ANNAPOLIS, Md. // Lehigh (3-1, 1-0 Patriot League) scored five unanswered goals to open the fourth quarter en route to a 13-10 victory over the Navy men's lacrosse team (3-3, 0-1 Patriot League) Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The game marked the beginning of the Mids' 20th season as a member of the Patriot League.

"Congrats to Lehigh, I thought it was a great game," said Navy head coach Joe Amplo. "I thought both teams played their tail off. I was really proud of the energy our guys played with. It was something we challenged them with all week to sustain that energy. I think we have a bright future here this season. We just didn't execute enough today against a team that made more plays. This team hasn't learned how to win enough yet, but they will. If they play with that energy and that focus that they had today, the execution will come. This team will get there."

After a low-scoring opening half that saw the two teams combine for just 7 goals (Lehigh, 4-3), Navy took its first lead in the contest by scoring the first three goals of the third quarter. The Mids evened the score just 46 seconds into the half when Henry Tolker (A / So / Catonsville, Md.) threaded a beauty past Lehigh keeper Nick Pecora's hip. Navy pushed ahead just under a minute later when the Mids forced a turnover and All-American defenseman Jackson Bonitz (Jr / Shrewsbury, Pa.) sent the outlet pass to Max Hewitt (M / Jr / Denver, Colo.). Hewitt caught the pass at mid-field and was off to the races, as he ran untouched to roughly a yard outside of the crease before punching in his first goal of the afternoon. The Mids took a two-goal advantage (6-4) at the 9:18 mark when Tolker isolated a pair of defenders and Hewitt found an open Mac Haley (A / Fr / Shady Side, Md.) in the middle of the box for the goal.

One of the biggest turning points of the game occurred with just over 8 minutes left in the third quarter. Tewaaraton Award Watch List member and All-American midfielder Patrick Skalniak (Sr / Dallas, Texas) took a shot to the head by a Lehigh defender on a follow-up shot that left him on the ground for several minutes. While no flag was thrown on Lehigh, one of the game officials called a conduct penalty on the Navy bench, putting the Mountain Hawks up a man.

Lehigh capitalized on the penalty as Christian Mule found Justin Tiernan for the extra-man goal which in turn triggered a four-goal run by the Mountain Hawks. Three of those 4 goals were scored with Skalniak out of the game and being tended to by the medical staff.

Trailing by a pair of goals (8-6), Navy was able to regain its composure with the return of its co-captain Patrick Skalniak and scored consecutive goals to knot the game by the end of the third frame. Haley found Skalniak who connected from 15 yards out, while minutes later the Mids worked the ball around before Skalniak found Hewitt open from 12 yards out.

Unfortunately for Navy, the Hewitt goal, scored with 1:32 left in the third quarter, would be its last until under a minute to go in the game. Lehigh scored five-consecutive goals to open the fourth quarter to take a 13-8 lead. Among the 5 goals were transition goals by Tiernan and Mule to kick off the run by the Mountain Hawks.

"It was a half-field game for the most part," added Amplo. "In the start of the fourth quarter, the game tilted because of our inability to execute on the clear twice and they made the plays. That allowed them to separate. The game was really a two-goal, one-goal game feel to it, but that moment we just couldn't execute in the clear. We made a bad decision and then in transition we didn't match up the right way on the first one when 44 scored. Unfortunately in a game those plays are just monumental."

Starting with the extra-man goal following the injury to Skalniak, Lehigh outscored Navy 9-2 from 7:36 in the third to 6:53 in the fourth.

The Mids scored a pair of goals in the final 47 seconds of the contest, but it would not be enough to overcome the deficit in what would be a 13-10 loss by Navy in the conference opener.

Seven different players contributed goals for the Mids, including all six starting offensive players. Xavier Arline (A / Jr / Wading River, N.Y.) paced the team with 4 goals on a goal and 3 assists, while Haley, Hewitt and Skalniak each scored 2 goals and added an assist.

The defense recorded a season-high 12 caused turnovers led by Bonitz, AJ Hernandez (D / Fr / Dayton, Md.) and Zach Snider's (LSM / Sr / Drexel Hill, Pa.) 2 apiece. Bonitz is now tied for eighth (34) on the Mids' all-time caused turnovers list, while Snider is tied for 17th (22). Meanwhile, goalie Pat Ryan (Sr / Groton, Mass.) made 10 saves and gave up all 13 goals.

While Lehigh All-American and NCAA record holder Mike Sisselberger won the faceoff battle, Navy's Anthony Ghobriel (So / Dallas, Texas) played a whale of a game. Ghobriel won 12 of the 26 draws (46.2), easily the best performance a Navy player has had against Sisselberger who came into the contest having won 539 of the 787 draws (68.5) he has taken over his career.

"Anthony Ghobriel did a great job," Amplo pointed out. "Michael (Sisselberger) is an elite player. He's a world class player. He deserves all the attention and accolades that he gets. Anthony hung in there with him and he gave us a chance. We were almost 50 percent. That's terrific. In years past, we haven't even been close at the faceoff "x" against that kid."

The Lehigh attack line of Mule, Tiernan and Scott Cole finished with 15 points - 8 goals and 7 assists - to pace the Mountain Hawks. Defensively, freshman Richard Checo recorded a team-high 5 caused turnovers and added an assist. Pecora allowed 10 goals while making 16 saves.

Navy returns to action next Saturday when it makes the trek to Hamilton, N.Y. to face Colgate (0-3, 0-1 Patriot League). Faceoff is slated for 1:00 pm at Crown Field at Andy Kerr Stadium. The game will be streamed on ESPN+, while Pete Medhurst and Joe Miller will have the call on 1430 AM / 99.9 FM WNAV.

### Go Navy ###