-goal contest that was not decided in extra minutes.
Navy held Maryland scoreless for the first 41 minutes of the contest ... it was the Terps' first scoreless have since 2005 when Virginia defeated them, 10-2.
The four-goal output by the Terps was also their lowest since that same Virginia loss in '05.
Navy extended its winning streak to 21 in a row when holding its opponent to under seven or fewer goals.
Maryland, on the other hand, held the Mids without a goal in the second half, marking Navy's first scoreless half since 1999 when Johns Hopkins dropped the Mids, 11-1.
Senior attack Nick Mirabito had his 15-game point scoring streak snapped ... for just the second time in his 57-game career, he was held without a goal or an assist ... ironically, it was Maryland who snapped his 40-game streak just a year ago ... additionally, his 14-game streak with an assist was also stopped.
Sophomore attack Tim Paul scored a pair of goals in the opening half, including his second game-winning goal of the season and third of his career ... he punched in the game-winner against Bucknell earlier this season with 1:20 remaining in overtime.

Patriot League Success
Since joining the Patriot League in 2004, Navy is 36-2 (.947) against opponents from the league, including an 8-0 mark in the Patriot League Tournament ... the Mids lost regular-season contests to Bucknell in '05 and Colgate in '06, both games were on the road.
Navy has won 18 consecutive games against Patriot League teams ... its last loss was a 6-3 decision against Colgate on March 18, 2006, in Hamilton, N.Y.
Navy owns a 14-game Patriot League regular-season winning streak ... it's the longest winning streak in conference play in the country ... ironically, Cornell and Georgetown, who both beat the Mids in overtime this season, are second with 13 wins in the Ivy and ECAC leagues, respectively.
The Mids own a 19-0 record at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium against Patriot League competition since joining the conference ... the Mids are 13-0 during the regular season 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 each of its five years as a member of the league, including this year ... additionally, the Mids have claimed the league's tournament crown four times with this year's tournament to be decided on April 25, 27 at a site to be determined.
24 different Mids have garnered All-Patriot League recognition, while 13 of the 24 have earned honors multiple times.
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 last spring.

GreatAmerican · April 14, 2008, 9:49pm

Why Army-Navy is the most important lacrosse game every year.

You can see the "National Cheer Championship" on network television, but not lacrosse.

Almost every lacrosse board contains statements with wild claims about the growth of lacrosse. Some are true, but many are not. And all have to be put into proper context.

There are about 7,100,000 sanctioned high school athletes in the US (more than 10% of which are located in one state: Texas)--that represents a participation rate of about 53% of the total school population. Lacrosse has never been among the top ten high school sports in terms of either programs or individual participation. No doubt lacrosse is growing, but what does that mean?

Of those 7,100,000 high school athletes (4,200,000 males, 2,900,000 females), 107,000 play lacrosse (59,000 males, 48,000 females). How big is that? Well, it's about a quarter of the number that play volleyball (428,000), and approximately one-tenth of the number that play basketball (1,200,000), and is less than the number that participate in track and field. Oh, and that's just indoor track and field--the outdoor version attracts ten times as many participants. There are more girls' field hockey programs than lacrosse programs. And ice hockey, played primarily in a few northern states, has more boys' programs nationally than does lacrosse (the same could be said of bowling). Among girls, amazingly, field hockey is 50% more popular than lacrosse. And, of course, lacrosse is dwarfed by football and baseball. Oh, and that famous statement made that lacrosse is the "fastest growing" high school sport? By next year competitive cheer leading will surpass it. Ten years ago, compe!
ti!
tive cheer leading didn't exist at the high school level. According to the New York Times, American Sports Data, a research firm in Hartsdale, N.Y., estimated 3.3 million active cheerleading participants--in 1999. In the same article, the Times asserted, "In 1981, Varsity [Spirit, a private company] began national competitions, which were picked up by ESPN in 1984 and have been televised since, with an average viewership of 500,000 households. Not to be outdone, National Spirit's camp and competition division, the National Cheerleaders Association, also developed national competitions that are now televised on CBS, the USA network and Fox." An average viewership of 500,000 households--in 1999? That's just a little less that the lacrosse championship has drawn on Memorial Day. No wonder national cheer rates network TV and lacrosse does not.

So far as growth rate is concerned, all sports that start small grow faster. When you go from one to two, you grow 100%. When you go from 100 to 110, you only grow 10%. Lacrosse may have impressive growth rates in that sense, but it's coming from a base where it was once almost exclusively played in New York and Maryland.

Which high school sports are growing at the fastest rates? Not lacrosse. It hasn't even penetrated half the 50 states yet. Try bowling, swimming and diving, and, yes, soccer.

That last one hurts. Soccer. We all know that soccer is the model most sports try to follow when attempting to build youth participation. No sport has taken over the playing fields of America faster and more pervasively than has soccer in such a short period of time. Soccer has outgrown lacrosse by miles, by almost any measure. But what does that mean? If soccer is so popular in America, why do all professional soccer leagues seem to fail before the ink on their season tickets dry? Well, almost. Indoor soccer has succeeded--to a degree. But is soccer really popular in a spectator sense? Soccer attendance figures, divided by the number of participants, have to be miniscule. When is the last time you saw (outdoor) soccer from America on television? Or an NCAA Division I contest? Does that tell you something? No sport has been given more chances at the professional level and failed so many times as soccer has in the U.S. Hopkins students in the 1960's used to walk down 33rd Str!
ee!
t to watch the Baltimore Bays play at Memorial Stadium. That was about 14 professional soccer teams ago.

Sports success in America is defined by the viewing audience. And network TV is the largest part of the audience for the most popular sports in this country. That's not going to change. The American Football League succeeded because CBS had the NFL contract and NBC did not. NBC wanted to show football on Sundays, so they picked up the AFL, and the rest is history. When the USFL (United States Football League) could not get a network TV deal, it folded, just like the WFL (World Football League).

College lacrosse is now shown on television due to the proliferation of cable and satellite stations that do not need large audiences to break even. Some colleges allow their games to be broadcast without compensation. But for lacrosse to really gain in popularity, it needs the money that only huge network TV audiences offer. Will that ever happen?

It already did. Once. CBS broadcast the NCAA Championship game more than 15 years ago. It was an abysmal flop. No one watched it.

Which brings the Swami to the point. Yes, lacrosse has grown, but not all over the country. For lacrosse to be watched nationally, the next network televised game will have to attract viewers that do not see the game regularly, if at all. What kind of game will that be? Johns Hopkins at Hofstra? That's almost always a good game, but will people in Oregon or Florida or Texas watch it? Not likely. Readers of this publication might know that these are great lacrosse programs, but the rest of the country couldn't tell you in which states these schools are located.

Let's face facts, right now there is more bicycling on television than lacrosse. And there are only 50-some Division I men's lacrosse teams--more or less the same number there have ever been. With those figures, it's obvious that regardless of meaningless statistical growth rates spouted off by the Lacrosse Establishment, this sport needs a major shot in the arm.

If you were sitting in Texas or Florida scanning a TV schedule and noticed that Johns Hopkins was playing lacrosse at Hofstra, would you think of that as a major game? Or some sort of minor athletic event played by two colleges with teams you had never heard of? How many viewers from those states would watch? Probably not many. That's too bad. If they watched, they might enjoy it and watch again. Then you're talking real revenues for college lacrosse programs, and the explosion of the sport.

Just look at football. Army and Navy raked in $20 million from the cities of Philadelphia and Baltimore just to play there from 2004-2008--and that's not TV revenues. The Army-Navy football classic is no longer merely a big college football game, but rather a mini-Super Bowl with attendant festivities. When the Mids played in the Emerald Bowl at SBC Stadium in California in 2004, they had advance ticket sales of 20,000. Opponent New Mexico managed less than 4,000. That's why the Las Vegas Sun said the Las Vegas Bowl would have been more successful if it had invited Navy rather than UCLA--despite the fact that UCLA is a major football power located only four hours away.

When Navy played Syracuse in the 2004 Championship Game in Baltimore, about 1,000,000 people watched ESPN. Two years ago, the same game, between Hopkins and Duke only drew about 531,000 viewers. A mere 13 paid commercials for businesses were broadcast during the game, and during several time outs the camera never left the field. What does that say about the faith of advertisers in the sport? Placed in context, about 6,000,000 viewers watch NBC's Today Show each morning during the week. And about 15,000,000 watch an average NFL game (the Super Bowl draws over 150,000,000 viewers).

The week after the 2005 Army-Navy game, CBS aired the National Cheer Association's National Championship at 2:00 PM--and it wasn't even live. What does that tell you about how starved the networks are for sports that have national, and not just regional, appeal?

Now, this story might be unlikely, but it's certainly not fantasy. Let's say that two good Army and Navy lacrosse teams make it through the playoffs and into the National Championship in Philadelphia. The contest would take place in the same stadium where the Army-Navy Football classic is played. The service academies' athletic departments know the drill for the big games in Philadelphia, as do the fans. They're already familiar with the media arrangements, publicity, logistics, lodging, and security.

Any Army-Navy championship lacrosse match up would sell out to standing room only. ESPN, which is owned by ABC, may be able to step the game up to a network broadcast.

Under those circumstances, would the President want people to say he didn't have enough time to attend a game between two institutions whose recent graduates are now in combat? Or do you think politicians are TV shy?

Would all those people Texas and Florida watch this game? You had better believe it.

The minute Marine One sets down on a helipad in South Philly and the Commander-in Chief steps off to view a lax contest, this sport enters a new era.

It's Army and Navy that can put this sport on network TV. And network TV can supply the revenues to change lacrosse forever. Once college athletic departments get a whiff of some network TV cash, you've suddenly got a lot of new programs.

Ironically, it is often those who stand to benefit from this the most--the mainstream lacrosse media, who insist that Army-Navy is not as worthy as Hopkins-Princeton-Syracuse-Virginia, etc.

But they've got it backwards.

The Army-Navy game is college lacrosse's launching pad into major media. That's why it's the most important game of the year--every year. And that's why it deserves the support of the entire lacrosse community.
<a href="mailto:swami@laxswami.com">swami@laxswami.com</a>

GreatAmerican · April 14, 2008, 10:05pm

April 09, 2008
Sean Burns

Army-Navy is 365 days a year. For 364 days and 21 hours, youre waiting. Its those three hours that youre on the field: thats living.

<ul>
<li>Navy coach Richie Meade</li>
</ul>

More than just a lacrosse game, Army-Navy is a way of life in both West Point and Annapolis.

Plebes at both venerable military academies are required to pay their respects to the tradition, with cadets greeting upperclass students and officers with Beat Navy! year round and midshipmen scurrying around campus shouting Go Navy! on every left turn and Beat Army! every time they hang a right.

You run around for 10 months saying that, it sort of gets into your head, Navy junior defensive middie Geoff Leone says. [The rivalry is] about bragging rights and personal pride, but theres a lot of mutual respect on both sides.

The bragging rights have been mostly on Navys side in recent years; the Midshipmen have taken 13 straight contests from their archnemesis since 1998. Starting in 1924 with a 5-0 Naval Academy win at West Point, the series has been contested at least once every year since 1933.

More than anything else, this game is about great men on both sides of two great institutions, says Navy coach Richie Meade, who served as an assistant coach at both schools (Navy from 1984-88, Army from 1991-94) prior to taking over the head coaching reins in Annapolis in 1995. The respect just transcends the game, because everybody on both sides remembers the men who have played before who have gone on to give their lives in service of this country. The legacy of the men who have played in [the game] goes on forever.

Though Navy has run the table of late, eight of those 13 recent wins have come by three goals or less, including last years 12-9 regular-season game in Annapolis. Navy, ranked No. 8 in the country at the time, ran out to a 9-4 lead, only to watch the unranked Black Knights storm back to knot the score at nine with five straight goals in the second half. Navy wound up taking the contest, but the impression of the nature of the game stuck with players on both sides.

Its Army-Navy lacrosse, its going to be a great, close game, says Army junior Brooks Korvin, a Maryland native who was recruited by both schools, like most players on both sides of the rivalry. The ball has just bounced their way the last few times weve played, but its still a game we look forward to all year.

With all the attention paid to the rivalry Navy has a yardarm on campus displaying the pennant of every varsity team thats defeated Army year round and both schools get special stars on their varsity sweaters for a win in the series neither coach has to add much fuel to the motivational fire. Instead, they often have to make sure their players arent overhyped when the contest starts.

You have to do a lot of [emotion management], Army coach Joe Alberici says. Theres going to be ebb and flow in the game, so you cant go out all emotionally charged and blow all of your energy in 10 minutes.

No matter how the game turns out, both schools relish the chance to play each other intensely but cleanly every time they line up.

Army-Navy is 365 days a year, Meade says. For 364 days and 21 hours, youre waiting. Its those three hours that youre on the field: thats living.

Id love to say that going to the NCAAs or making the final four is the ultimate, but beating Army is why were alive. Nothing compares to it in lacrosse.

GreatAmerican · April 14, 2008, 10:06pm

IL</a> TV

navy2010 · April 16, 2008, 12:41pm

ouch.

a long ride back to Annapolis.

GreatAmerican · April 16, 2008, 8:41pm

Mids among Inside Lacrosse Mid-Season Report

For Immediate Release
Friday, April 11, 2008
Men's Lacrosse Contact: Stacie Michaud (410) 293-8773

Inside Lacrosse Names Six Mids All-America Favorites

BALTIMORE, Md. - Two-time All-America defenseman Jordan DiNola (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) is among six Navy men's lacrosse players whom Inside Lacrosse has selected as its favorites for All-America recognition come Memorial Day weekend. In a week-long special, Inside Lacrosse selected its list of players who have separated themselves from the rest of the pack in its Mid-Season Report.

Three members of Navy's stellar defense earned kudos from Inside Lacrosse, including DiNola who was one of three players whom IL predicts as a first-team. Wing man and classmate Brendan Teague (Annapolis, Md.), who has never earned All-America status, was named a third-teamer. Meanwhile, short stick defensive midfielder Geoff Leone (Massapequa, N.Y.) was chosen as the second-best player at his position in the country.

As a package, the Navy defense is ranked No. 1 in the country, surrendering 4.85 goals per game. The Mids have held nine of their 11 opponents to seven or fewer goals this season and seven of their last eight to five or fewer goals. Navy's defense has held six of its 11 opponents scoreless in the opening period as the Mids have outscored their foes, 21-8, in the first period of action. Navy is coming off perhaps its best defensive half in recent memory. The Mids held Maryland scoreless for the first 41 minutes of play and held the Terps to four goals, well below their 12-plus goal average.

Ranked No. 5 in the country in faceoff percentage, senior Mikelis Visgauss earned a tip of the hat by IL who served up honorable mention kudos for the Setauket, N.Y. native. Visgauss is winning 62.1 percent of the draws he has taken this spring and his 87 wins are the 11th most in program history. Meanwhile, he stands eighth on the Mids' career faceoff wins list with 142.

Sophomore Patrick Moran (Annapolis, Md.) has enjoyed success in his first season as a starter on the Mids' first midfield line. Third on the team in scoring and first out of the midfield, Moran has pitched in 16 points on 14 goals and two assists this spring and is responsible for game-winners against Lehigh and Colgate. Moran saw action in just five games a year ago, targeting a pair of goals, both in the Mids' 19-8 rout over North Carolina.

Finally, senior attack man Nick Mirabito (Binghamton, N.Y.) is projected to be a Second-Team All-America. The Preseason Honorable Mention All-American has scored 20 goals in each of his first three seasons and is just two shy of achieving that feat in 2008. Navy's leading scorer with 37 points on 18 goals and 19 assists, he is ranked 16th in the nation in assists per game (1.73), 19th in points per game (3.36) and 63rd in goals per game (1.64). He is just one of four players in the program's 101-year history who has scored 90 goals and dished out 50 assists and is just one point away from becoming only the ninth player in school history to reach 150 points.

The Mids will be back in action on Saturday when they pay a visit to West Point where No. 6 Navy will battle 17th-ranked Army in the annual Star Game. Action is slated for 12:00 pm at Michie Stadium and will be televised live by ESPNU. A Navy win would give the Mids the No. 1 seed in the Patriot League Tournament April 25 and 27, though a Navy loss would put the Mids in a tie with Army and Bucknell who each have a loss in league competition.

GreatAmerican · April 16, 2008, 8:42pm

April 11, 2008
John Driscoll

The U.S. Military Academy in West Point, N.Y., and the U.S. Naval Academy in
Annapolis, Md., stand as symbols of our nation¹s contribution to the cause
of freedom in the world. On these campuses, history mingles with echoes of
patriotism and heroic sacrifice, and personal challenges give rise to
courage and character.

When No. 6 Navy (9-2, 5-0 Patriot League) invades Michie Stadium on the
hallowed grounds of No. 13 Army (7-3, 3-1) Saturday at noon, the nation¹s
most storied and intense intercollegiate rivalry will be on display once
again. It may be the most important lacrosse game of the Patriot League
season, but for the players on the field it will mean much more.

³They¹re great kids, just great individuals who have the ability to look
down the road and choose to serve their country. It takes a special young
man to do that,² said Navy coach Richie Meade Wednesday afternoon. He spoke
of his respect for the Army players as much as for his own. ³It¹s not about
how good a lacrosse player you are, it¹s about what kind of leader you are.²

About 250 miles to the north, Army coach Joe Alberici was equally
reflective. ³What attracted me to West Point was the quality of the people,
the whole experience,² he said. Alberici was an assistant coach for Mike
Pressler at Duke for nine seasons, and helped build the Blue Devils into a
national powerhouse before arriving on the Hudson in 2006. ³There are
different challenges that students go through here, and at Navy. A lot more
stress and more obligations than athletes face at other programs. It¹s
really a privilege to coach these men.²

Navy has won 13 straight games in the series, the longest winning streak for
either team since their first battle in 1924. The Midshipmen enter the fray
off a stunning 5-4 upset of then-No. 3 Maryland in College Park last Friday
night. Their two losses were to No. 6 Cornell, 8-7, and to No. 4 Georgetown
in overtime, 11-10.

Army played Cornell and No. 2 Syracuse to the wire on the road, losing to
both by one goal, before tripping in Lewisburg, Pa., against Patriot foe
Bucknell, 7-4, last Saturday.

The Breakdown

Attack

Navy fields one of the most dangerous attacks in Division I, and it¹s not
just because of scoring potential. The top four scorers on the Mids¹ roster
run on the first two lines, but controlling possession and strong
fundamental skills make them particularly lethal. Senior Nick Mirabito
(18g/19a, 18 gb) played in the shadow of All American Ian Dingman, but this
is his season and he¹s showing the talented underclassmen the way. Classmate
Gregory Clement (11/4, .750 SOG %, 22 gb) is another threat who worked his
way up the ranks and is having a breakout season. Sophomores Tim Paul (17/5,
25 gb) and Patrick Moran (14/2, 6 gb) have impressed Meade with their speed
and ability to contribute right out of the starting gate. They control the
flow of the game by winning ground balls, avoiding turnovers and patiently
looking for the high percentage shot. This group boasts a solid .370 shot
percentage.

³The guys we played last year played a lot, so a lot of good players behind
them didn¹t always get their chance,² Meade said. ³This season they are, and
they¹re stepping up.²

Army may not appear as deep, but it has several equalizers. The Black
Knights match that .370 shot percentage mark and their starting trio has
plenty of big-game experience. Juniors Brooks Korvin (14/4, 20 gb, .800 SOG
%), Jason Peyer (17/5, 29 gb) and freshman Jeremy Boltus (9/12) combine for
37% of Army¹s scoring, and play a similar ³ball control² style. The Cadets
fare slightly higher in shooting accuracy, including man-up opportunities,
and the Mids a little better in assists to shots ratio. Both teams are
proficient and fundamentally strong.

Edge: Navy * Seniors and depth make the difference here, but it¹s a close
call.

Midfield

Army depends heavily on its midfield for success on both ends of the field,
and the Black Knights have delivered. Senior Justin Bokmeyer (17/7), the
team¹s leading scorer in 2007 with 29 points as an attackman, will eclipse
that performance this season * possibly in this game. Junior Kevin LoRusso
(7/7, 12 gb) and freshman Rob McCallion (10/14) shoot as well as feed, and
two-year letterman Paul Wigdzinski (7/6, 8 gb) brings toughness and
leadership. Senior Andrew Supiano, and sophomores Andrew Maisano and Brandon
Butler help Army keep the intensity level at fever pitch.

Senior defensive middies Roy Ragusa, (1/1, 21 gb) and Mike Hannah (3g, 12
gb), and junior Zach Jansen (22 gb) team with poles Ryan McClure and Jay
Larson to maintain on-ball pressure between the lines. The midfield is where
Army flexes its muscle.

³No question about it,² Alberici said. ³We saw them coming together as
sophomores and juniors. They¹re playing new roles in a lot of ways. The
development of the poles is pivotal, and short stick (Mike) Hannah is
developing into one of the best defensive midfielders I¹ve ever coached.²

Navy will counter with athletes who won¹t top the scoring chart because the
unit runs so deep, and the coaches are constantly sending in fresh legs.
³There are 13 to 14 players in that group who can play with anyone,² coach
Meade said. ³We have four midfields now but you can¹t play four midfields.
We¹ve struggled a little offensively, but our offense is a little different.
We¹ve been moving players in and out based on how they perform and practice.
I think it¹s making them stronger.²

Count on junior Sean Standen (6g) and sophomores Joe Lennon (9/5, 5 gb) and
Basil Daratsos (4/2) to see a lot of duty. Short stick d/m junior Geoff
Leone (2/4, 21 gb) and senior Mikelis Visgauss (56 gb, 62% face-off wins)
are game-changers. Junior Michael Beggins (3g) has started three games for
the Midshipmen; and junior Shane Durkin (4g), Brendan Connors (2/2), Matt
Bitter (2/1) and Kevin Doyle (2g) join those with multiple goals.

Edge: Even * Both units play tenacious defense. Navy has a clear advantage
at the face-off x in Visgauss and Frankie Coppola (51.7%), but the Black
Knight middies score more goals from the front and alleys.

Defense

The discussion begins in the crease. Army¹s Adam Fullerton ranks No. 7
nationally in save percentage (61.7%) and has earned a 6.77 goals against
average (GAA). Navy¹s Tommy Phelan * who held Maryland scoreless for more
than 41 minutes last week * tops that at 64.9% with a 5.44 GAA. However,
Phelan has only faced 97 shots while Fullerton has taken 282 for the Black
Knights. Coach Meade expects to start Phelan at West Point, continuing
Phelan's run of work in releif of goalie Matt Coughlin, who was injured
against Bucknell in mid-March.

³Matt (Coughlin) is doing great,² he said. ³I don¹t know if he¹s 100%, but
he could go if he had to. But Tommy Phelan has done everything we¹ve asked
him to do, and is playing great right now. So, you have to give him the
start.²

As a team, Navy has surrendered a nation¹s best 4.9 goals per game; Army
ranks No. 5, yielding 6.6. The Black Knights have faced Syracuse, Cornell,
Hofstra and Bucknell on the road, which may account for much of that
difference.

Army¹s stop squad is led by a group of seniors who, along with third-year
coach Alberici, have returned Army to prominence. But they have yet to beat
Navy. Jay Larson (24 gb), Ryan McClure (22 gb), Craig Massie (18 gb) and
Adam Hansinger (12 gb) reach at least 6-3 and tip the scale at 200 pounds or
more. Actually, McClure is just under that stretch line, but Alberici said
his fire and leadership make up for it.

Navy silenced its doubters at College Park by silencing a heralded Terps
offense that was averaging 12.2 goals per game against one of the toughest
schedules in the nation. Much of that was due to the Midshipmen¹s ball
control offense, but their big men were just as impressive. Seniors Jordan
DiNola (27 gb, 3 caused turnovers) and Brendan Teague (27, 3 CT), junior
Andy Tormey (41 gb), and sophomore LSM Jaren Woeppel (24 gb) do most of the
damage. They slide and double as well as any team out there, and have a
per-game advantage over Army in ground balls, 37-30. The Mids are holding
opponents to a .205 shot percentage.

Edge: Navy * The Midshipmen field one of the best defenses in the nation
every year. Even in their two losses, the D had Navy positioned for victory.

X-Factor

Heart

There is no predictable measure for this, but it may well decide this game.
Navy just won its biggest game of the year. Army has been preparing for the
Black Knights¹ biggest game since a 12-9 loss to Navy in Annapolis last
year. This is the seniors¹ last chance to beat their rivals, and they¹ve got
that chance on the banks of the Hudson.

GreatAmerican · April 16, 2008, 8:45pm

by Ron Snyder, The Examiner

Navy junior Tommy Phelan described the significance of his sixth-ranked team's game against rival Army today at noon perfectly.

"This is our biggest game of the year, especially for the seniors on the team who want to graduate without ever losing to Army," he said. "Whoever wins this game has bragging rights all year and there¹s even more importance in this game with Army right behind us in the standings."

But the 13th-ranked Black Knights also have plenty of motivation. Army hasn¹t defeated Navy since the 1997 season, but when it takes the field at Michie Stadium, it will be one gigantic victory away from becoming a major factor in the race for the Patriot League¹s regular season title. Army (7-3, 3-1) enters today's game on ESPNU a week after it ended its five game-winning streak with a loss to 10th-ranked Bucknell.

But still, the Black Knights average a league-best 9.8 goals per game and are second in scoring defense and fifth nationally at 6.6 scores a game. Junior attacker Jason Peyer is Army¹s leading scorer with 17 goals, with freshman midfielder Rob McCallion leading the team in points with 10 goals and 14 assists.

And that's when Phelan enters. He backs a unit that leads the nation in scoring defense at 4.91 goals per game after holding Maryland to just four goals in a 5-4 win at Byrd Stadium last week. The Midshipmen (9-2, 5-0) are attempting to win their 20th straight league game, beat Army for the 14th straight time and secure home field advantage for the Patriot League Tournament, set for April 25-27, by winning the regular season title.

Navy junior defender Andy Tormey, the Patriot League Defender of Week, said the Midshipmen¹s performance against Maryland gave them more confidence as they try to improve their standing for the NCAA Tournament next month. The Midshipmen automatically qualify for the 16-team field if they win the Patriot League Tournament, but if they don¹t, they would be in great shape to earn an at-large spot if they defeat Army.

"Winning against Maryland allowed us to put all of our focus into Army this week," Tormey said. "Whether it is football, basketball or lacrosse, there is no rivalry in sports like Army-Navy. There is always a great atmosphere and our defense has gotten to the point where we are extremely comfortable with each other."

<a href="mailto:rsnyder@baltimoreexaminer.com">rsnyder@baltimoreexaminer.com</a>

GreatAmerican · April 16, 2008, 8:52pm

For Immediate Release
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Men's Lacrosse Contact: Stacie Michaud (410) 293-8773

Army Lax Snaps 13-Year Drought Against Midshipmen

WEST POINT, N.Y. - The sixth-ranked Navy men's lacrosse team saw its 13-game winning streak over Army come to an end Saturday, as the No. 17 Black Knights upset the Midshipmen on senior day at Michie Stadium by a 9-6 margin. Army jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead and never trailed despite Navy knotting the game up at 3-3 early in the second period.

Senior attack Justin Bokmeyer put the Black Knights on the board just 55 seconds into the game when keeper Adam Fullerton stuffed a Joe Lennon (Westminster, Md.) shot and sent an outlet pass up the middle to Mike Hanna. Hanna charged down the field and found Bokmeyer anchored on the left side of the field for the goal. Less than two minutes later, junior middie Kevin LoRusso bounced a shot past Navy keeper Tommy Phelan (Towson, Md.) to push the lead to two. By the 7:51 mark, the Black Knights held a 3-0 lead thanks to an Alex Rhoads unassisted tally.

The Mids, who took just two shots in the first 10 minutes of action, finally got on the board when Phelan made a stop in goal, sending the outlet to the 50-yard line where long stick defensive midfielder Zack Schroeder (Deer Park, N.Y.) awaited the pass. Schroeder sprinted straight up the middle where he stuck in his first collegiate goal with 2:08 remaining. Thirty-six seconds later, the Mids closed to within one as senior Nick Mirabito (Binghamton, N.Y.), fed attack Tim Paul (Parkton, Md.) for an extra-man goal off a 10-yarder up the middle.

Navy made it three ina row when Paul tacked on his second goal of the game, shooting at Fullerton's ankles less than two minutes into the second quarter to tie the game at three apiece.

Army scored the remaining two goals of the second quarter, both by junior attack jason Peyer, to take a 5-3 lead into the half.

The Mids closed the gap to one just over a minute into the second half when Mirabito found second-year midfielder Basil Daratsos (Niskayuna, N.Y.) slicing down the middle and Daratsos was able to get off his shot before suffering a hard shot by an Army defenseman. But that would be it for Navy in the third quarter, as four of its remaining seven shots were stopped by Fullerton.

Army, meanwhile, built a four-goal cushion by the end of the quarter and by then had the game well within hand.

"I want to congratulate Army," said Navy head coach Richie Meade, who last lost to the Black Knights in 1997. "At the end of the day, I think they took advantage of our mistakes and turned them into goals and we didn't. I think Fullerton played pretty well in goal and turned away some of our shots.

"There's a lot of lacrosse left for us and maybe it'll be a lesson for us. You have to come out and play each and every game."

Five players scored the Mids' six goals, as Paul led the way with a pair. Mirabito punched in a goal and added two assists in suffering his first loss in seven games against the Black Knights. Faceoff specialist Mikelis Visgauss (Setauket, N.Y.) put together another outstanding game in which he won 11 of the 16 draws he took, but Navy was unable to convert as they had done a week ago against Maryland.

The Black Knights were paced by Bokmeyer's hat trick, while Peyer turned in a pair of goals and assists. Fullerton made 11 saves in goal, including eight in the second half.

The Midshipmen will be back in action next Saturday when they play host to longtime nemesis Johns Hopkins at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Faceoff is slated for 12:00 pm at will be televised live by CBS College Sports Network with Paul Carcaterra and Jason Chandler calling the action. Additionally, Navy's 11 seniors and their families will be honored in a pregame ceremony.

GreatAmerican · April 16, 2008, 9:08pm

Army savors first win over Navy in over a decade

April 12, 2008

by Ken McMillan, Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online

WEST POINT, N.Y. - When Navy extended its men's lacrosse winning streak over Army to 13 games, an unusual thing happened: the pressure to win increased on both sides.

"It shows the tradition that Navy has had over the years," Navy senior attackman Nick Mirabito said of the unprecedented streak in a series that started in 1924. "Every year you come in and expect to uphold that tradition. Yeah, I'd say it was kind of surreal."

"It was frustrating," said Army senior goalie Adam Fullerton, on the losing end of six series contests during his first three seasons. "You are putting a whole lot of work in, and your school is based on beating Navy. You come up short so many times like we did - that really frustrates you and forces you to go back to work."

Army head coach Joe Alberici knew the streak weighed heavy on the minds of his players, so he called a team meeting last Sunday to address the issue just one time.

"I didn't want our kids thinking about it," said Alberici, who was an Army assistant coach the last time the Black Knights beat Navy at home - in April 1996. "I said to them, 'Fellas, this is about us being better than them in 2008 for 60 minutes. That's all this is about. I am aware of the streak and you are aware of the streak, but that is not your cross to bear. Most of you guys weren't involved in a lot of those games, so it's not anything you have to matter yourself with. It's about being better for 60 minutes."

Alberici and the 17th-ranked Black Knights met the task and got their wish, a 9-6 victory over the sixth-ranked Midshipmen before 4,789 fans on a warm and mostly cloudy afternoon at Michie Stadium.

There's no way Army can change the outcome of 13 consecutive losses to Navy since 1997, but one series victory in the Black Knights' final home game will go a long way to ease the pain.

"Finally, finally," Fullerton said on the heels of an 11-save effort. "We've been working real hard for this. Obviously, everyone was looking forward to it. Our time came."

Navy's lacrosse classes from 2001 to 2007 never lost to Army, and the seniors from 1998-2000 went out victorious in their final games against the Black Knights.

"It's tough being that first senior class to lose since, I guess, the late 1990s," Mirabito said. "It hurts, but you have to give credit to Army. They played well, and we didn't play well enough to win."

Navy head coach Richie Meade, a former Army assistant (1991-94) said he feels miserable with every loss, but even he appreciates how important the win was for the West Pointers.

"In a way, I feel good for Army that they get a chance to experience this," Meade said, "so we have to congratulate them and move on."

Army (8-3), ranked 17th in the USILA coaches' poll and 13th with the media, jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the opening eight minutes on goals from Justin Bokmeyer, Kevin LoRusso and Alex Rhoads. "From that moment on, we were on our heels," Meade said. "We didn't play the way we play."

Once sixth-ranked Navy (9-3) stopped turning the ball over, the Midshipmen chipped away and drew even early in the second quarter on goals from Zack Schroeder and Tim Paul.

The Black Knights regained momentum when Jason Peyer scored twice before halftime. He finished off a great transition play by converting a cross-crease pass from Jeremy Boltus at 8:32 of the second quarter. With just over two minutes left, he managed to get a step on Navy's Brandon Butler as he dashed out from behind the net, pivoted and scored off a jump shot.

The Midshipmen drew to within a goal just 71 seconds into the third quarter off a score from Basil Daratsos. Army struck back immediately, as Peyer set up Bokmeyer, who got loose inside on a defensive breakdown.

"That took the wind out of our sails," Mirabito said. Boltus and Bokmeyer added goals before the end of the third for an 8-4 lead.

Alberici praised his team's preparation and execution. He was pleased with Army's six-on-six play on both offense and defense, and was thrilled to get three goals in transition.

"I thought that we stayed aggressive throughout but we played smart," Alberici said. "We weren't reckless. We recognized matchups that we liked to begin our offense."

The loss was hardly the thing Navy expected, especially coming off an impressive 5-4 overtime win over then-No. 3 Maryland a week ago.

"We just didn't play our best game," Paul said. "Our transition wasn't really there. We had poor communication on the offense and our shots didn't go in, as many as we want to, and their shots went in. That's what it came down to."

"We didn't think they could score nine goals on us, to tell you the truth," admitted Meade, whose team has the No. 1 ranked defense in the nation. "I mean, we knew they could, but we didn't think we would make those types of errors."

The Navy loss also snapped a 14-game win streak in Patriot League regular-season play and 18-game conference win streak including playoffs. The Midshipmen are 36-3 in league play since joining in 2004. The only other losses came to Bucknell in 2005 and Colgate in 2006.

The Navy loss also opens the door for Bucknell to earn the top seed and home field for the Patriot League tournament (April 25-27). Navy has finished league play at 5-1. Army and Bucknell are both 4-1. Army closes conference play Tuesday at Lafayette. Bucknell hosts No. 4 seed Colgate in Saturday's Patriot finale.

Should Army and Bucknell both win, the league will have to go to its fourth tie-breaker (goals differential) to settle the three-way tie. In that case, Bucknell (plus two) will be seeded first, Army (even) will be the second seed and Navy (minus two) will be seeded third - assuring another Army-Navy meeting in the semifinals.

Saturday's matchup, for one, was a return to the days when both clubs had a pile of wins and a stake in the national picture. Although neither coach wanted to look beyond their team's next contest, both Army and Navy are in position to contend for NCAA tournament at-large berths should either falter in the Patriot League tournament.

"The fact [that we won and] they are ranked No. 6 in the country does bring national ramifications," said Alberici, who has turned the fortunes of a team which squandered a 6-1 start a year ago by dropping its final eight games.

"We have a very good group of kids," Meade said. "We have very good leadership, and they have played very, very hard the whole year...We're going to recover, and we're going to move on. We have a big game next week [against Johns Hopkins]. We have games after this that we will get a chance to play. Maybe at the end of this year, this could be something that benefits us down the road."

Alberici, who had a chance to embrace his family at the end of the afternoon, said he was "humbled" by his first coaching victory over Navy.

"I've never really made it about me," he said. "It's about our kids, and really for our seniors, because it's the first one under their belt. I plan on being in more Army-Navy rivalries. This could be the last one for them. I am just happy for them, because it's a victory everlasting, a victory they will have with them for a lifetime."

GreatAmerican · April 18, 2008, 8:24pm

By KEN MCMILLAN For The Capital
Published April 13, 2008

WEST POINT, N.Y. - Nick Mirabito has enjoyed more success against Army than just about any other Navy lacrosse player before him, but that only made yesterday's rare setback hurt just a bit more.

"It's tough," Mirabito said, following No. 6 Navy's 9-6 Patriot League loss to the No. 17 Black Knights before 4,789 fans at Michie Stadium. "It's tough being that first senior class to lose since, I guess, the late 1990s. It hurts, but you have to give credit to Army. They played well and we didn't play well enough to win."

Navy's unprecedented run of 13 wins in the Academy series - including playoff wins the last three seasons - has reached an end. Army posted its first series win since a 14-12 victory at Annapolis on April 25, 1997. Army's last series win at home was a 15-8 triumph on April 27, 1996.

The Navy senior classes from 2001 to 2007 had never lost to Army, and the seniors from 1998, 1999 and 2000 went out victorious.

"I'd say it was kind of surreal," said Mirabito, who has 14 goals and six previous wins in clashes with Army.

This time the match came to an end with

Army celebrating wildly near the Navy bench and the Midshipmen gathering forlornly for the post-game handshake.

"We go into every game hoping to win, expecting to win. This one especially you want, so it's definitely tough," Mirabito said.

Mirabito had one goal and Tim Paul had a pair - they are tied for the team lead with 19 goals apiece. Joe Lennon, Basil Daratsos and Zack Schroeder also scored for the Midshipmen. Tommy Phelan made six saves, and Matt Coughlin had none in 2:14 of action.

"We just didn't play our best game," Paul said. "Our transition wasn't really there. We had poor communication on the offense and our shots didn't go in, as many as we want to, and their shots went in. That's what it came down to."

Playing in their final Star Game, Army attackman Justin Bokmeyer netted three goals, and netminder Adam Fullerton made eight of his 11 stops in the second half. Jason Peyer had two goals and two assists.

"It's a relief," said Bokmeyer, who leads Army with 20 goals. "It's a weight off our shoulders. We have struggled in the past. The school, the alumni, the fans come Navy week they are like, 'C'mon, you have to do this. You have to do it this year.' We understand it was a big deal and no one had won in 13 tries."

"Finally, finally," Fullerton said. "We've been working real hard for this. Obviously everyone was looking forward to it. Our time came."

Army (8-3, 4-1 Patriot) stormed to a 3-0 lead in the first eight minutes on goals from Bokmeyer, Kevin LoRusso and Alex Rhoads. Navy (9-3, 5-1 Patriot) was turning the ball over repeatedly early in the contest, but eventually settled down and tied the match on goals from Schroeder and Paul (two).

Peyer scored twice late in the second quarter to give Army a lead it would not relinquish. First, he finished off a transition play, converting a cross-crease pass from Jeremy Boltus. Two minutes before half, he got a step on Navy's Brandon Butler as he dashed from behind the cage, spun and beat Phelan with a jump shot.

Daratsos pulled Navy within a goal just 1:11 after halftime but Army took a commanding 8-4 lead on goals from Bokmeyer (two) and Boltus.

"We needed to do something to take momentum away from them (and didn't)," said Navy head coach Richie Meade, a former Army assistant (1991-94).

"I thought (Army) played really hard. At the end of the day, they took advantage of some of our mistakes and turned them into goals and we didn't do that."

Army scored three goals in transition and Navy netted one.

With a win, Navy would have wrapped up the Patriot League regular-season title and No. 1 seed for the league tourney. Now, Navy faces the prospect of being the No. 3 seed. Army closes league play at Lafayette on Tuesday and Bucknell closes with No. 4 seed Colgate on Saturday. Should the Black Knights and Bison prevail, there will be a three-way tie at 5-1. Going to a goals-differential tie-breaker amongst the three teams, Bucknell would get the top seed, Army would be two and Navy would be three - that would mean another Army-Navy matchup on April 25.

Navy closes the regular season Saturday when it hosts Johns Hopkins.

"I feel like there's a lot of season left for us and maybe this can be a lesson for us," Meade said.

GreatAmerican · April 18, 2008, 8:36pm

Local lacrosse's Black Saturday
By
Patrick Stevens

Yesterday provided quite a doleful moment for the area's four Division I lacrosse programs --- Georgetown, Maryland, Navy and Virginia.

They all lost. Navy at Army. Georgetown at Loyola. Maryland at Hopkins. And Virginia at home against Duke.

(The definition of the "area" certainly can come under some fire, especially since there are four Baltimore schools within a shorter drive than Charlottesville. But it is the aforementioned four that technically fall under the local purview, though come May that definition usually extends itself to include perennial power Johns Hopkins.)

Anyway, as domino by domino fell yesterday, it got me wondering just when all four happened to lose on the same day. And the answer is surprising. Or maybe it isn't.

Either way, yesterday was the first 0-for-4 the schools had ever produced.

Now, Georgetown's only been going at it in Division I since 1970, and while the Hoyas' records don't include dates before 1991, it was hard enough finding days when two of the other three programs lost on a single day.

There are two of weekends when all four stumbled since 1991, but the ACC tournament contributed heavily to both:

<ul>
<li>April 21-22, 1995: Maryland (lost at North Carolina in ACC semifinals), Virginia (lost to Duke in ACC semifinals), Navy (lost at Johns Hopkins) and Georgetown (lost at Hobart)</li>
<li>April 19-21, 2002: Maryland (lost at Duke in ACC semifinals), Georgetown (lost to Massachusetts), Navy (lost to Johns Hopkins), Virginia (lost at Duke in ACC final)</li>
</ul>

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