Game Day Storylines
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Scene Setter: The Navy men's lacrosse team will be on the road for the next two weeks with its first stop in Worcester, Mass. to face Holy Cross. Faceoff is set for 12:00 pm at Kuzniewski Field. The Mids, who enter the contest 4-4 overall and 2-2 in Patriot League action, are led by eighth-year head coach
Rick Sowell, while the 3-5 Crusaders are under the direction of first-year head coach Peter Burke. Saturday's game marks the 17th meeting in a series that dates back to 2004 and Navy leads, 14-2.
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Follow the Action: The Navy-Holy Cross contest will be streamed online (FREE) via Navy's web site or PatriotLeague.TV, while live stats will be available at NavySports.com. There will be NO radio call this week.
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Zeroing in on 100:Â Senior
Greyson Torain became the 34th player and only the ninth midfielder in the program's 112-year history to reach the 100-point milestone when he punched in 6 points (5G, 1A) against Vermont in the opener. Torain is 22nd on the all-time list with 116 points. Meanwhile, classmate
Ryan Wade, who has topped 30 points in each of the previous two seasons, needs just ONE point (33-66=99) to add his name to that list. Torain and Wade would be just the fourth set of classmates in program history to reach 100 points (Brendan Schneck and Mike Hannan in 1978, Michael Herger and Brian Keith in 1990, Ian Dingman and Billy Looney in 2007 and Sam Jones and Tucker Hull in 2014.
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Point Streak: Senior midfielder
Ryan Wade owns the nation's 11th-longest point-scoring streak with a goal or an assist in each of the last 32Â contests. He has produced 86 points on 28 goals and 58 assists during the streak that dates back to the Feb. 25, 2017 contest against Boston University. Wade has also dealt out assists in each of the last 28 games.
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Tough Draw for Barry: For the second straight game, Navy rookie faceoff specialist
Nick Barry will face an opponent who stands among the nation's top 10 in winning percentage. Last week, Barry faced Lehigh's Connor Gaffney who stands #3 in the nation (68.9), while this week he will face #7 Dan O'Connell (66.7). Barry, who has won the second-most draws by a Navy freshman in program history, owns a 45.5 winning percentage (66-145).
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The Dependable Duo: Freshman attackman
Jack Sweeney, along with senior midfielder
Ryan Wade have produced a point in each of the Mids' eight games this season. Wade, the lone Navy player to record a point in all 14 games a season ago, is tied as the team's leading scorer with 28 points (11G, 17A), while Sweeney is fifth with 15 points (10G, 5A).
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Extra Extra: Attackmen
Christian Daniel (3),
Nick Cole (2) and
Jack Sweeney (1), along with midfielder
Michael Foster (1) have accounted for Navy's 7 extra-man goals this season. Meanwhile Sweeney has provided the assist on 4 of the 7.
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Shot Clock = Goals APlenty: With the addition of the shot clock, it appears scoring averages are skyrocketing. Navy is averaging double digits in the scoring column (10.38) for the first time since closing out the 2007 season averaging 11.00 goals. Same is true on the other side, however, as the Mids' defense is giving up double figures (11.88) for the first time since 2013 (10.23).
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May I Help You?: Navy currently ranks 22nd in the country in assists per game (7.00). Navy has never finished inside of the top 20 since the NCAA began tracking the stat in 2009. Navy's best average during that time period is 5.79 (81A, 14Gm) in 2017. The Mids have dealt out 56 assists in 8 games this season.
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Home vs. Road: Navy heads to Holy Cross for just its third road game of the year, while the Crusaders are playing just their third home game of the year. The Mids are 1-1 away from Annapolis, while Holy Cross is winless (0-2) at home.
Scouting Holy Cross
• Under the leadership of first-year head coach Peter Burke, Holy Cross has produced a 3-5 overall mark while it is winless in Patriot League play. However, don't let the record fool you. Holy Cross has earned double overtime wins over the Ivy League's Harvard and Brown, while dropping a one-goal decision to Army and putting up 15 goals on defending league champion Loyola.
• After averaging 6.69 goals per game and 87 goals in 13 games a year ago, the Crusaders have scored 74 goals in 8 games this season and are averaging 9.25 goals per game.
• Junior attackman Kevin Kodzis and junior middie Sean Mullaney have both eclipsed the 20-point mark this season. Mullaney has a team-best 23 points on a team-high 17 goals and 6 assists, while Kodzis has 21 points on 15 goals and 6 assists. Meanwhile, rookie attackman Will Spangenberg has 19 points on 9 goals and a team-best 10 assists.
• Defensively, Holy Cross is allowing 10.50 goals per game which is about the middle point among the NCAA standings. Anchoring the defense is junior keeper Jonathan Tesoro who boasts a 51.2 save percentage and a 10.19 goals-against average.
• As a team, Holy Cross stands sixth nationally in caused turnovers a game, forcing 11.25 turnovers. Leading the way for the Crusaders senior defenseman Matt Farrell who is #2 in the country with his 2.88 takeaways per game. He also is second on the team in ground balls with 29.
• Junior Dan O'Connell has been successful at the faceoff "x" where he has won 110 of 165 draws (66.7) and is seventh nationally. He leads the team with 68 ground balls and has proven to be an asset off the win
• The Crusaders are also among the leaders in caused turnovers (#19), averaging 7.56 per contest. Junior defenseman Matt Farrell leads the squad with his 1.63 takeaways per game and is ranked 23rd nationally.
Navy vs. the Crusaders - The Series
• Saturday's contest marks the 17th meeting between Navy and Holy Cross in a series the Mids hold a comfortable 14-2 lead.
• Navy and Holy Cross have played one another five times in Worcester, Mass. (2005, '09, '11, '15, '17) and eight times in Annapolis (2004, '06, '10, '12, '14, '16 '17, '18).
• Meanwhile, Navy and Holy Cross have met on neutral ground three times. Â
• In 2007, the two programs faced one another at SMU's Ford Stadium where the Mids dealt Holy Cross a 12-2 loss. It was Navy's first trip to Texas since the Mids defeated Johns Hopkins, 9-6, on May 8, 1971, at the Houston Astrodome.
• In 2008, Navy and Holy Cross were part of the Ford Patriot Cup which featured two high school games, along with two Div. I men's lax games (Rutgers vs. Army). Navy scored a 16-3 win over the Crusaders at Texas Stadium, the former home of the Dallas Cowboys.
• In 2013, Holy Cross earned its first victory over the Midshipmen, securing a 7-5 victory in a game that was played at Citi Field, the home of Major League Baseball's New York Mets. It was just the second Div. I men's lacrosse game played at a Major League Baseball venue.
• The Crusaders defeated the fourth-seeded Mids (11-7) in the 2017 Patriot League Quarterfinals in what was Holy Cross' second appearance in the tournament.
• Navy has scored eight or more goals in 12 of the 16 contests, while putting up double-figure goals 10 times (8 in 2005 and 2011, 7 in 2015, 7 in 2017 PLT, 5 in 2018). The Mids' defense has held Holy Cross to five or fewer goals in 11 of the 16 games.
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