ANNAPOLIS, Md. // The Navy men's lacrosse team (1-0, 0-0 Patriot League) used a balanced offense that featured seven different names in the scoring column along with a stifling defensive effort to earn an 8-5 victory over Mount St. Mary's (1-1, 0-0 NEC) Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. It was the Mids' first game in 350 days (16-14 win vs. Colgate on March 7, 2020), as the COVID-19 pandemic forced a worldwide shutdown and cut the collegiate lacrosse season short last March.

Starting midfielder Patrick Skalniak (So / Dallas, Texas) put the first points up on the board for the Mids this season when he fired his shot past the right hip of Mount St. Mary's backup goalkeeper Griffin McGinley just over two minutes into the contest. Skalniak's goal was the first of seven straight for the Mids. Seven in a row by seven different players, that is. The run also featured the first collegiate goal by freshman Max Hewitt (M / Denver, Colo.), who beat the shot clock with a long range shot in the opening period.

Navy held a 6-0 advantage at the half before another freshman, Bryson Rhee (M / Ephrata, Pa.), used a strong swim move to cross from his right to his left and punch in a 15-yarder for his first career goal. Rhee gave the Mids a 7-0 advantage with eight minutes to go in the third quarter.

Anchored by first-year starting goalkeeper Spencer Rees (Sr / Baltimore, Md.), the Navy defense held the Mount off the scoreboard for the first 37:26 of the contest before allowing its first goal. Senior midfielder Luke Frankeny successfully sent an ankle-biter past Rees to end the Mount St. Mary's drought at 7:34 in the third quarter. It also sparked a 5-1 run for the Mount, as Navy would score just once over the final 23 minutes of action. The original seven-goal deficit, however, proved too much for the Mount to overcome, as Navy closed out the game with an 8-5 victory.

Attackman Jack Sweeney (Jr / Glenelg, Md.) paced the Mids with a pair of goals, both on extra-man, including a spectacular behind the back score off an assist from co-captain Christian Daniel (Sr / Owings, Md.) at the 12:04 mark in the fourth quarter. Sweeney was joined in the scoring column by Skalniak, Hewitt, Daniel, starting defenseman Nick Franchuk (Sr / Southport, Conn.), starting midfielder James Flannery (So / Garrett Park, Md.) and Rhee. Five of Navy's eight goals were unassisted with Daniel feeding both extra-man strikes by Sweeney and attackman Tyler Perreten (Sr / Crofton, Md.) recording the other assist.

Rees played a pivotal role in Navy's win, making a career-high 12 saves in not only his first collegiate start, but his first start since middle school. Rees came into the contest with a combined eight saves in five career appearances in support of four-year starter Ryan Kern.

Navy's riding game was also crucial in keeping the Mount off the scoreboard, as Mount St. Mary's failed to clear on 10 of its 21 opportunities and was just 3 of 10 in the opening half. The Mount was given a much-needed boost in the second half when faceoff specialist Sam Stephan caught fire, winning seven of the nine draws over the final 30 minutes, putting the ball in the sticks of the offense.

Mount St. Mary's had five different players account for its five goals, including Frankeny, who also dealt out a pair of assists. McGinley, who made his first collegiate start in what was also his first collegiate appearance, tallied eight saves for the Mount.

The Midshipmen return to action a week from Sunday when they play host to Jacksonville. While it will be the third meeting between the two programs, it will mark the Dolphins' first trip to Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Scheduled for a 12:00 pm faceoff, the game will be broadcast on ESPN+ with Pete Medhurst and Joe Miller on the call, while 1430 FM / 99.9 AM WNAV will also carry the game.

### Go Navy ###