3/17/2004 - Men's Lacrosse
Dingman, Hendler Garner First Patriot League Weekly Lacrosse Honors

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - Navy sophomore attack Ian Dingman (Deferiet, N.Y.), along with junior defender Mitch Hendler (Reisterstown, Md.) were named the Patriot League Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, Tuesday afternoon. It marked the season's first weekly lacrosse honors handed out by the league office.

"Mitch is a great defensive player who has continued to grow and come on over the last three years," said Navy head coach Richie Meade. "He works very hard and is the anchor of our defensive unit.

"It's really no secret as to what Ian Dingman can do," said Meade. "Ian, in particular, scored four huge goals against Bucknell and played a major factor in us winning that contest. Ian does what Ian does, but in saying that, I think he will continue to mature and become an even better player."

Navy's leading scorer with 20 points on 12 goals and eight assists, Dingman has led the Mids to four wins this season, including a 3-0 start in Patriot League play. He has accounted for two of the three game-winning goals in conference contests against Lafayette (W, 14-1) and Bucknell (W, 11-5). He produced a team-high six points in games against Lafayette and Bucknell and recorded a career-high five goals against the Leopards in both teams' season opener. Through just five games this season, he has posted 12 goals, more than half his goal total from he freshman campaign (24).

Hendler's performance against Bucknell's Chris Cara was near perfection. Cara came into the game as the nation's top scorer, scoring 13 goals and adding nine assists for 22 points. Cara was limited to a goal and a pair of assists against the Mids, getting his lone goal off a Navy turnover in front of its own goal. Just a week prior to the Navy game, Cara had produced an amazing six goals and three assists against Harvard.

"Coming into the Patriot League, I knew the competition would be good," said Hendler. "Going into the game, I knew Cara was the leading point scorer in the Patriot League and knew Bucknell's offense ran through him. Our goal was to shut him down and in turn it would shut down their offense. I was helped out by Matt Felber and the other defensive players and overall we did a good job of achieving what we set out to do."

Navy returns to action Saturday when it travels to Orlando, Fla., to face league foe Colgate in a neutral site matchup. Game time is slated for 1 p.m. at the UCF soccer field. Tickets ($7 adults, $3 kids and senior citizens) will be available at the soccer field Saturday.

G-o N-a-v-y