Feb. 21, 2016

Box Score | Photo Gallery

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Navy overcame a sputtering offensive performance with a spectacular defense presence, as the 16th-ranked Midshipmen (2-1) posted a 5-1 victory over the Blue Hens (0-3) on Sunday afternoon in what was the 200th Navy men's lacrosse game played at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. It was the fewest goals scored by a Navy opponent since the 2007 Patriot League Tournament Semifinals when the Mids defeated Army West Point, 12-1. Meanwhile, the Mids have now won 50 of their last 51 games when holding their foe to five or fewer goals.

"It was a frustrating day, but it was a heck of a job by our defense," said fifth-year Navy head coach Rick Sowell. "I thought our defense played like we practiced all week. It's hard to get any better than holding a team to one goal.

"Hats off to Delaware who, like us, had two games to reflect upon and they made some changes. They slowed things down on offense and really played well on defense. You have to give them credit for a job well done."

Navy jumped out to a 1-0 lead just 14 seconds into the game when short-stick defensive middie DJ Plumer (So./Stevensville, Md.) picked up the loose ball on the wing of the faceoff and fed long pole Matt Rees (Jr./Sykesville, Md.) for a 10-yard strike. Rees, who had not scored a point (goal or assist) heading into the season, has punched in goals in each of the last two contests.

That goal, however, would be the last by either team in the opening half. Navy owned a 19-8 advantage in the shots column, but Delaware keeper Parker Ferrigan turned aside eight shots.

"I wasn't real happy with our offensive performance today," said Sowell. "We weren't dodging hard, we weren't taking great shots, we were dropping balls, dropping sticks. At times I thought we made it easier for them to defend us because of our own mistakes."

After being held scoreless for the first 35-plus minutes of action, Delaware pulled even with the Mids at 9:45 in the third when junior midfielder Trupert Orlieb took a Steve DeLargy pass and fired it into the top left corner of the net for his first goal of the season.

The Blue Hens' defense was equally impressive over the first 40-plus minutes as Navy was held without a goal for 43 minutes after opening the game with a goal in the first 14 seconds. However, midfielder Kevin Wendel (Sr./M/East Islip, N.Y.) broke the 1-1 tie and sparked a four-goal run by the Mids when he blew past midfielder John O'Connor and switched shooting hands to eventually stick an 8-yard shot past Ferrigan.

"There you saw a senior stepping up and making a play when we really needed a goal," said Sowell. "That was a big, big goal."

Navy scored three goals in the fourth quarter, including a pair by senior T.J. Hanzsche (Berwyn, Pa.), while the Mids' defense held the Blue Hens without a goal over the final 24:45 to secure its second win of the season.

Four different players accounted for the Mids' five goals, while Patrick Keena (Sr./A/Vienna, Va.) extended his point scoring streak to six straight games thanks to a pair of assists. Additionally, Wendel has scored points in five consecutive games and Jack Ray (So./A/Wyckoff, N.J.) scored a goal for the fourth straight contest.

Navy's defense forced six of Delaware's 17 turnovers with midfielder Greyson Torain (Glen Burnie, Md.) and short-stick defensive midfielder John Trainor (Jr./Northport, N.Y.) posting a pair of caused turnovers. Senior keeper John Connors was credited with six saves.

The Mids return to action next Saturday when they open Patriot League play on the road against Boston University. Faceoff is slated for 1:00 pm at Nickerson Field. The game will be streamed live via PatriotLeague.TV and will be carried live on 1430 AM / 99.9 FM WNAV with Joe Miller calling the action.

### Go Navy ###