Aug. 26, 2011

• 2012 Navy Men's Lacrosse Schedule

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Four games against teams who qualified for the 2011 NCAA Championship highlight the 2012 Navy men's lacrosse schedule released Tuesday. Among the four programs who earned NCAA Tournament berths a year ago, three will battle the Midshipmen at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium including long-time rival and nine-time NCAA Champion Johns Hopkins.

"We are committed to playing a challenging, top-notch schedule," said first-year Navy head coach Rick Sowell. "Highlighted by four teams who played in the NCAA Tournament a year ago, we are excited about what 2012 has in store for our program."

While Navy's schedule as a whole provides the Mids with an exciting challenge, Sowell has put together an extraordinary set of scrimmages for both the fall and spring. All four teams played in last year's NCAA Championship, with a pair of them playing on championship weekend. Navy will play two scrimmages at home in the fall against Villanova (Oct 7), who made the NCAA Tournament for the second time in the last three years, while On Oct. 15 the Mids will face Notre Dame, an NCAA qualifier in each of the last six seasons including in 2010 when it battled Duke in the National Championship.

The spring season kicks off in Durham, N.C. on Jan. 28 with a meeting against Duke in the first of two scrimmages. The Blue Devils punched their ticket into the NCAA Semifinals a year ago, but fell short against ACC rival Maryland. Meanwhile, the Mids' final preseason tune-up is against reigning National Champion Virginia in Charlottesville on Feb. 4.

"Certainly playing the likes of Villanova, Notre Dame, Duke and Virginia will allow us as a staff to gauge where we are at heading into the season," said Sowell. "All four are proven programs who are coming off phenomenal seasons."

For the fifth-straight year, Navy will play its season opener against VMI when the two programs square off Feb. 11 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Last year, Navy's rookie class accounted for 12 points with eight goals and four assists in leading the Midshipmen to a 14-8 win over the Keydets.

The Mids will play the first of six games on the road in 2012 when they make the trek to Florida to play Jacksonville as part of a doubleheader on Feb. 19. The Sunshine Classic will feature the Mids and Dolphins in the first game, followed by Ohio State vs. Denver in an action-packed event played at EverBank Field, home to the NFL's Jacksonville Jaguars. The trip to Jacksonville marks the first for the Mids in what is one of the Navy's most patriotic communities. The Mids have had some success in the Sunshine State before, however, as Navy claimed victories over Patriot League rival Colgate in 2004 and '05 when the two programs played regular-season contests on the campus of UCF in Orlando.

"When the opportunity to play in the Sunshine Classic presented itself, I immediately thought it was right for Navy," said Sowell. "What an incredible opportunity for our players to be able to showcase our program in an NFL facility in front of a strong Navy community."

Navy returns home for back-to-back games at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, including a Feb. 25 date with North Carolina. The two programs have a long-standing rivalry that dates back to 1975 with Carolina holding a narrow 14-12 series advantage. Seven of the last 13 meetings between the two teams have been decided by one goal. The Mids were once again a heartbeat away as the Tar Heels rallied to score four of the game's final five goals to secure a 10-8 win in Chapel Hill a year ago.

Just a week later, the Midshipmen open Patriot League action when Bucknell travels to Annapolis on March 3. Since Navy joined the Patriot League in 2004, the annual Navy-Bucknell contest has become a spirited battle. While Navy holds a 7-4 advantage, six of the nine league matchups have been decided by one goal, including each of the last five. Last year, was no different. The Midshipmen scored four goals in the final 3:47 of regulation, including two in the final 18 seconds to send the game into extra minutes. However Bucknell's Todd Heritage fired in the game-winner to lead the Bison to a dramatic 12-11 double-overtime victory. Four games in the series have been decided in overtime, but last year's epic battle was the first to enter into multiple overtime frames.

The Mids will play their next three games over the course of just eight days with two of the three contests played on the road. Kicking things off will be a March 10 contest at Lafayette, a program Navy owns a 12-1 series record against. Three days later (March 13), the Mids will briefly step away from Patriot League play and travel to Towson. Last year the Mids were down 11-8 with three minutes to go in the third quarter, when they stormed back and scored the last six goals of the game to secure a 14-11 victory over the Tigers in Annapolis.

Navy plays its final game over the eight-day span when it welcomes Holy Cross to Annapolis on March 17. The Mids used a crippling defense and took advantage of 10 Holy Cross penalties to post an 8-3 victory over the Crusaders a year ago. Navy scored five of its eight goals on extra-man, including a hat trick by Harrison Chaires (Ellicott City, Md.).

Like the Bucknell series, the annual Navy-Colgate matchup has turned into its own rivalry. Though the Mids have a handle on the series with a 10-4 advantage, the last four games have proven to be nail-biters with two of the last three decided in extra minutes. Navy and Colgate are slated to square off in Hamilton, N.Y. on March 24.

Navy will play host to Lehigh on March 31 in what marks the first game played in Annapolis between the two programs since March 11, 2008. Because of some scheduling snafus, each of the last three games have been played in Bethlehem, Pa. Additionally, the game will be played on a Saturday, marking the first time the Midshipmen have played all of their conference games on the weekend since joining the league in 2004.

"One of our goals for this program is to win the Patriot League and the importance of every Patriot League game cannot be understated. I have coached teams who have played against almost every Patriot League opponent in either the regular season or a scrimmage over the last few years, so I have seen first hand the quality of the competition the Patriot League has to offer. The parity within the league especially over the last several seasons speaks volumes to the level of competition and I felt like it is in our program's best interest to play all of the Patriot League games on the weekend."

Fans have been treated to some great battles between Maryland and Navy over the last decade and on April 7 the rivalry will continue as the two meet at Byrd Stadium in College Park. While the two programs have met 86 times, they have battled in each of the last 66 years which is the second-longest continuous series Navy has with another team (Army, 79-consecutive years). Eight of the last 13 games between the two have been decided by one goal, including four of the last seven.

After a two-year commitment with Inside Lacrosse that took the Army-Navy rivalry away from the two institutions, the rivalry returned to campus sites last season. One of the sport's longest and most cherished rivalries, the Army-Navy Star Game will be played on Saturday, April 14 at Michie Stadium in West Point, N.Y. in what will be the 91st meeting between the two service academies. The Mids own a 57-30-3 series advantage, including wins in 14 of the last 18 games.

"Army-Navy is one of the best rivalries in college athletics and without a doubt in the sport of lacrosse," said Sowell. "I have a great deal of respect for Coach Alberici at Army and am looking forward to being a part of this great tradition."

For the ninth-consecutive year, Navy will close out the regular season by facing Johns Hopkins on April 21. Eight of the last 17 games between the two teams have been decided by one goal, including five of the last nine. The Navy faithful will remember the last time the two teams met at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Andy Warner, a 2011 graduate, scored the game-winner with just 10 seconds left in overtime to snap Hopkins' 35-game winning streak over the Midshipmen.

"Not only am I thrilled to be part of the Army-Navy rivalry, but I'm also excited to enter into the storied rivalries Navy has enjoyed alongside Maryland and Johns Hopkins. All of those programs have a rich tradition and I'm looking forward to leading the Naval Academy into those contests."

Finally, the four-team Patriot League Tournament is slated to be played April 27-29 at the site of the highest seed. Since joining the league in 2004, the Midshipmen have played host to four of the seven tournaments and have claimed the title five times. Navy owns an 11-2 all-time record in the Patriot League Tournament.

Navy's television schedule was unavailable at press time and will be released at a later date, as will times for road games.