March 25, 2016 
Junior
Brady Dove won 19 of the 25 faceoffs in last year's win over Lehigh.
Game Day Storylines •
Scene Setter: Winners of three in a row, Navy will look to put together its first four-game winning streak since 2012 when it makes the trip to Bethlehem, Pa. to battle Patriot League foe Lehigh on Saturday. Action is slated for a 3:00 PM faceoff at Fisher Stadium. The Mids, who enter the game 5-2 and 3-1 in Patriot League action, are led by fifth-year head coach
Rick Sowell, while the 5-2 Mountain Hawks are under the direction of ninth-year head coach Kevin Casses. Saturday's contest marks the 36th meeting in a series Navy leads, 29-6.
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Follow the Action: The Navy-Lehigh game will be carried live by 1430 AM / 99.9 FM WNAV with Pete Medhurst handling the call. Coverage begins with the Navy Lacrosse Pregame Show at 2:45 PM. The game will also be streamed online for FREE via PatriotLeague.TV, while live stats will be available at NavySports.com. Fans in the Bethlehem, Pa. area can also tune in to local television station Service Electric 2.
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Streaks are Made to be Broken: Navy broke a pair of five-game losing skids this season with victories over Bucknell and Loyola The Mids had not beaten since 2011 (0-5) and had not won a game in Lewisburg since 2009 (0-3). Meanwhile, Loyola had won five in a row against Navy prior to the Mids' win last Saturday. Next on the list? Navy hasn't won in Bethlehem since 2010, dropping four in a row on Lehigh's field.
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Dove Feasts off the Mountain Hawks: Junior faceoff man
Brady Dove has won 42 of the 62 draws he has taken in the three previous appearances against Lehigh, including a 19 for 25 (76.0) performance in last year's win. It was just one win off the Mids' program record.
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Accolades: Not only were Navy's
Casey Rees and
DJ Plumer named the Patriot League Offensive and Defensive Players of the Week, respectively, Rees was named the NCAA's Offensive Player of the Week for his 5-goal performance against Loyola last Saturday. Additionally, Navy was also deemed the NCAA's Team of the Week after upsetting the league favorite Greyhounds, who were/are ranked 15th nationally.
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Ground Attack: Navy has won the loose ball war in each of its seven games this season. On the year they have 35 more ground balls (204-169) than their foes. The Mids are ranked 25th nationally (29.14), while long pole
Matt Rees (5.14) is 19th and faceoff specialist
Brady Dove (4.71) stands 25th.
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Who's Scoring?: Navy's starting attack and midfield have combined to score 61 of the 69 goals this season (88.4) with the attack scoring 34 times and the midfield 27 times. The remaining 8 goals have been scored by long pole
Matt Rees (4), short-stick defensive middie
John Trainor (1) and second-line midfielders
Colin Flounlacker (2) and
Ray Wardell (1).
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Droughts: The Mids are 4-0 in games in which their opponents have experienced scoring droughts of 20 minutes or more. While Navy wasn't quite able to hold Lafayette to 20 minutes of scoreless lacrosse in Tuesday's 11-4 rout, the Leopards were held without a goal in the opening 19:12 and the final 19:51.
Scouting the Mountain Hawks • Under ninth-year head coach Kevin Casses, Lehigh enters the weekend with a 5-2 record, including a 3-1 mark in Patriot League action.
• The Mountain Hawks have wins over NJIT (21-4), Furman (15-7), Holy Cross (12-11), Colgate (12-9) and Lafayette (11-6). Their losses, meanwhile, were against Duke (13-11) and Army West Point (13-10).
• Lehigh is ranked among the nation's top 10 in seven statistical categories, including scoring offense. The Mountain Hawks boasts the nation's ninth-best scoring output, averaging 13.14 goals per game. Three players have recorded double-digit goals for the year, while two others have nine.
• Rookie attackman Tristan Rai stands fourth nationally in goals per game (3.14) and leads the team with 22 on the year. Meanwhile, senior attackman Reid Weber stands 21st nationally (2.71) and has punched in 19 goals.
• On the flipside, Lehigh's opponents are averaging 9.00 goals per game. Sophomore keeper Adam Sawicki started the first six games of the season and posted a 48.0 save percentage and a 9.89 GAA. Rookie Chris Kiernan, however, got the call against rival Lafayette last week and in two appearances he owns a 65.4 save percentage an a 6.83 GAA.
• One of the top programs in caused turnovers (8th, 8.71), senior defenseman Tripp Telesco leads the charge with 19 while freshman Craig Chick has 12.
• The weak link in the Mountain Hawks' game is at the faceoff "x" where they are winning just 41.1 percent of their draws. Casey McAdam (37.5) and Matt Ernst (48.7) have shared the bulk of the draws this season.
Navy vs. Lehigh - The Series • Saturday's contest between Navy and Lehigh marks the 36th game in a series that began in 1910. The Midshipmen own a decisive 29-6 series advantage.
• The Mids won the first three contests before suffering their first loss in the series, a 4-3 decision in 1913. Navy had won 25 in a row against the Mountain Hawks until Lehigh dealt the Mids a 14-10 loss in Bethlehem in 2011. That win has sparked a five-game winning streak by the Mountain Hawks over the Mids and none of the four games were closer than four goals. Navy snapped that five-game skid a year ago when it outscored Lehigh 4-2 in the final quarter to score a 13-12 victory in Annapolis.
• Navy owns a slim 6-4 series advantage in games played in Bethlehem, however, the Mids have lost four in a row playing in the Lehigh Valley. The last time Navy beat Lehigh in Bethlehem was March 2, 2010, in an 8-3 decision.
• Since Navy joined the league in 2004, the Mids have scored double-figure goals in seven of the 15 contests. Navy has produced nine goals in three of the other eight games during that stretch.
• Navy and Lehigh have met three times in the Patriot League Tournament. The Mids won in 2005 and `06, while the Mountain Hawks claimed the 2014 contest.
On the Road Again • After playing back-to-back games at home, Navy will be back on the road for a third time this season when it travels to Lehigh on Saturday. The Mids, who will play five regular-season games away from Annapolis this season, are 1-1 on the road this spring - Boston U. (L, 10-9 2OT), Bucknell (W, 13-6).
• Since the beginning of the 2004 campaign, Navy has lost 35 of its 70 road games (neutral sites not included).
• Navy has had a losing record on the road in 4 of the last 7 years. The Mids were 2-4 in 2010, 1-6 in 2011, 3-2 in 2012, 0-5 in 2013, 1-6 in 2014, 4-2 in 2015 and 1-1 in 2016. Under
Rick Sowell, Navy is 9-16 on the road.
• Last season the Mids put together a 4-2 mark in games played away from the friendly confines of Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium - #19 Holy Cross (W, 7-6), at #17 Johns Hopkins (L, 13-8), at Lafayette (W, 18-4), at Colgate (W, 7-6), at Loyola (L, 17-7) at Air Force (W, 9-8).
• Navy's 7-6 win over #19 Holy Cross last February marked its first win over a ranked team on the road since defeating #12 Colgate, 12-11, on March 24 2012.
• The Mids won back-to-back road games at Lafayette and at Colgate a year ago, marking the first time they had put together consecutive wins on the road since 2012 when the Mids beat Lafayette (12-7), Towson (10-6) and Colgate (12-11) on the road.
