Feb. 8, 2008

2/9 Navy-VMI Men's Lacrosse Notes

Game 1:  Navy vs. VMI
Navy MidshipmenRecord                  0-0, 0-0 Patriot LeagueStreak                  Lost 1, dating back to `07Last Game               ----Next Game               2/16 - at Ohio State (12:00 pm)Ranking                 12 (USILA Coaches); 9 (IL Media)Head Coach              Richie Meade (North Carolina `76)Career Record           137-92 (18th year)Navy Record             110-69 (14th year)Leader-Points (G-A-P)   Nick Mirabito, 44 (23-21)Leader-Goals            Nick Mirabito, 23Leader-Assists          Nick Mirabito, 21Goalkeeper              Matt Coughlin (13.42 GAA, .500 Sv%)
VMI KeydetsRecord                  0-0, 0-0 MAACStreak                  Lost 2, dating back to `07Last Game               ----Next Game               2/16 - at Army (1:00 pmRanking                 NA (USILA Coaches); NA (IL Media)Head Coach              Jeff Shirk (Maryland `01)Career Record           2-12 (Second year)VMI Record              2-12 (Second year)Leader-Points (G-A-P)   Kevin Hill, 50 (24-26)Leader-Goals            Kevin Hill, 24Leader-Assists          Kevin Hill, 26Goalkeeper              Sean McCoy (12.70 GAA, .476 Sv%)

Game Preview
• The 12th-ranked Midshipmen will open the 2008 campaign Saturday when they play host to VMI ... action is set for 12:00 pm at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
• The Navy-VMI tilt is one of three game slated for Saturday in what is the earliest opening game in Navy lacrosse history ... the Navy-VMI game kicks off the Div.-I lacrosse season at 12:00 pm, while both the Delaware-Saint Joseph's and Seton Hall-Robert Morris contests are scheduled for 1:00 pm.
• Navy enters the 2008 campaign having qualified for four consecutive NCAA Tournaments ... the Mids have reached double digit wins in each of the last four years, including last spring in which Navy produced an 11-4 record ... the Mids have won at least a share of the Patriot League regular season title in each of the last four seasons, while winning the Patriot League Tournament all four years.
• Senior attack man Nick Mirabito is the Mids' top returning scorer, producing 44 points on 23 goals and 21 assists ... he has scored a goal or dealt out an assist in 45 of the 46 games in which he has played during his career.
• VMI is under the direction of second-year head coach Jeff Shirk, a 2001 graduate of Maryland ... the Keydets turned in a 2-12 record a year ago, including a 1-7 mark in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference.
• The Keydets welcome back their top scorer in senior attack man Kevin Hill who paced the team with 50 points on 24 goals and 26 assists ... meanwhile, second-year goalkeeper Sean McCoy returns to man the pipes after giving up 12.70 goals per game last season.
• Saturday's contest will air live on 1430 WNAV with Pete Medhurst calling the action.

Navy vs. VMI - The Series
• Saturday's contest will be the inaugural meeting between the two programs on the lacrosse field.

Home Cookin'
• Navy owns a 25-6 record (.806) in games played at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium since the start of the 2004 campaign, outscoring its foes, 352-205 (11.4 to 6.6 gpg).
• Navy has not lost a Patriot League game at home in its four years as a member of the conference.
• The Mids have allowed just four teams (Colgate in `07; Georgetown in `05; Ohio State and Johns Hopkins in `04) to reach double digits in games played on their home field over the last four seasons ... Navy has held 12 of its 30 opponents to five or fewer goals since 2004.
• Navy owns a 65-28 (.699) record at home under the direction of head coach Richie Meade ... the Mids have reached four wins at home every season Meade has been the head coach ... Navy has recorded five or more wins at home in six of Meade's 13 seasons, including seven wins in 2004, `05, `06 and `07.

National Exposure
• Since the start of 2004, Navy has been on television 24 times (seven appearances in `04, 6 in `05 and `06, five in `07).
• The Mids will make a minimum of six appearances on television this season ... the Colgate (3/23), Georgetown (3/29) and Johns Hopkins (4/19) will be televised by CSTV, while back-to-back road games at Maryland (4/4) and Army (4/12) will be aired by ESPNU ... the Mids' neutral site matchup against Cornell on Feb. 23 is slated to be carried by MASN on a tape delayed basis.
• The Mids own a 12-12 record when their games are televised ... Navy is 8-5 on CSTV all-time and 4-5 on the ESPN family of networks ... the Mids are also 0-1 on Time-Warner Sports and 0-1 on MASN.
• The Midshipmen own a 37-3 record in games that have not been televised since the start of 2004.