Navy shocks Hopkins to break 35-year losing streak
April 26th, 2010 | Lacrosse Navy | Posted by Mike Hoffman
Junior attackman Andy Wagner scored the game winner in over time.
Midshipmen didn’t get a day off like they did when the football team beat Notre Dame in 2007 to break its 43-game losing streak against the Fighting Irish, but the Navy lacrosse team’s win over Johns Hopkins on Saturday is similarly historic.
Junior attackman Andy Warner’s overtime goal broke a 36-game losing streak to the Baltimore private university known mostly for its medical school and its lacrosse team. Warner’s goal came with 10 seconds left in overtime and lifted the Midshipmen to a 9-8 win.
If there’s any doubt how much this win meant to Navy lacrosse, just look at what Navy coach Rich Meade told his team before the game, according to The (Annapolis) Capital.
“Before this game, I looked every one of them in the eye and said, ‘You’re Midshipmen at the Naval Academy, your future leaders and people’s lives are going to be in your hands. You understand the mission, you understand what you’re required to do, and now I want you to go out and get it done.’ “
Despite the emphatic pre-game speech, Navy found itself down 5-0 after the first quarter. The Midshipmen owned the second quarter, though, scoring six goals to take a 6-5 lead into halftime.
In a game dictated by runs, Johns Hopkins scored three straight to open the second half to take an 8-6 lead. However, Navy again fought back to send the game to overtime knotted at 8-8.
Army clinches top seed for Patriot League Tourney
April 21st, 2010 | Army Lacrosse | Posted by Mike Hoffman
Junior goalkeep Tom Palesky made 18 saves Tuesday night against Lafayette.
Army barely held onto what was once a six goal second half lead to beat Lafayette and clinch the top seed in next week’s Patriot League Tournament. The Leopards outscored the Black Knights 9-3 in the second half, but didn’t have enough in the tank to overtake Army, who sneaked by with a 15-14 win.
Junior attackman Jeremy Boltus led the Black Knights with a career high eight points notching three goals and five assists. Freshman attackman Garrett Thul also continued his standout rookie season with four goals and one assist of his own.
Having sewn up the league regular season championship, the Black Knights will host the Patriot League Tournament for the second time in three years. Navy and Lafayette have also clinched spots in the tournament. The winner of Saturday’s Bucknell-Colgate game will claim the final tournament berth.
Picked in the preseason to finish fourth in the Patriot, Army has a chance to go undefeated if it beats league cellar dweller Holy Cross on Saturday. Despite their dominant league season, Army will still need to win the league championship to feel comfortable about making the NCAA Tournament. The four-team tournament starts April 30, with the championship on May 2.
Black Knights the class of the Patriot League
April 20th, 2010 | Army Lacrosse Navy | Posted by Mike Hoffman
Army defeated Navy 7-6 in front of 20,911 fans at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore on Saturday. (Army photo)
Army sophomore midfielder Conor Hayes’ goal with 4:20 left in the fourth quarter not only pushed the Black Knights past their arch-rival in Annapolis, it also set up Army to host the Patriot League men’s lacrosse tournament.
Winning that tournament is the only chance for either Army or Navy to make this year’s NCAA tournament. After seven straight losses, we are counting Air Force out. If the Black Knights, who are 6-5 on the season, can beat Lafayette on the road at 7 tonight, they lock up home field advantage.
Lacrosse has become one of those niche sports where the academies have thrived, especially Navy, whose location in the heart of lacrosse country has given it a recruiting edge. It has been an off year for Navy and one where Army has taken relative advantage. In this week’s Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll, Army was ranked No. 20.
This is what Washington-area lacrosse writer Patrick Stevens, who writes the D1SCOURSE blog, had to say about Army, who Stevens ranked No.19 in his poll.
“Army (6-5). The best the Patriot League has to offer this season — though that’s not saying much. The Black Knights will lock up home field in the PL tournament if they win at Lafayette [Tuesday].”
Doing his best impersonation of ESPN’s Joe “Brackets” Lunardi, Stevens placed Army in the Patriot League’s automatic bid with a first-round match up against No. 1 seed Virginia in his version of lacrosse bracketology.