The Navy lacrosse team (2-0, 0-0 Patriot League) scored the game's first 19 goals, holding Furman scoreless for better than 50 minutes (51:44), and won 22 of the 26 faceoffs en route to a 19-3 victory over the Paladins (1-2) Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. It was the longest Navy has held an opponent scoreless since March 3, 2009, when it held Mount St. Mary's off the board for 53:04 in a 6-2 win. It was the largest margin of victory by a Navy team since it defeated Holy Cross, 23-5, during the Mids' 2004 Cinderella season that ironically was led by Richie Meade, the Paladin's current head coach.

"It was an honor to play against Coach Meade. To be out there on the sideline with him will be one of the highlights of my career," said first-year Navy head coach Joe Amplo, a fellow Long Islander who played against the Meade-coached Midshipmen at Hofstra and served alongside him on the NCAA Tournament selection committee. "I have so much respect for Richie so to be against him in a college lacrosse game is something I will treasure for the rest of my life.

"Our players came out with purpose and did their job. We are still trying to figure out who we are, but I was proud of the midfielders dodging hard, dodging to score. Our faceoff unit as a whole was solid and we showed signs of depth. We are going to need it as we continue to go through the season and see different styles of faceoff players. I was surprised we played so well on defense because we did not have a good week of practice. Coach Orsen challenged them yesterday and they answered the call. I thought we were physical on the ball."

The Mids held Furman to single-digit shots in each of the four quarters, allowing the Paladins to fire off just 16 for the game. Meanwhile, Navy improved to an incredible 60-1 when holding its foes to five or fewer goals dating back to 2003. Through two games, the Mids' defense has allowed just seven goals.

On the flip side, 18 different players provided either a goal or an assist in Saturday's win. Fourteen different players scored goals, including five first-time scorers - short-stick defensive middie Colin Meehan (Jr / Chantilly, Va.), midfielders Brock Martin (Jr / Raleigh, N.C.) and James Flannery (Fr / Garrett Park, Md.) and attackmen Matty Mayer (So / Baltimore, Md.) and Brian Calabrese (Fr / Wilton, Conn.).

The starters accounted for just nine of the 19 goals, while third-year starting attackman Christian Daniel (Owings, Md.) paced the team with his four-point performance.

Players on both the offense and defense can credit the play of their faceoff unit. Navy employed five different faceoff specialists and countless wing players to dominate the Paladins, losing just four total draws including one off a violation. Nick Barry (So / Islip, N.Y.) was flawless with an 8 for 8 performance, while the other four specialists lost just one apiece. The 22 faceoff wins tied as the third most in program history and the most since the Mids won 23 of 32 against VMI in the 2015 opener. Meanwhile, the 84.6 winning percentage goes down as the fifth best in Navy history.

The dominance in faceoff wins also proved to be the difference in a lop-sided ground ball category that saw Navy collect 49 to just 12 by Furman.The Mids just missed the 50 ground ball mark which they last achieved in 2007 against Holy Cross.

In sum, 57 players saw action for the Mids, including all five of their goalkeepers. Starter Ryan Kern (Sr / Middletown, Del.) and his backup Spencer Rees (Jr / Baltimore, Md.) turned aside two shots apiece, as the Paladins put just seven shots on goal.

Second-year midfielder Tucker Brown got the Paladins on the scoreboard at the 8:16 mark in the fourth quarter, while rookie attackman Brett Tenaglia scored the final two goals of the game. Starting keeper Alec Van de Bovenkamp made 11 saves and gave up 16 of the 19 Navy goals.

Navy will have little time to enjoy the win, as it heads back to work on Sunday in preparation for its Tuesday matchup at Richmond. Game time is set for 4:00 pm at Robins Stadium. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ (subscription based), while live stats will be available on Navy's web site. There will not be a radio broadcast of Tuesday's contest.

### Go Navy ###