Box Score HIGH POINT, N.C. —  Led by a balanced offense and a disciplined defensive performance, the Navy men's lacrosse team (1-0) earned a hard-fought 14-10 victory over High Point (0-1) Saturday afternoon at Vert Stadium in High Point, N.C. Ten different players accounted for the Mids' 14 goals, while the defense forced 13 of the Panthers' 17 turnovers in the contest.

"I thought it was a good early season win," said sixth-year Navy head coach Joe Amplo, who improved to 5-1 in season openers since arriving in Annapolis. "It was a physical game, but a good, clean game. High Point is a talented team who wasn't going to make it easy for us. I thought we weathered their early run pretty well and given the time of year, while you expect some sloppy play, I was reasonably happy with how we handled the ball."

Saturday's contest marked the earliest start to a season in Navy's 118-year history (previously was last year's Feb. 3 start). Meanwhile, it was the first time Navy has opened its season on the road since 2018.

"I think its a good early indication," said Amplo in regards to what it says about his young team opening on the road. "It speaks volumes about the resiliency and toughness of this team. I think going into the season we knew it would take a team effort throughout the year and today was a good team win for us."

Though High Point scored the game's first goal less than 4 minutes into the contest, the two teams went on to trade goals for the remainder of the quarter as the first frame ended tied at 3 apiece.

The Panthers pushed ahead (5-3) with back-to-back goals by Justin Wixted and Matt Lutzel to open the second quarter before Navy mounted a run.Triggered by the first of a game-high 3 goals by Carter Ash (Sr / A / Leesburg, Va.), Navy went on a 4-0 to close the first half leading 7-5. While Ash's goal at 11:29 sparked the run, his unassisted goal at 4:23 in the quarter gave Navy its first lead, a lead the Mids would not relinquish. 

Meanwhile, the final goal in the 4-0 run began when Dan Daly (Jr / GK / Wayne, N.J.) made a save on a Collin Rovere shot. Daly used teammate Jacob Darrow (Sr / D / Millersville, Md.) as an outlet before he took control and cleared mid-field. As two High Point players converged on Daly, he flipped the ball to an open AJ Marsh (So / D / Reisterstown, Md.), who turned and sent a spectacular 15-yard shot past goalkeeper Jude Smith for the goal. It was the first time a Navy netminder was credited with an assist since 2021 Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year Spencer Rees had an assist against Bucknell on March 28, 2021. Additionally, it was the second-consecutive year Marsh has scored a goal in the season opener (2023 vs. Mount St. Mary's). 

"AJ played well for us in several areas of the game today," said Amplo. "Not only did he do a solid job guarding players, he scored a big goal for us."

High Point closed to within one (8-7) in the third quarter on an Ian Cann goal, but Navy put together another 4-0 run. Four different players punched in goals for the Mids during the run, as William Goers (Fr / A / Chester, Md.) fed Ash for a hat trick and gave Navy its largest lead of the game at 12-7 at the end of 3 quarters.

Unwilling to concede the game, High Point scored 3 goals in a two-minute span to close to within 2 (12-10) in the opening 4 minutes of the final frame. Navy's defense, however, proved to be a difference maker once again, holding the Panthers scoreless over the final 11 minutes of the contest to preserve the Mids' victory.

As previously mentioned, 10 different players accounted for the Mids' 14 goals, while 6 players turned in assists. Ash led the way with 3 goals and an assist, marking just his second-career hat trick. Meanwhile, Jack Ponzio (Fr / M / Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) made a statement in his first collegiate game with 2 goals and 2 assists. 

"Jack Ponzio played like a senior today," added Amplo. "He played with great poise and this was just his first-collegiate game. I'm excited to see what is to come from him."

Jack Nichtern (Jr / M / Massapequa Park, N.Y.), who has fought his way through injuries the first-two years of his career, scored his first-collegiate goal.

Henry Tolker closed out the game with 2 goals and an assist. Only the 38th player in program history to reach the 100-point milestone (did so in last year's season finale vs. Lehigh), Tolker moved into a tie for 32nd on the Mids' all-time scoring list alongside Billy Looney (2004-07) with 103 points. Additionally, he is tied with Tucker Hull (2011-14) for 14th on Navy's all-time goals scored list with 82.

Defensively, the Mids held High Point scoreless over long stretches 3 times in the contest. The Panthers did not score for nearly 15 minutes between the second (12:22) and third (12:29) quarters, while Navy also held them without a goal for nearly 11 minutes between the third (8:48) and 4th (12:56) quarters. Navy also stifled High Point for the final 11:01 of the game.

Daly anchored the defense from the goal where he produced 12 saves and now stands just 10 stops outside of Navy's all-time top-20 saves leader board. Co-captain and starting defenseman Ian McGullam (Sr / Centerport, N.Y.) paced the team with a career-high 3 caused turnovers, as the team as a whole posted 13 on the day.

Perhaps the most suprising stat came in the faceoff column where 2024 Patriot League and ECAC Rookie of the Year Zach Hayashi (So / North Potomac, Md.) won just 9 of the 23 draws he took, while teammate Colin Shadowens (Jr / Severna Park, Md.) returned from a shoulder injury and was 4 for 5 in the contest. High Point's Luca Accardo who split time a year ago with Collin Hoben won 14 of the 24 faceoffs he took and grabbed a team-high 13 ground balls.

"I think today will probably turn out to be one of the toughest matchups Zach will face this year," said Amplo. "He (Accardo) showed last year he was a skilled faceoff player and he did a nice job today. I also thought it was good to see Shadowens come in and get some faceoffs for us and he was successful. I think every team in the country wants to have at least two quality faceoff players and I think we do."

The Midshipmen return to action next Saturday when they play host to first-year program Iona in Navy's home opener. Faceoff is slated for 12:00 pm at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium with Joe Miller calling the action on ESPN+ and 1430 AM / 99.9 FM WNAV.

Single-game tickets may be purchased by stopping by the Navy Ticket Office at Ricketts Hall, by calling 1-800-US4-NAVY, via the internet at www.navysports.com or at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium on game day. Ticket prices for home games are $10 for adults and $5 for kids 12 and under, while groups of 20 or more will be offered a discounted ticket (in advance only, contact Jordan Albright at 410-293-8791 / grouptickets@usna.edu). Additionally there is a $10 charge (credit card only) to park at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium for all games.

### Go Navy ###