<p>2007 Navy Men's Lacrosse
Gm 15: #8 Navy (11-3, 6-0) at #9 North Carolina (9-5) - NCAA Tournament; First Round
Saturday, May 12 5:00 pm Chapel Hill, N.C. Fetzer Field (5,700)</p>
<p>Media Information
Television: ESPNU - Dave Cohen (play by play), Mark Dixon (analyst)
Radio/Internet: 1430 WNAV, Navy All-Access on <a href="http://www.NavySports.com%5B/url%5D">www.NavySports.com</a> (Pete Medhurst)
Live Stats: Gametracker on NavySports.com</p>
<p>Game Preview
Eighth-ranked Navy (11-3 overall, 6-0 Patriot League) will make its fourth-straight NCAA Tournament appearance on Saturday when it travels to Chapel Hill, N.C. to battle eighth-seeded North Carolina (9-5, 0-3 ACC) ... Game time is set for 5:00 pm at UNC's Fetzer Field.
The Mids put together back-to-back wins over Army and Colgate two weeks ago to capture their fourth-consecutive Patriot League Tournament title and earn the Patriot League's automatic bid to play in the NCAA Tournament.
Navy battered Army in a 12-1 victory, while five different players pitched in two or more goals in Navy's title victory (15-9) over Colgate, including a career-high four markers for tournament MVP Nick Mirabito.
Like Navy, Carolina has been off since the weekend of April 28&29 ... the Tar Heels dropped their opening-round contest in the ACC Tournament to Duke, 13-9, in Durham on April 27 ... four of UNC's five losses have come against members of the ACC, while its other loss was at the hands of the Midshipmen.
Saturday's NCAA Tournament contest will be televised live on ESPNU with Dave Cohen (play by play) and Mark Dixon (analyst) calling the action.
The Voice of Navy Lacrosse Pete Medhurst will handle the play by play on 1430 WNAV and Navy All-Access via the Mids' web site at <a href="http://www.NavySports.com(%5B/url%5D.)">www.NavySports.com(.)</a></p>
<p>Countdown to Face-Off
10 Navy has scored 10 or more goals in eight of its 14 contests this spring ... the Mids own an 8-0 record in those games.
9 Senior Ian Dingman has turned in a team-best nine goals in his five NCAA Tournament appearances.
8 Navy keeper Colin Finnegan has played just eight minutes in goal in NCAA Tournament action, the final eight minutes against Syracuse in the 2004 National Championship game as a freshman.
7 Seven different players have accounted for Navy's 11 game-winning goals (Ian Dingman, Tommy Wallin with 3 each).
6 Six different players on the Navy roster produced two or more goals in the Mids' 19-8 victory over North Carolina earlier this season.
5 The Mids are riding a five-game winning streak against North Carolina.
4 Freshmen Basil Daratsos (16G, 2A) and Tim Paul (12G, 7A) have each scored just four points in games played on the road.
3 Navy's three losses in '07 are by a combined three goals.
2 Navy's man-down defense has given up just two goals in the last 20 opportunities (7 games).
1 All-American midfielder Billy Looney needs one point to become the second player this year and the 28th overall to score 100-career points in school history.</p>
<p>Navy vs. North Carolina - The Series
Navy took an 11-10 series lead after producing the most lop-sided win in series history, a 19-8 victory in Annapolis earlier this season.
Carolina owns a 3-1 advantage over the Midshipmen in NCAA Tournament action, though the last time the two met in postseason play was 25 years ago ... UNC defeated Navy, 16-2, in Chapel Hill in the quarterfinals of the 1982 NCAA Tournament.
The two teams have squared off against one another during the regular season in each of the last 12 years ... the inaugural meeting was in 1975 when the Mids earned an 11-4 win in Annapolis.
The Midshipmen have won five in a row against the Tar Heels, the longest winning streak in the series by the Mids ... the longest winning streak by either team is six by UNC (1980-81-82-84-85-96).
North Carolina owns a 7-3 advantage in games played on its home field, though Navy has won two in a row in Chapel Hill ... three of the last four games played in Chapel Hill have not only been decided by one goal, but have gone into overtime, including the 2002 game that was won by North Carolina in the sixth overtime period.
Five of the last eight games in the series have been decided by one goal.</p>
<p>Recapping This Year's Regular-Season Game - Complete Box Score on Pg. 20 of Notes
Seventeen different players produced a goal or an assist to lead 12th-ranked Navy to a 19-8 route over No. 5 North Carolina at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on March 2.<br>
It's the most goals scored by Navy against a nationally-ranked team since handing 18th-ranked Army a 19-9 setback on April 7, 1990 ... it's the most they have scored in the 21-game series, improving upon the previous record of 16 set in 1978.<br>
The 11-goal win is Navy's largest margin of victory in the series, bettering last year's eight-goal decision in Chapel Hill.
Attackmen Ian Dingman and Nick Mirabito paced the Mids with hat tricks of the season, while Mirabito tacked on an assist to lead the team with four points ... rookies Basil Daratsos, Patrick Moran and Tim Paul, along with senior middie Tommy Wallin each pitched in a pair of goals.<br>
The Mids scored back-to-back goals just 47 seconds apart to take an early 2-0 lead 5:08 into the contest and never looked back as Navy never trailed in the game.
The Tar Heels closed to within one on three different occasions, including a goal by junior midfielder Brian Connors with just 11 ticks remaining in the opening period.
Navy dashed any momentum UNC had gained, as a Wallin fired in his second goal of the game off an assist from junior Matt Guido with just one second left in the period.
The teams traded goals early in the second period, but Daratsos' unassisted marker at 7:54 sparked a 5-0 run for the Mids.<br>
One of the reasons Navy was put in goal-scoring position was because of the play of its face-off team ... six different Midshipmen took draws, including Mikelis Visgauss who won 11 of the 15 face-offs he took, while William Wallace won four.
Senior Colin Finnegan played a fantastic game in goal for the Midshipmen, making a career-high 14 saves, while giving up seven of the eight goals.</p>
<p>Tourney Talk
Navy is making its fourth-straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its 24th overall ... Navy has played in the fifth-most NCAA Tournaments behind Johns Hopkins (36), Maryland (29), Virginia (29) and Syracuse (26) ... UNC is making its 22nd appearance.
The last time Navy qualified for four-consecutive NCAA Tournaments was 1986-89 ... the Mids received a bye in the '86 tournament, while winning their first-round games in 1987-88-89.
Navy owns a 5-5 record in first-round contests ... Navy has won two of its last three.
Navy has been unseeded in each of the last two years and will face the No. 8 seed for the second year in a row.
Navy is 1-4 as an unseeded team and 1-1 against the eighth seed all-time.
Navy is 4-4 in tournament action under head coach Richie Meade.
Navy came into the NCAA Tournament a year ago with the exact same record as this year, 11-3 ... the Mids, however, had their championship dreams shattered after eighth-seeded Georgetown earned a come-from-behind victory, 9-7.
UNC owns a 3-1 advantage over Navy in NCAA Tournament action, though the last time the two met in postseason play was 25 years ago ... Carolina defeated Navy, 16-2, in Chapel Hill in the quarterfinals of the 1982 NCAA Tournament.
Senior Ian Dingman has scored a goal in four of the five NCAA Tournament games in which he has played ... in those four games he has scored two or more goals in all of them, including two in the National Championship Game against Syracuse in '04 ... he did not score a goal, but did produce an assist in Navy's win over Princeton in the '04 semis.
Senior Billy Looney has scored a goal in six of the seven NCAA Tournament games he has played in, including a hat trick against Virginia in the 2005 quarterfinals ... the only game he did not score a goal in was the 2004 first-round game against Penn at home.
Junior Nick Mirabito has scored five goals and added an assist in the three NCAA Tournament games in which he has played, including his hat trick against Delaware in the first round of the 2005 tournament ... it was his first-collegiate NCAA Tournament contest.
Senior keeper Colin Finnegan played the final eight minutes of the '04 National Championship Game as a freshman after starting keeper Matt Russell had to come out of the game with a broken collarbone.
Seniors Billy Looney and Tommy Wallin are the only players on the roster to play in all seven of Navy's NCAA Tournament contests over the last four seasons.</p>
<p>Just the Facts
Since the start of the 2004 season, Navy has put together a 49-14 record ... the 49 wins are the most by any team in the country and the .778 winning percentage is third behind Johns Hopkins (47-11, .810) and Cornell (44-11, .800).
Behind a 12-1 win over Army in the Patriot League Tournament semifinals, the Mids picked up their 10th win of the season, marking the fourth-consecutive year that Navy has registered 10-plus wins ... it's only the second time in program history and the first time since 1975-78, the Mids have strung together double-figure wins in four-straight years (15 in 2004, 12 in 2005, 11 in 2006).
A Navy player has produced a hat trick in 12 of the 14 contests this season - Ian Dingman 7x, Nick Mirabito 4x, Billy Looney 2x, Basil Daratsos 1x, Rob Lenseth 1x, Bruce Nechanicky 1x, Tim Paul 1x, William Wallace 1x.
Navy's defense is ranked second in the country, giving up 6.21 goals per game ... the Mids have given up double-figure goals four times (Army in '06, Colgate and Georgetown in '07) in its last 29 games and six times in the last 44.
The Mids have held seven of their 14 opponents to five or fewer goals this season, including a one-goal output by archrival Army in the Patriot League semifinals ... dating back to 2003, Navy has won 28-straight games when holding its foes to five or fewer goals.
Navy has held the lead at halftime in every game this season ... the Mids have lost 12 in a row when trailing at the break and 59 straight when trailing after three quarters of play.
Over the last seven games, Navy's opponents have scored just two goals on 20 extra-man opportunities (.100).
Navy is one of just three teams in the country to have both its extra-man and man-down units ranked among the top 11 ... the Mids are 11th on extra-man and tied for eighth on man-down ... joining Navy is Duke (7th & 3rd) and Cornell (10th & 7th).
Navy is one of five teams in the nation who is ranked among the top 10 in both scoring offense and defense ... Navy is 10th in scoring offense and second in scoring defense ... joining the Midshipmen are Cornell (1st & 5th), Duke (3rd & 8th), Notre Dame (5th & 4th) and Virginia (6th and 10th).
Navy has scored a goal in 1000-consecutive games dating back to 1910. </p>
<p>Patriot League Tournament - What They're Talking About
Navy outscored Army (12-1) and Colgate (15-9) 27-10 to win its fourth-straight Patriot League Tournament crown and boast an 8-0 Patriot League Tournament record in four years.
Eight different players scored the 12 goals against Army and seven different players scored the 15 goals against Colgate ... all told 12 different players either scored a goal and provided an assist in the two tourney games.
Junior attack Nick Mirabito was named the tournament MVP after posting six goals and three assists for nine points ... he turned in four goals and two assists in the championship game.
Ian Dingman (3G, 4A), Tommy Wallin (3G, 3A), Colin Finnegan (5.16 GAA, 13Sv) and Jordan DiNola (held Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Brandon Corp to one assist) were named to the Patriot League All-Tournament Team.
Navy dominated the Patriot League's major award winners in the league tournament two weeks ago ... junior Jordan DiNola held the league's offensive player of the year, Brandon Corp from Colgate, to just one assist ... senior Ian Dingman scored a pair of goals and added two assists against the league's defensive player of the year, Colin Hulme, of Colgate ... Navy rang up 12 goals on the Army's Adam Fullerton, the goalkeeper of th year.
Junior Rob Lenseth was moved to the second-line midfield where he recorded his first-collegiate hat trick in the championship game against Colgate ... going into the league tournament, Lenseth had scored just one goal in his career, a marker against Holy Cross in '06.
Navy's defense held Army to just one goal in its Patriot League Tournament semifinal win ... it's the fewest goals scored by a Navy opponent since the Mids held Lafayette to just one goal in a 14-1 victory on March 15, 2005 ... it's the fewest goals scored by Army in the series since 1989.</p>
<p>Patriot League Success
Since joining the Patriot League in 2004, Navy is 31-2 (.938) against opponents from the league, including an 8-0 mark in the Patriot League Tournament ... the Mids lost to Bucknell in 2005 and Colgate in 2006.
The Mids have produced undefeated marks in conference action in two of the last four years ... 7-0 in '04 and 6-0 in '07.
Navy has won at least a share of the Patriot League regular-season title in each of its four years as a member of the league ... additionally, the Mids have claimed the league's tournament crown all four years.
24 different Midshipmen have garnered All-Patriot League recognition since 2004, while 13 of the 24 have earned honors multiple times.
A Navy player has earned three of the four major awards, including senior All-American Billy Looney, who was named the 2004 Patriot League Rookie of the Year.
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 ... on Thursday, he received the award a second time from his peers after guiding the Mids to a 6-0 record this spring.</p>
<p>A Dominant Stretch
Navy is in the midst of one of its most dominant four-year runs in school history ... since the start of the 2004 season, Navy owns a 49-14 record (.778).
During that same stretch, Navy is 22-12 (.647) against ranked opponents and 27-2 mark (.931) against unranked foes.
Since the start of the 2004 season, Navy owns a 7-5 (.583) record against teams ranked higher than the Mids in the USILA Coaches Poll ... against lower ranked or unranked teams, Navy is 42-9 (.824).
The Mids have posted a 25-6 record at home, outscoring their foes, 352-205 (11.4 to 6.6 gpg) during that span ... just four teams have reached double digits on Navy's home field during that stretch.
The Mids may be even better on the road since the 2004 campaign, owning a 16-6 record and defeating 11 ranked teams in the process ... ironically, two of Navy's five road losses have come to unranked Patriot League opponents.
In the last three-plus seasons, the Midshipmen have produced the top-three win totals in school history ... in 2004, Navy won 15 games en route to its NCAA Championship game appearance and in 2005, the Mids produced 12 wins in earning their second-consecutive NCAA Tournament berth ... last spring, Navy claimed wins in 11 contests.
The Class of 2007 became the winningest class in school history on March 21 when it claimed its 45th win in 56 contests ... heading into the weekend, the Class of '07 has won 49 of its 63 contests (.778) ... last year's graduating class turned in a 44-18 record (.710).</p>
<p>National Noise
Navy is ranked among the top 10 in five statistical categories and the top 5 in two.
The Mids are second in the country with their smothering defense, giving up 6.21 goals per game ...Princeton is pacing the nation with its 6.00 GAA.
Thanks to its 27-10 scoring advantage in the Patriot League Tournament, Navy moved up to third in scoring margin (+5.00) ... Cornell is atop the list with a +8.00 margin, followed by Notre Dame at +5.43.
Navy also owns the nation's sixth-best win percentage (.786) and eighth-best man-down defense (.783).
Senior goalkeeper Colin Finnegan is ranked No. 1 in goals-against average (6.06) and eighth in save percentage (.602).
Senior midfielder William Wallace is No. 3 in the country in face-off win percentage (.651) and is 16th in ground balls, grabbing 5.07 per contest.
Senior Ian Dingman is punching in 2.21 goals per game and is ranked 18th in the nation.</p>
<p>Tough "D"
Since 2000, Navy's defense has been ranked No. 1 in the country three times, including 2005 and '06 ... after holding Army to just one goal in the Patriot League Tournament, the Mids jumped from No. 5 to No. 2, giving up 6.21 goals per game.
Senior keeper Colin Finnegan also moved up from third to No. 1 in the national rankings, giving up 6.06 goals per game ... he is ranked eighth in save percentage (.602).
Navy has held 27 of its last 63 opponents to five or fewer goals, and only nine foes (Ohio State, Army and Syracuse in '04, Georgetown and Virginia in '05, Army '06 and Colgate, Georgetown and Johns Hopkins in '07) have managed to reach double figures.
Since 2004, Navy has held 30 of its 63 opponents to 25 or fewer shots ... during that time frame, Navy is 27-3 (Ohio State 2004, Colgate 2006, Maryland 2007) when holding its foes to under 25 shots.
Navy has lost just seven games when holding foes to nine or fewer goals since 2004, posting a 42-7 mark ... two of the losses came in overtime during the 2005 campaign (Bucknell and Johns Hopkins), losses in '06 were to Colgate, Georgetown (twice) and Johns Hopkins, while Maryland managed to nip the Mids in overtime two weeks ago.
Navy's defense held Army to just one goal in its Patriot League Tournament semifinal win ... it's the fewest goals scored by a Navy opponent since the Mids held Lafayette to just one goal in a 14-1 victory on March 15, 2005 ... it's the fewest goals scored by Army in the series since 1989.</p>
<p>Balanced Scoring
19 players have scored goals for the Midshipmen this spring, while another five have posted assists, bringing the total to 24 different players having a role in Navy's scoring.
Navy is one of nine schools to have 24 or more players produce a point this spring ... Delaware leads all schools with 29 players scoring.
Of the 24 players who have scored for Navy, 14 of them have found the back of the goal at least twice this spring.
Nine Navy players have reached double digits in the points column ... only Denver (11) and Delaware (10) have more players with double-digit point production ... Albany, Cornell, Manhattan, North Carolina, Ohio State, Towson and Virginia join Navy with nine players who have recorded 10-plus points this year.
Last year, only seven Navy players reached double figures in the points column ... while Navy currently has nine players with double digits, junior attack Matt Guido is on the cusp with eight points.
Seven different players have accounted for the Mids' 11 game-winners ... First-Team All-Patriot League selections Ian Dingman and Tommy Wallin have each scored three game-winners.</p>