March 10, 2007

Box Score

BETHLEHEM, Pa. - The sixth-ranked Navy men's lacrosse team scored eight-consecutive goals, seven in the second quarter, to rally back from an early 3-0 deficit and defeat Patriot League foe Lehigh, 9-5, Saturday afternoon at Urlich Sports Complex in Bethlehem, Pa. Six different players scored goals for the Midshipmen as Navy improved to 4-0 on the year, including a 2-0 record in Patriot League action.

"I thought that we struggled to finish off some of our shots today, but I was impressed with our players keeping their composure and battling back," said Navy head coach Richie Meade. "Defensively, we did a pretty good job. Colin Finnegan (Arnold, Md.) had another solid game in goal for us and Jordan DiNola (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) did a great job of covering Alec Hooff, who was a First-Team All-Patriot League midfielder last year."

The Midshipmen were led by senior midfielder Billy Looney (Silver Spring, Md.) who picked up his first hat trick of the season, while becoming the third different player this season who has pitched in three-plus goals in a game for Navy. Fellow first-line midfielder senior Tommy Wallin (Mountain Lakes, N.J.) turned in a pair of goals and added an assist, while attackmen Nick Mirabito (Binghamton, N.Y.) and Bruce Nechanicky (Montgomery Village, Md.) each scored a goal and assisted on a pair. Stephen Marino paced Lehigh with a pair of goals, while Matthew Diehl, Chris Linko and Ricky Cornetta each scored.

Shots were few and far between in the opening quarter as the two teams combined for just 10. It wasn't until the 3:11 mark that either team got a solid shot off, as Lehigh rookie Chris Linko curled around the left side and poked in his first-collegiate goal to give the Mountain Hawks a 1-0 lead. Less than a minute later, Jeff Wiener fed Marino who took a shot from five yards out on the left side of the goal, sliding it just over Finnegan's shoulder to the far side of the net. The Mountain Hawks pushed their lead to three when Cornetta came around the left side of the goal and literally rolled the ball past short stick defensive midfielder Geoff Leone (Massapequa, N.Y.) with just under a minute to play in the opening quarter.

Just as time ran out in the first quarter, Lehigh's Kevin Houk was called for pushing, setting up the Mids for their second extra-man opportunity of the day. Navy took 26 seconds to set up the goal they need as Wallin fed Looney for a 10-yard power shot up the middle. That goal was the first of eight in a row for the Mids, including seven straight in the second quarter.

For the second-straight game, Navy long stick defensive midfielder Victor Barger (Clifton Park, N.Y.) scored a goal as Nechanicky fed Barger in transition who got off a left-handed shot and his second-collegiate goal.

Two of the most impressive plays of the day came at the end of the run. Wallin scored his second of the day when we whipped a shot from behind the back thanks to a feed from rookie middie Basil Daratsos (Niskayuna, N.Y.) with just 32 seconds left in the opening half.

Navy's final goal in the run was scored with 5:37 remaining in the third quarter as Leone precisely threw an outlet pass from near his own defensive goal to Terence Higgins (Chappaqua, N.Y.) who was just inside the offensive box who then found Nechanicky for the score.

After more than a 35-minute scoring drought, Lehigh put its fourth goal on the board as Marino shot up the gut as he was spinning to the middle of the field. The Mountain Hawks scored off a Navy error at the 8:53 mark in the fourth quarter as Diehl intercepted a pass by Finnegan and popped the ball right back into the net.

The Mids scored their final goal of the game when Looney exposed Lehigh's 10-man ride and tossed a 40-yard shot from the left side into an empty goal.

Both teams finished the contest with 35 shots, while the Mids claimed the ground ball war with a 32-25 advantage. Navy won 10 of the 17 face-offs with senior William Wallace (Bloomfield Village, Mich.) taking eight of the 11 draws he took. Finnegan played an impressive second half where he made 12 of his career-high tying 14 saves.

Navy will have little time to reflect upon its win, as the Midshipmen will be back in action on Tuesday when they play host to Canisius in a nonconference matchup. Game time is slated for 10:00 am at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

The Voice of Navy Lacrosse Pete Medhurst will call the game which will be available only on Navy All-Access via www.NavySports.com. Navy All-Access provides fans with access to numerous live and archived video events including selected Midshipmen athletic contests from a variety of sports. Fans can begin purchasing the Navy All-Access pass ($4.95/month) immediately by clicking on the Navy All-Access icon on www.NavySports.com.