April 12, 2008

Box Score

WEST POINT, N.Y. - The sixth-ranked Navy men's lacrosse team saw its 13-game winning streak over Army come to an end Saturday, as the No. 17 Black Knights upset the Midshipmen on senior day at Michie Stadium by a 9-6 margin. Army jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead and never trailed despite Navy knotting the game up at 3-3 early in the second period.

Senior attack Justin Bokmeyer put the Black Knights on the board just 55 seconds into the game when keeper Adam Fullerton stuffed a Joe Lennon (Westminster, Md.) shot and sent an outlet pass up the middle to Mike Hanna. Hanna charged down the field and found Bokmeyer anchored on the left side of the field for the goal. Less than two minutes later, junior middie Kevin LoRusso bounced a shot past Navy keeper Tommy Phelan (Towson, Md.) to push the lead to two. By the 7:51 mark, the Black Knights held a 3-0 lead thanks to an Alex Rhoads unassisted tally.

The Mids, who took just two shots in the first 10 minutes of action, finally got on the board when Phelan made a stop in goal, sending the outlet to the 50-yard line where long stick defensive midfielder Zack Schroeder (Deer Park, N.Y.) awaited the pass. Schroeder sprinted straight up the middle where he stuck in his first collegiate goal with 2:08 remaining. Thirty-six seconds later, the Mids closed to within one as senior Nick Mirabito (Binghamton, N.Y.), fed attack Tim Paul (Parkton, Md.) for an extra-man goal off a 10-yarder up the middle.

Navy made it three ina row when Paul tacked on his second goal of the game, shooting at Fullerton's ankles less than two minutes into the second quarter to tie the game at three apiece.

Army scored the remaining two goals of the second quarter, both by junior attack jason Peyer, to take a 5-3 lead into the half.

The Mids closed the gap to one just over a minute into the second half when Mirabito found second-year midfielder Basil Daratsos (Niskayuna, N.Y.) slicing down the middle and Daratsos was able to get off his shot before suffering a hard shot by an Army defenseman. But that would be it for Navy in the third quarter, as four of its remaining seven shots were stopped by Fullerton.

Army, meanwhile, built a four-goal cushion by the end of the quarter and by then had the game well within hand.

"I want to congratulate Army," said Navy head coach Richie Meade, who last lost to the Black Knights in 1997. "At the end of the day, I think they took advantage of our mistakes and turned them into goals and we didn't. I think Fullerton played pretty well in goal and turned away some of our shots.

"There's a lot of lacrosse left for us and maybe it'll be a lesson for us. You have to come out and play each and every game."

Five players scored the Mids' six goals, as Paul led the way with a pair. Mirabito punched in a goal and added two assists in suffering his first loss in seven games against the Black Knights. Faceoff specialist Mikelis Visgauss (Setauket, N.Y.) put together another outstanding game in which he won 11 of the 16 draws he took, but Navy was unable to convert as they had done a week ago against Maryland.

The Black Knights were paced by Bokmeyer's hat trick, while Peyer turned in a pair of goals and assists. Fullerton made 11 saves in goal, including eight in the second half.

The Midshipmen will be back in action next Saturday when they play host to longtime nemesis Johns Hopkins at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Faceoff is slated for 12:00 pm at will be televised live by CBS College Sports Network with Paul Carcaterra and Jason Chandler calling the action. Additionally, Navy's 11 seniors and their families will be honored in a pregame ceremony.