Final Stats

ANNAPOLIS, Md. - Freshman attackman Christian Daniel (Owings, Md.) scored a career-high five goals, while midfielder Ryan Wade (Jr / Coronado, Calif.) scored one goal and assisted on four others to lead the Navy men's lacrosse team (4-3, 3-0 Patriot League) to a 15-5 victory over Lafayette (2-5, 0-3 PL) Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Midshipmen are now 3-0 in Patriot League play for the first time since 2008.

Just four days after putting up a season-low three goals against 17th-ranked Penn, the Navy offense bounced back and scored a season-best 15 goals against the Leopards. Ten different players scored goals for the Mids, including four who notched their first career goals. Meanwhile, it marked the third consecutive Patriot League game the Mids have reached double figures in the goal column (10 vs. Boston U., 13 vs. Bucknell).

"We could have started the game any better," said seventh-year Navy head coach Rick Sowell. "This was an important game, a Patriot League game, and we were very happy to be at home again. I thought it was a solid all-around performance and a good team win."

Navy opened the game on a 5-0 run that featured a pair of goals by Daniel before Lafayette got on the scoreboard with an extra-man goal by senior middie Will McCarthy at the 1:52 mark.

The Mids would score the next three goals to take a 9-1 lead just under three minutes into the third quarter, as Navy's defense held the Leopards to just one goal over the first 32 minutes of action.

The Leopards scored back-to-back goals just 18 seconds apart by McCarthy and junior attackman Conor Walters to trim the Mids' lead to six with 11:41 to play in the third quarter. Neither team, however, could get anything going the rest of the frame as the two teams combined for seven turnovers and 14 shots in the third.

Navy went on to outscore Lafayette 6-2 in the fourth stanza and featured first collegiate goals by sophomore attackman Connor Young (Monkton, Md.), sophomore midfielder Brendan Jacob (Haverford, Pa.), freshman midfielder Joe deLyra (Brightwaters, N.Y.) and senior attackman Justin Knode (Prince Frederick, Md.).

"We got a little sloppy on offense in the third quarter and didn't seize the opportunity to close out the game," said Sowell. "Our defense was holding strong 6v6 in the quarter, but offensively we needed to tighten things up."

The Mids dominated the Leopards in nearly every statistical category, outshooting them 42-24 and leading them in ground balls, 40-24. It's the second time this season Navy has held an opponent to 25 or fewer shots in a game and 61st since 2004. The Mids are 51-10 in those contests.

"Coach Wellner, our defensive coordinator, set a great game plan for the defense and we were able to hold them to minimal goals," said senior defenseman Michael Strack, who was named to the USILA National Team of the Week just one ago for his performance against Bucknell.

While Lafayette had 25 turnovers in the contest, 13 were caused by Mids including a career-high four by Strack and three by Daniel.

Daniel's five goals are tied as the most by a Navy player this season alongside Jay Ray's five-goal performance against Boston U., while it's the most goals by a Navy freshman since Ray targeted five against Air Force in 2015. Daniel has scored a goal or an assist in all seven games this season, posting goals in six (0 vs. Maryland) of the seven and assists in six (0 vs. Penn) of the seven.

"We knew Christian was a young man that could come in and play for us," said Sowell. "He sees the ball very well and has a high IQ of the game. His ability to earn a spot among the starting attack allowed us to move Ryan Wade to midfield alongside Greyson Torain and Casey Rees. I thought today Christian really took advantage of the opportunities that he was given."

Wade, who extended his point-scoring streak to a team-best 17 games, finished the day with the second-best point total of his career (7 vs. Maryland, 2011). The four assists tie as the second most of his career and gets up to within nine of the Mids' all-time top 20 list with 37. He has dealt out an assist in a remarkable 14 straight games.

Senior midfielder Casey Rees (Baltimore, Md.) also got back on track with a pair of goals.

McCarthy (2), Walters (2) and freshman midfielder Brian Hess (1) combined to scored Lafayette's five goals, while Jonathan Anastos made 10 saves between the pipes. Rookie Gabe Smithline won 11 of the 15 draws he took against the Mids (John Becker 1-8), while the Mids' Joe Varello (Kings Park, N.Y.) was just 8 of 18 and sophomore Brad Alexander (Carmel, N.Y.) was 3 of 5.

The Midshipmen return to Patriot League action next Saturday when they play host to defending Patriot League Champion Loyola (4-2, 2-0 PL). The second game of a men's and women's (Colgate, 11:00 am) doubleheader, the men are scheduled to face off at 1:30 pm or 45 minutes after the conclusion of the women's game. Both games of the doubleheader will be televised live by CBS Sports Network. The game will also be carried live on 1430 AM / 99.9 FM WNAV with Pete Medhurst and Joe Miller on the call.

### Go Navy ###