ANNAPOLIS, Md. —  The Navy men's lacrosse team (2-0) held Hofstra (1-1) scoreless for the final 19:44 of the first half and outscored the Pride 6-0 during that time frame to fuel a 16-8 win Saturday afternoon in Annapolis. It was Hofstra's first game played in Annapolis since 1984 and first game played at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium since 1980.

"I think we played as hard as I've seen a Navy team play since I've been here," said fifth-year Navy head coach Joe Amplo. "We just hustled all over that field, especially in the first quarter and set the tone for the game."

With 2:19 remaining in the opening quarter, Xavier Arline (Sr / A / Wading River, N.Y.) sparked the Mids' run, sending a shot to the top right-hand corner past Hofstra goalkeeper Seth Henderson for the first of his team-high 4 goals. Navy won the ensuing faceoff with co-captain Jackson Bonitz Sr / (D / Shrewsbury, Pa.) coming up with the ground ball and punched in his second goal of the season just 14 seconds after Arline's goal. Navy closed out the quarter up three (5-2) when Jack Flaherty (So / M / Massapequa, N.Y.) found Keegan Houser (Sr / M / Annapolis, Md.) on the run and the four-year player scored the first of his career-high two goals on the afternoon.

Navy's defense went on to hold the Pride off the scoreboard for the entire second quarter, while Flaherty, Henry Tolker (Jr / A / Catonsville, Md.) and Mac Haley (So / A / Shady Side, Md.) provided a cushion for the Mids as they held an 8-2 lead at the half.

After nearly 20 minutes without a goal, the Pride scored their third goal of the game when Trevor Natalie used a Griffin Turner assist to trim Navy's lead to 5 at the 13:11 mark in the third quarter. The two teams would trade goals for the remaining minutes with Navy taking an 11-4 lead into the final period.

Navy opened the fourth quarter by scoring four goals in four minutes and featured a goal and an assist by Will Schiffenhaus (Sr / A / Montclair, N.J.). Hofstra attempted to erase the 11-goal deficit by scoring four of the next five goals, but it would not be enough as Navy captured its second win of the season.

Fourteen different players recorded points for Navy, including nine different goal scorers on the day. Arline led all players with 6 points on a career-high tying 4 goals (on 6 shots) and 2 assists. Flaherty, Houser and Schiffenhaus scored 2 goals apiece, marking the first time in their careers they have scored multiple goals in a game.

Navy's offense has been electric in its first two games, as the Mids have scored 35 goals. It's the most goals scored in the first two games of the year since 1994 when Navy defeated Air Force 19-3 and Washington College 20-10 to begin the year. Meanwhile, the Mids are shooting at a .368 clip (35 goals, 95 shots), one of the best percentages in the country.

Navy's transition game was once again on display Saturday, as defensive players accounted for 3 goals (2, Jackson Peters / 1, Jackson Bonitz) and 3 assists (1, AJ Marsh / 1, Bobby Kittelberger / 1, Chad Connolly) for the Mids. Co-captain Jackson Peters (Sr / SSDM / Darien, Conn.) scored the Mids' first two goals of the game, including a strike off the opening faceoff just 11 seconds into the contest.

"I'm not afraid to say this, he's our best player (Peters)," said Amplo. "He's our best, most complete, most impactful player. He impacts so many things around the field. He plays great defense, the middle of the field, wings of the faceoff, he plays some offensive shifts, he scores in transition, he plays in transition. He's one of those guys that can impact the entire game. Somewhat as he goes we are going to go a little bit. Today was a day that he shined and I think more people are going to start to notice that. It's something we've seen for a few years now."

As a whole, Navy's defense shut down Hofstra's offense after the Pride put up 21 goals against Wagner last week in their opener. Bonitz held Colton Rudd to a goal and an assist after he had 5 goals and 2 assists a week ago, while it was defense by committee that helped Navy keep Rory Jones off the scoreboard after the redshirt junior midfielder earned a spot on the USILA National Team of the Week with his 8-goal, 1-assist performance against Wagner. Dan Daly (So / GK / Wayne, N.J.), who has given up 10 goals in the first two games combined, played a solid game for the Mids between the pipes where he made a career-high 12 saves and gave up 6 goals in just over 55 minutes of action.

An argument regularly ensues with who the FOGO benefits the most, the offense or the defense. Navy's offense flourished with the ball in its hands against the Pride thanks to Zach Hayashi (Fr / FO / North Potomac, Md.). The reigning Patriot League Faceoff Specialist of the Week won 16 of the 23 draws (.696) he took, including 10 of the 12 faceoffs in the opening half. For the game, Navy won 17 of the 26 draws (.654).

John Madsen led Hofstra with a hat trick, while Natlie chipped in a pair of goals. Henderson, meanwhile, finished the game with 8 saves, making just 2 stops over the final 30 minutes of play.

Navy will play its first road game of 2024 when it makes the drive to Towson next Saturday to battle the Tigers (1-1).Game time is set for 12:00 pm at Johnny Unitas Stadium and will be streamed on Flosports. Meanwhile, Pete Medhurst will have the radio call on 1430 AM / 99.9 FM WNAV.

### Go Navy ###