4/29/2004 - Men's Lacrosse
Top-Seeded Navy Takes on Colgate in Patriot League Semifinal
Files associated with this release:
2004 Patriot League Tournament notes
Game 13 * Patriot League Semifinal
#2 Navy vs. Colgate
Friday, April 30 * 12-noon
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
Annapolis, Md.
Radio: WNAV (1430 AM)
Series History: Navy leads 3-0, last meeting Navy W, 21-6 (3/20/04)
Patriot League Championship
Winner of Navy-Colgate vs. Winner of Hobart-Bucknell
Sunday, May 2 * 2 p.m.
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium
Annapolis, Md.
Radio: WNAV (1430 AM) - Internet Only
Streak Stats: The Mids hold a 10-2 mark this season with a 7-0 record in the Patriot League ... Navy's nine-game winning streak, the program's longest since the 1966 season when the Mids posted a perfect 9-0 record and won the National Championship, was snapped last weekend against No. 1 Johns Hopkins ... Navy is one win shy of tying the school records for wins with 11, which was set in 1949 and matched in 1978.
Patriot League Perfection: The Mids completed their regular season conference schedule with a perfect 7-0 mark ... in their first year in the league, the Mids earned the No. 1 seed in the postseason league tournament ... the Mids' best conference record prior this year was in 2000 when they produced a 5-1 record during their first year in the ECAC ... Navy played as an independent before that season.
Meade Milestone: Head coach Richie Meade is two victories away from his 100th-career win ... Meade led the University of Baltimore to 27 wins and has picked up 71 victories at the helm of the Navy program.
Tournament Talk: Navy will play host to the 2004 Patriot League Tournament after clinching the top spot with a perfect 7-0 record ... the eight teams in the Patriot League played a round-robin schedule during the regular season, with the top-four teams earning a spot in the postseason tournament ... Hobart captured the second seed with a 6-1 mark in league play ... Bucknell, Colgate and Army finished in a tie for third place, but Bucknell was awarded the third seed based on goal differential in all league matches this season ... Colgate earned the fourth and final bid to the conference tournament over Army based on the Raiders' 12-11 win over the Black Knights on April 13 ... Navy faced each of the schools in the tournament for the third time in school history during the regular season ... the Patriot League Tournament Champion earns an automatic bid to the 16-team NCAA Tournament.
Colgate Chatter: Colgate posted an 8-6 overall record this season, with a 4-3 mark in conference play ... the Raiders are ranked No. 13 in the nation in scoring defense, allowing 108 goals in 14 contests (7.71) ... goalie Andrew Jarolimek has allowed 104 goals in 14 games for a 7.65 goals-against average, ranking him No. 11 in the nation ... Jeff Vander Meulen has produced 39 points for the Raiders on 32 goals and seven assists.
Navy-Colgate Info: Navy and Colgate have faced off three times, with Navy winning all three contests ... Navy posted a 21-6 victory over Colgate on March 20 when the teams met in Orlando, Fla. ... this year's game was the first between the Raiders and the Mids since 1958, when the Mids won a 15-2 decision ... the teams first met in 1928, with Navy winning, 14-1.
Bucknell Book: Bucknell finished the 2004 regular season with a 6-7 record and a 4-3 mark in league play ... the Bison took home two of the Patriot League's major awards, as Chris Cara (the nation's leading scorer with 5.69 points per game) was named offensive player of the year and Blaise Fletcher was named defensive player of the year ... Bucknell is the third-ranked team in the nation in man-up scoring ... the Bison have scored 36 EMO goals on 73 attempts ... Bucknell is second in the league with a 7.71 goals-against average.
Navy-Bucknell Info: The Mids and the Bison have met three times ... they first matched up in 1996 with Bucknell posting a 6-5 win ... the two teams met for the second time in 1997, with the Mids capturing a 17-7 win ... this year, Navy played host to the Bison on March 13 and posted an 11-5 victory ... all three games in the series have been played in Annapolis.
Hobart History: Hobart finished the regular season with a 7-5 record and a 6-1 mark in the Patriot League to secure the second seed in the tournament ... Hobart is ranked No. 19 in the STX/USILA poll ... the Statesmen are averaging 10.75 goals per game to rank No. 13 in the nation ... Mark Williamson leads the charge with 28 goals and 18 assists on the year ... Nate Hill has contributed 16 goals and 21 assists ... Hobart is ranked second in the Patriot League in face-off percentage, winning 149 of its 266 attempts (.560).
Navy-Hobart Info: Hobart and Navy have faced off three times ... the first meeting was in 1920, when the Mids posted a 2-0 victory to cap a perfect 8-0 season ... the Midshipmen and the Statesmen met again in 1941 and Navy posted a 17-4 win ... this year, Navy recorded a 13-8 decision over Hobart on March 16 ... this season marks the first for Navy and the last for Hobart in the Patriot League ... Hobart will join the ECAC Lacrosse League next season, the conference the Midshipmen left in 2003.
Patriot League Praise: The Mids posted a 7-0 conference record and collected eight Player-of-the-Week awards during the regular season ... this week, the Patriot League announced that Navy freshman Billy Looney is the League's Freshman of the Year and Richie Meade is Coach of the Year ... during the season, keeper Matt Russell was named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week for three-straight weeks, as the Mids won three-straight road games against top-10 opponents ... Jon Birsner, Joe Bossi and Ian Dingman were each named the League's Offensive Player of the Week this season, while Mitch Hendler was named the Defensive Player of the Week.
Tewaaraton Watch: Sophomore Ian Dingman, a preseason All-American, is among 15 finalists selected as candidates for the fourth-annual Tewaaraton Award ... the Tewaaraton Trophy is the most coveted and prestigious award a varsity lacrosse player can receive and a symbol of excellence in college lacrosse ... in early May, the list will be narrowed down to five finalists.
Rankings Report: Navy's 9-6 win at Maryland on April 10 boosted the Mids to No. 2 in the STX/USILA, media and InsideLacrosse Power polls ... it is the highest ranking for Navy since 1975, when it ended the season at No. 2 ... the Mids compiled a 10-5 record that year and played Maryland in the NCAA Championship ... in the Mids' 21st attempt against a No. 1 team, they knocked off Maryland by a convincing 9-6 margin, their first win over a top-ranked team ... the Terps' loss boosted Johns Hopkins back into the No. 1 spot ... Navy is 4-1 against top-10 teams this season with wins over then-No. 4 North Carolina, 9-8 (ot), on March 5; then-No. 9 Army, 18-10, on March 27; then-No. 4 Georgetown, 7-5, on April 3; and then-No.1 Maryland, 9-6, on April 10 ... all four wins were played on the road.
Russell Review: Sophomore Matt Russell was named the Patriot League Defensive Player of the Week for three-consecutive Mondays after leading the Mids to back-to-back-to-back wins against top-10 teams ... Russell took over the starting role in goal at North Carolina on March 5 and led Navy to nine-straight wins since the switch, before suffering his first loss against Johns Hopkins last Saturday ... Russell picked up 13 saves against the Blue Jays, as Johns Hopkins took the one-goal win in overtime ... Russell limited the then-top-ranked Terps - who averaged 12.75 goals per game - to only six goals (and only two in the second half), while picking up 12 saves as Navy knocked off Maryland in College Park ... Russell recorded a career-high 14 saves at Georgetown and allowed only five goals in the contest ... at Army, he picked up 13 saves as the Mids clinched a Patriot League Tournament berth in the 18-10 win ... he is ranked No. 3 in the country with a 6.48 goals-against average.
Navy Notations: Navy's 10 wins are the most since 1978 ... that year, the Mids finished the campaign with an 11-3 mark ... sophomore Ian Dingman leads Navy with 48 points on 29 goals and 19 assists ... senior Joe Bossi leads the squad with 32 goals while sophomore Jon Birsner leads Navy with 21 assists ... 22 different Midshipmen have scored at least one goal this season and 21 Mids have tacked on at least one assist ... junior Chris Pieczonka and Tommy Wallin give the Mids a tremendous edge in the draw circle ... Pieczonka has won 118 of his 181 (.652) face-off attempts this season, while Wallin had a stunning performance in D.C. on April 3, winning nine of his 10 attempts at Georgetown ... Wallin has taken 38 of his 59 (.644) attempts this year ... sophomore Matt Russell took over the starting role in goal at North Carolina and has picked up a 9-1 record in the net ... Russell has 89 saves on the year and has allowed 62 goals in his 574 minutes (6.48 GAA).
Multiple Madness: Joe Bossi seems to like the back of the net when he faces Patriot League opponents ... he scored at least three goals in each of the seven conference matches ... Bossi scored a career-high five goals against Lehigh, recorded four goals against Hobart and netted three goals against Lafayette, Bucknell, Colgate, Army and Holy Cross ... he has dropped in at least two goals in the last-nine games ... Ian Dingman might wear the number one on his jersey, but when it comes to scoring, he prefers larger numbers ... Dingman tallied a career-high five goals at Lafayette and against Colgate, dropped in four goals against Bucknell, recorded a hat trick at Army and netted a pair of goals at North Carolina and at Maryland ... he has 15 multiple-goal games in his career (out of 25 games played) and 13 multiple-assist contests ... Jon Birsner recorded the ninth multi-assist game of his career with a pair of assists against Johns Hopkins ... he scored three goals at Army, only the second multi-goal game of his career (he started his career with a two-goal effort against Marist).
Face-Off Facts: The Mids take an early advantage over their opponents, having won 181 of the 283 face-offs this season ... Navy is ranked No. 2 in the nation with a .640 average ... Chris Pieczonka has won 118 of his 181 face-offs (.652), already giving him the third-best single-season total in school history ... Pieczonka is No. 3 in the country ... Pieczonka is third in the Navy record book with 171-career face-off wins ... the Mids have one of the best back-up players in Tommy Wallin ... on April 3, he battled the No. 1 face-off specialist in the country at Georgetown and came away with a 5-of-6 advantage over Andy Corno ... he won nine of his 10 attempts during the game and 38 of his 59 face-offs (.644) this season ... his 38 wins give him the 18th-best single-season total in school history and the 10th-best career total.
Giving up Goals: The Navy defense has made it tough for opponents to score this year ... the Mids lead the Patriot League in scoring defense, allowing only 83 goals in 12 games for a 6.86 average ... the Mids' scoring defense is ranked No. 3 in the nation ... on the offensive side, the Mids are ranked No. 2 in the country in scoring with a 13.25 average ... Navy is atop the national rankings in scoring margin with a 6.33 average ... Navy has out-scored its Patriot League opponents by an average of 10.57 goals per game.
Convincing Conquests: Navy has posted three wins this season by double-digit margins and another four victories by five or more goals ... the Mids are tied with Maryland as the nation's leader in scoring margin (5.56) ... Navy posted 23 goals against Holy Cross, the most by any NCAA Division I team this year ... 18 Mids scored in the game ... Navy also has the second-highest single-game total this season with 21 goals against Colgate ... the Mids' 18-goal effort at Army is tied for the 10th-best performance this year.
DiNola Details: Junior Seth DiNola started in goal in all 13 games last season and the first two contests this year ... after the loss to Ohio State, the coaches made a switch at goal and DiNola committed to the field full-time ... he has traded in his goalie stick for a pole and short stick ... he has played in each of the last-four games at the wing position for face-offs, as well as in the defensive midfield.
Brothers in Arms: Last season, Navy had three pairs of brothers, but this season the Mids have a trio of Looneys ... Brendan Looney is a senior defensive midfielder, Steve Looney is a sophomore midfielder and Billy Looney is a freshman midfielder ... all three graduated locally from DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, Md. ... Dan Harris and Taylor Harris share the same last name, but are not related ... Dan hails from Manlius, N.Y., while Taylor is out of Clifton, Va.
Premier Performances: Twelve Navy players have scored their first career goal this season ... three plebes scored their first goals against Holy Cross on April 18 ... David Cohn, Ben MacNeil and William Wallace each tabbed their first score against the Crusaders ... Dan Harris notched his first-ever goal just 1:31 into the contest at Georgetown ... Conor McKenzie netted his first goal against Colgate, and then added three more during the game for good measure ... Steve Looney picked up his first-career goal against Bucknell - and then recorded his first multi-goal game with a three-goal showing against Hobart ... Chris Pieczonka picked up his first goal at North Carolina on March 5, just six seconds into the fourth quarter, giving the Mids a 7-4 lead ... the face-off specialist added Navy's only other fourth-quarter goal to put the Mids ahead 8-7 with 8:12 to go in regulation ... senior Matt Midura netted his first-career goal against UNC ... Taylor Harris, who made only one appearance as a freshman, has seen action in both games this year and scored his first goal against Ohio State on Feb. 28, giving the Mids a 3-1 lead in the first quarter ... three Mids found the back of the net in the 14-1 victory over Lafayette on Feb. 21 ... Dwayne Osgood was sidelined with knee injuries his first two seasons but played in his first game against the Leopards and scored his first collegiate goal on an extra-man opportunity in the fourth quarter ... Billy Looney and Trevor Hoselton also notched their first career goals in the season opener.
Preseason Potpourri: Navy began the 2004 campaign with a No. 14 preseason ranking by Lacrosse Magazine ... three Mids were selected to Face-Off Magazine's Preseason All-America Honorable Mention squad: sophomore attack Ian Dingman, junior midfielder Graham Gill and team captain Thomas Morris (long stick) ... Dingman came off the bench in 11-of-13 games to lead the Mids in scoring with 40 points on 23 goals and 17 assists ... in his sophomore season, Dingman has scored 21 goals and 13 assists ... Gill started every game last season and produced 22 points on 13 goals and nine assists ... Gill has been active in both of Navy's wins over top-five opponents ... he netted three goals to help the Mids upend then-No. 4 North Carolina and scored twice as Navy downed then-No. 4 Georgetown ... Morris was named Navy's defensive MVP last year, despite missing two games because of a nearly severed finger.
Radio Review: Pete Medhurst will be back calling the action on WNAV-1430 AM for Navy's Patriot League Tournament match-ups ... Medhurst is a veteran of Navy broadcasts, as he co-hosts the Navy pre-game football show ... Medhurst has also picked up the call for Navy men's and women's basketball.
World Wide Web: For a complete report on Navy Athletics,
checkout www.NavySports.com ... the latest information from the Patriot League is available at www.PatriotLeague.com.
Service Selection Saga: The members of the Class of 2004 are nearing the end of their collegiate careers and will be headed out to the Fleet this summer -- this is where they're headed!
Ben Bailey ... Naval Flight Officer
Jared Bosanko ... Surface Warfare Officer
Joe Bossi ... Navy Pilot
Dan Eddy ... Navy Pilot
Brendan Looney ... Intelligence
Matt Midura ... Navy Pilot
Thomas Morris ... Navy Pilot
Adam Reel ... Navy Pilot
