March 7, 2008
Navy at Lafayette
Saturday, March 8 • 1:00 pm • Easton, Pa. • Rappolt Field
Broadcast Information
Television: None
Radio/Internet: None
Live Stats: None
Navy-Lafayette Men's Lacrosse Game Notes
Game Preview
• After returning home a week ago to pick up a 12-5 victory over Mount St. Mary's, the Midshipmen will be back on the road Saturday when they travel to Easton, Pa., to face Lafayette in both teams' Patriot League opener ... faceoff is set for 1:00 pm at Lafayette's Rappolt Field.
• Due to the lack of a covered press facility at Rappolt Field, there will be no radio coverage of Saturday's game.
• The Midshipmen enter Saturday's contest with a 3-1 record, suffering their lone loss this season at the hands of Cornell in overtime (8-7).
• Navy will head into its game against Lafayette boasting a 13-game winning streak against Patriot League foes ... additionally, Navy has won 14 consecutive games against teams not ranked among the nation's top 20.
• Navy owns a 3-1 record in Patriot League openers, including a 2-0 mark against Lafayette ... last season the Mids opened their league ledger with a 9-4 victory over the Leopards.
• Sixth-year head coach Terry Mangan has the Leopards headed down the right path as they own a 2-1 record already surpassing last year's win total, while equalling its win marks from 2003, '04, '05 and '06 ... Lafayette has early wins over Wagner and emerging D-I squad Presbyterian ... rookie attack Tom Perini has been sensational through the first three games, pacing the team with 11 points on 10 goals and one assist.
Taking the Field in ...
10 • Navy has won 10 or more games in each of the previous four seasons.
9 • Navy has scored nine or more goals against Lafayette in all eight previous contests ... the Mids are 8-0 against the Leopards.
8 • Dating back to last year's Johns Hopkins game, senior attack Nick Mirabito has produced an assist in eight straight contests.
7 • Junior keeper Matt Coughlin has twice turned in career-high seven save games this season (Cornell, VMI).
6 • Six different Navy players have produced multiple goal games this season, including sophomore attack Tim Paul who has scored two goals in three of the four games this season.
5 • Over the last five years, Navy owns the second most wins in D-I lax with 52.
4 • Navy has made four consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances, including a championship game battle against Syracuse in 2004.
3 • The Midshipmen have been winners of three of their four Patriot League openers since joining the conference in 2004 ... they are 2-0 against Lafayette in openers.
2 • Since the beginning of 2004, Navy has lost just two games against unranked opponents (30-2).
1 • Senior Nick Mirabito has been held without a point in just once in his 50-game career, last year's double overtime loss to Maryland.
Patriot League Success
• Since joining the Patriot League in 2004, Navy is 31-2 (.938) against opponents from the league, including an 8-0 mark in the Patriot League Tournament ... the Mids lost regular-season contests to Bucknell in '05 and Colgate in '06.
• The Mids have produced undefeated marks in conference action in two of the last four years ... 7-0 in '04 and 6-0 in '07.
• Navy has won at least a share of the Patriot League regular-season title in each of its four years as a member of the league ... additionally, the Mids have claimed the league's tournament crown all four years.
• 24 different Mids have garnered All-Patriot League recognition, while 13 of the 24 have earned honors multiple times.
• Richie Meade was named the 2004 Patriot League Coach of the Year after leading the Mids to a flawless 7-0 mark in league competition ... he received the award a second time after guiding Navy to a 6-0 record last spring.
Fast Facts
• Navy senior attack Nick Mirabito has turned in a goal or an assist in 49 of the 50 games in which he has played during his career ... his 40-game streak was snapped against Maryland last spring and was the second-longest active streak in Div. I lax at the time ... he is currently riding a nine-game consecutive points run, including four straight games with a goal and eight straight with an assist.
• Mirabito has pitched a hat trick in each of the last two games ... he has turned in 13 hat tricks during his career.
• Navy has held the lead at halftime in every game this season ... the Mids have lost 12 in a row when trailing at the break and 57 straight when trailing after three quarters of play.
• Navy had its 14-game winning streak when leading after three quarters snapped when it dropped an 8-7 decision against Cornell in extra minutes.
• The Mids have held three of their four opponents to seven or fewer goals this season ... Navy has won 15 in a row when achieving this feat.
• Navy has scored a goal in 1005-consecutive games dating back to 1910.
A Look Back at the Mount St. Mary's Win
• Navy's starting attack scored six goals and pitched in five assists to lead the 10th-ranked Mids (3-1) to a 12-5 victory over Mount St. Mary's (0-2) last Friday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium ... Navy now owns a 6-0 series record against the Mount and has outscored them, 78-33.
• Senior Nick Mirabito led Navy with five points on a team-best three goals and two assists ... Mirabito, who has scored in 49 of the 50 games during his career, pitched in his second hat trick in as many games ... behind his five-point game he moved into a tie for 15th on the Mids' all-time points list with 126, equalling Eddie McKinnon's mark (1999-02).
• Navy saw second-year attack Tim Paul punch in two goals, while assisting on two others and senior Gregory Clement turned in a goal and an assist.
• Though Mount St. Mary's seemed to have possession for much of the early portion of the game, it managed just one shot in the opening 15 minutes of play.
