Feb. 26, 2008

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. - Navy senior attack man Nick Mirabito (Binghamton, N.Y.) earned Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week recognition Tuesday afternoon after pitching his first hat trick of the 2008 season and 12th of this career in last Saturday's 8-7 overtime loss to sixth-ranked Cornell.

Three Navy players have been recognized by the Patriot League for their efforts over the last two weeks. Last week, junior keeper Matt Coughlin (Brightwaters, N.Y.) picked up his first Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week award, while Preseason Patriot League Defensive Player of the Year Jordan DiNola (Ballston Lake, N.Y.) receive kudos for his efforts in Navy's two wins.

Mirabito anchored a solid offensive effort by the upset-minded Midshipmen on Long Island last weekend. After falling behind, 2-0, Mirabito narrowed the gap when he picked up the ball on the crease off a deflected shot taken by teammate Shane Durkin (Germantown, Md.) with just three minutes to go in the opening quarter.

His goal with 2:43 remaining in the first half knotted the game up at 4-4 when he took an outlet pass from Geoff Leone (Massapequa, N.Y.) and threaded it around Cornell keeper Jake Myers. Mirabito helped push Navy's lead to 6-4 when he hounded Myers in front of the goal, picking his pocket and poking in the shot with just four ticks left on the clock in the third. His assist at 10:16 in the fourth led to an extra-man goal by sophomore middie Patrick Moran (Annapolis, Md.), who tucked his shot inside the far post to put Navy up 7-4.

Mirabito, one of the country's most reliable point producers, is leading the Midshipmen with nine points on five goals and four assists. He has turned in either a goal or an assist in 48 of the 49 games in which he has seen action during his four seasons. With his three goals, Mirabito moved into a three-way tie for 13th on Navy's all-time goals leader board with 78. Meanwhile, he added an assist in the loss, boosting him into another three-way tie, this time for 18th on the Mids' career assists list with 43. Behind the four-point effort, Mirabito heads into the weekend with 121 points, the 16th most in program history.

The nationally-ranked Midshipmen (10th by USILA, 11th by Inside Lacrosse) will be back in action on Friday when they play host to Mount St. Mary's. Action is set for 7:00 pm at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Fans can also catch the game by tuning into 1430 WNAV with the Voice of Navy Lacrosse Pete Medhurst calling the action or via www.NavySports.com where fans can follow the action through Gametracker.