April 9, 2016

Box Score | Photo Gallery

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Nine different players contributed goals as the ninth-ranked Navy men's lacrosse team (8-2, 6-1 Patriot League) extended its winning streak to six in a row following a 16-9 victory over Colgate (3-8, 1-5 PL) Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Mids' current winning streak is their longest since 2008, while their five-game home winning streak is their longest in a single season since 2005.

"It was a good all-around game by the Midshipmen," said fifth-year Navy head coach Rick Sowell. "Scoring 16 goals was big and we scored them in a number of different ways - off the faceoff, off their zone, in transition on extra-man. As a coach it's really exciting to see.

"It got a little sloppy there in the third quarter, but it was good to see them get it back together again in the fourth quarter."

Colgate jumped out to a 2-0 lead just four-plus minutes into the contest with goals by junior attackman Robby Dunigan and rookie middie Duncan Hoskinson.

Navy, though, rallied to go on an 8-0 run while holding Colgate scoreless for 21 minutes (21:05).

Freshman Grayson Torain (M / Glen Burnie, Md.) kicked off the run when his 8-yard shot appeared to ricochet off a defenseman's stick and past Colgate keeper Brandon Burke at the 9:04 mark in the opening period. Four minutes later, the Mids drew even when senior co-captain Patrick Keena (A / Vienna, Va.) managed to knock free a pass from senior defenseman John Baker back to his keeper. With the ball loose on the ground, Keena batted the ball into the back of the net.

The Mids took a 3-2 lead with 2:43 left in the first period when Jack Ray (So. / Wyckoff, N.Y.) found an open Casey Rees (So. / Sykesville, Md.) for what would be the first of three consecutive goals by the first-year starting midfielder. Following the goal, Burke was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct and issued a one-minute unreleasable penalty. The Mids, who have struggled most of the year on extra-man, punched in a goal on their first opportunity as Keena found Rees to give the Mids a 4-2 advantage.

With 00.7 seconds remaining in the opening period, a heady play by Colgate that resulted in a Tyler Rigo goal was waived off after the official cited Rigo for being in the crease. That call frustrated a Colgate player who was called for unsportsmanlike conduct and another one-minute unreleasable penalty. That penalty set up back-to-back extra-man goals by Rees and Ray to open the second period. Just nine seconds after Ray's goal, junior long pole Matt Rees (Sykesville, Md.) won the ground ball off a faceoff win by Brady Dove (Jr. / Stevensville, Md.) and drove in his sixth goal of the year. Navy went on to close out its 8-0 run when Ray backed down his defender and tucked his shot inside the far post to give the Mids an 8-2 lead.

"It was huge," Sowell said in response to playing a man-up following two one-minute unreleasable penalties on Colgate. "We got the opportunity on extra-man, and we've been getting better, so it was a perfect time to take advantage of those penalties and we were able to extend or lead."

Colgate finally got back on the board when middie Jack Stebbins drew two defenders on the right alleyway, but was able to find a seam and get the Raiders to within five at the break.

The Mids pushed out to a nine-goal lead in the third quarter after scoring four goals in the first four minutes, including the first goal of the year by Dove just 21 seconds into the second half.

The Raiders, however, would pull together and score four straight from the 9:25 mark in the third until the end of the period. Sophomore attackman Anthony Abbadessa scored two of the four goals in the run including a perfectly executed catch-and-shoot play on the crease via extra-man.

Navy went on to outscore the Raiders 4-1 in the final quarter to secure their eighth win of the year and stay atop the Patriot League leader board.

Ray led all scorers with a career-high six points on two goals and a career-best four assists. The 6-6 attackman came into the game with four assists on the year and just eight for his career, as he played a role in six of the Mids' 16 goals. It also extended his point-scoring streak to 11 games, including goals in each of the last six.

Casey Rees pitched his fifth hat trick of the season with a team-high tying three goals, while senior T.J. Hanzsche (A / Berwyn, Pa.) posted his third hat trick also with three goals.

Navy finished the day 3-for-4 on extra-man, marking just the third time in the Sowell era that it has scored three or more extra-man goals (3 vs. Loyola in 2015).

Aiding in Navy's season-best 16 goals was the opportunity Dove gave the Mids to play offense. The two-time All-Patriot League faceoff specialist won 17 of the 24 draws which was just two off his career high, as well as the Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium record. He also picked up a season-high tying 11 ground balls.

Defensively, senior John Connors (GK / Bellmore, N.Y.) made 10 saves, six of which came in the second half, while Matt Rees caused two turnovers and grabbed six ground balls and All-American defenseman Chris Fennell (Jr. / Milford, N.J.) picked up five ground balls and forced a takeaway.

While it marked Navy's sixth straight game holding an opponent to single digits, Fennell was able to take some positives away from the day.

"We weren't on our 'A' game, but I thought it was also a good learning experience for us. It's a good way to humble yourself and realize that you aren't perfect and need to continue to get better. I think it will help us in the long run."

Stebbins led the way for Colgate with three goals, while Abbadessa and Rigo both pitched in a pair. Burke made 10 saves in goal for the Raiders, while senior pole Connor Murphy caused two turnovers and was 5 for 12 at the faceoff "x."

While the win was cause for celebration, the Mids were able to savor their victory alongside five-year-old Grayson Osborne who served as Navy's honorary captain. Osborne was introduced to and subsequently adopted by the program last fall through Team IMPACT, a Boston-based organization whose mission is to improve the quality of life for children facing life-threatening and chronic illnesses. Osborne accompanied team captains Patrick Keena and Jules Godino (Summit, N.J.) for the coin flip and also led the team onto the field carrying an American flag.

Ironically, Navy's win over Colgate automatically secured Patriot League Tournament berths for Army West Point, Loyola and Lehigh regardless of their game results on Saturday. Army West Point defeated Boston, 15-4, while Loyola scored an 11-10 victory over Lehigh. The Midshipmen are a game ahead of everyone in the league with a 6-1 mark, while Army West Point and Loyola are both 5-1. Lehigh is 4-3, followed by Bucknell and Boston U. tied for fifth with 3-3 records, Colgate and Holy Cross tied for seventh at 1-5 and Lafayette in ninth at 0-6.

The Mids will be back in action next Saturday when they travel to West Point for the annual Army-Navy game. Jason Knapp and Steve Panarelli will call the game live on CBS Sports Network beginning at 12:00 pm from Michie Stadium. The game will also be carried on 1430 AM / 99.9 FM WNAV and 1500 AM WFED with Pete Medhurst on the call.

### Go Navy ###