ANNAPOLIS, Md. // Co-captain Patrick Skalniak (M / Sr / Dallas, Texas) scored 3 of his career-high tying 5 goals in the fourth quarter to help lead the Navy men's lacrosse team (1-0) to a 13-7 victory over Mount St. Mary's (0-1) on a frigid Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The contest was the opener for both teams.

"It was a good college lacrosse game," said fourth-year Navy head coach Joe Amplo. "Coach Gravante has been there 28 years and has a good program. His kids are who they are. They are blue collar, they're tough, they scrap, they have a great plan. They weren't sliding to us and it took us a while to wear them down.

"Losing to them last year, our guys were motivated to beat them. They (our players) have this expectation that you are going to roll over a team. That's what kids want, but that's not going to happen against Mount St. Mary's or against most opponents in college lacrosse. I was proud of our guys for sticking to the plan and playing fundamental to the end."

Despite Mount St. Mary's leading the contest just once (2-1 / 11:32, 2nd Qtr) and Navy holding the lead for the final 35-plus minutes of the contest, Navy truly could not break free from the visiting Mount until midway through the fourth quarter. Navy held a 3-2 advantage at half and built a 4-goal advantage (7-3) by scoring 4 goals by 4 different players in the first 5 minutes of the third quarter. Mount St. Mary's, however, would trim the Mids' lead to a pair (7-5) by the end of the third.

Navy again pushed its lead to 4 thanks to a spectacular transition goal by defensive middie Jackson Peters (Jr / Darien, Conn.), who took the ground ball from the defensive restraining line all the way to the goal for his first-collegiate score, while Skalniak tallied his first of 3 goals in the final quarter at the 9:26 mark.

The Mids couldn't quite shake the Mount, however, as senior attackman Jeremy Wilson and second-year middie Brian Bradley punched in goals less than 2 minutes apart to pull Mount St. Mary's back to within 2 (9-7) with 7:16 remaining.

Navy answered by scoring the final 4 goals of the contest, including a spectacular over-the-shoulder goal by second-year starting attackman Henry Tolker (Catonsville, Md.) off a pass from Navy starting quarterback / attackman Xavier Arline (Jr / Wading River, N.Y.).

The Mids outscored the Mount 10-5 in the second half, including 6-2 in the final frame to avenge last year's season-opening loss (11-9) in Annapolis.

Six different Navy players contributed goals led by Skalniak's 5. The 2022 All-American extended his consecutive games with a point streak to 30 (every game of his career) which is the nation's fifth-longest streak and second longest by a player who hasn't played an extra season.

"Pat is a steady performer and shows up when we need him," said Amplo. "He played like a senior that wanted to win."

"They were a really good defense. They pressed out and got at our hands. They have some really good poles. It wasn't easy to beat those guys.

"Credit the other 5 guys on the field (with me), and the boys on the practice field, too. The guys that maybe didn't get in the game, do the blue collar stuff, the scout team. It was a good Navy win today."

Tolker, meanwhile, turned in his sixth-career hat trick in 16 appearances, while middie Max Hewitt (Jr / Denver, Colo.) scored a pair of goals and added an assist.

"The offense felt different when Tolker was in there," added Amplo. "He just finds a way to get open and score goals and make plays that a lot of people don't notice. He changes the energy of our offense. That's a credit to who he is. He's a really, really tough lacrosse player.

Defensively, the Mids held the Mount to single digits for the ninth time in the 10-game series, including a 2-goal opening half. Starting goalkeeper Pat Ryan (Sr / Groton, Mass.) played a major role in Navy's stingy defense, as he made 10 stops in 30 minutes of play before calling it an afternoon and gave way to rookie keeper Dan Daly (Wayne, N.J.), who made 3 saves over the final 30 minutes.

"I was really proud of Pat in the first half with 10 saves," added Amplo. "Defensively I thought we were doing a good job. Then Dan Daly came in and was solid between the pipes, as well."

Mount St. Mary's turned the ball over 25 times on the afternoon, with Navy forcing 9 of them including 2 each by All-American defenseman Jackson Bonitz (Jr / Shrewsbury, Pa.) and long-stick midfielder Zach Snider (Sr / Drexel Hill, Pa.).

The faceoff game left coaches, players and fans alike scratching their heads. There were a combined 9 faceoff violations called on the two teams which resulted in an extra-man opportunity for each team. After winning just 2 of the 7 draws in the opening half, Navy came back to nearly halve the faceoffs in the second half by winning 8 of the 17. Colin Shadowens (Fr / Severna Park, Md.) made his collegiate debut for the Mids, winning 5 of his 8 draws, while Anthony Ghobriel (So / Dallas, Texas) was 4 of 9 and Navy Hammond (Sr / Lincoln University, Pa.) was 1 of 7. Navy got a boost in the faceoff game by long-stick midfielder Sean Gallagher (Fr / Garnet Valley, Pa.) who recorded a team-high 5 ground balls as a wing player in what was his first-collegiate contest.

Grad attackman Jared McMahon, the Mount's leading scorer a year ago, paced Mount St. Mary's against the Mids with 2 goals and 2 assists, while linemate Corman Giblin punched in a pair of goals and added an assist. Connor Beals (9-14) and Bobby Turso (5-10) combined to win 14 of the 24 draws, while junior Griffin McGinley made 11 stops in the cage.

Navy will have little time to relish the victory, as the Mids will play host to Queens University of Charlotte on Sunday at 12:00 pm. The contest will be streamed live on ESPN+, as well as broadcast by local radio partner WNAV (99.9 FM / 1430 AM).

### Go Navy ###