Feb. 15, 2008

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - The nationally-ranked Navy men's lacrosse team (1-0) returns to action Saturday when it travels to Columbus, Ohio to battle unranked Ohio State in what will be the Buckeyes' season opener. The Mids and Buckeyes are slated to faceoff at 12:00 pm at Ohio Stadium.

Ranked 12th by the USILA coaches poll and 11th in this week's Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Poll, Navy is coming off a 10-2 victory over VMI last Saturday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, in what was the earliest lacrosse game played in program history. Eight different players accounted for the Mids' 10 goals, including a pair by starting attack Tim Paul (Parkton, Md.) and reserve midfielder Sean Standen (South Hadley, Mass.). Senior attack Nick Mirabito (Binghamton, N.Y.) pitched in a goal and a pair of assists to move into a tie for 19th on Navy's all-time scoring list alongside Hall of Famer Karl Rippelmeyer (1958-60) with 115 points. He will enter Saturday's contest needing just one assist to break into Navy's all-time top 20 list for career assists, as he has produced 41 in four seasons.

To no one's surprise, Navy's defense played a strong game against the Keydets, giving up just a pair of goals. Junior Matt Coughlin (Brightwaters, N.Y.) spearheaded the Mids' defensive effort out of the goal where he made seven stops in his first-collegiate start. The Mids held one of the top scorers in the country, Kevin Hill, to just a pair of shots and a goal on the afternoon. Navy's defense forced 21 VMI turnovers, including 13 in the first half. Meanwhile, it held the Keydets to just 21 shots with the Mids now owning a 28-3 record since 2004 when holding an opponent to 25 or fewer shots. Additionally, the Mids have won 13 in a row when keeping its foes to seven or fewer goals.

The Mids also did a sensational job on faceoffs, winning 10 of the 14. Senior Mikelis Visgauss (Setauket, N.Y.) was 5-for-5, while sophomore Frankie Coppola (Bethesda, Md.) posted a 5-for-7 mark in his first varsity appearance.

Eleventh-year head coach Joe Breschi returns a seven starters off an Ohio State team that turned in a 9-5 record a year ago, including a 4-1 mark in the Great Western Lacrosse League which is now known as the Lacrosse America Conference. Under Breschi's direction, the Buckeyes are 4-6 in home openers and 2-8 in season openers.

Meeting for the fifth time in the last six seasons, Navy owns a 3-1 series advantage over Ohio State. Navy has won both games played in Columbus - a 13-10 decision in 2003 and an 11-5 victory in 2005. Ironically, the one loss the Mids suffered in the series was in 2004 when Navy went on to win a school-record 15 games and play in the National Championship.

Due to the Navy men's and women's basketball games against Lafayette on Saturday, the lacrosse game will not be carried on local radio. However, the Ohio State Student Internet Radio Station is scheduled to broadcast the game online at ohiostatesports.net(.) Additionally, a link to live stats will also be available online on OSU's men's lacrosse schedule page.