EASTON, Pa. — Despite the Navy men's lacrosse team (8-7, 4-4 Patriot League) closing to within one (6-5) early in the third quarter, a goal by freshman Nicholas Blalock sparked a 3-0 run by third-seeded Lafayette (10-5, 5-3 Patriot League) to lead the Leopards to a 9-5 victory in the Patriot League Quarterfinals Tuesday evening at Fisher Stadium in Easton, Pa. It marked Lafayette's first Patriot League Tournament win in men's lacrosse history, as the Leopards also reached the 10-win mark for the first time in program history.
Lafayette dominated the Mids in the opening period, as the Leopards jumped out to a 5-0 lead with 4 players accounting for the 5 targets. While each team got off 11 shots in the opening frame, Lafayette goalkeeper Joe Doherty turned aside 6 of the Mids' shots to stymie Navy for just the second time in a quarter this season (Penn State).
Navy, though, quickly bounced back, scoring the first-two goals of the second quarter, including a
Jack Nichtern (Jr / M / Massapequa Park, N.Y.) strike just over a minute into the period.
Carter Ash (Sr / A / Leesburg, Va.) followed just a handful of minutes later when he stretched out to grab a
Henry Tolker (Sr / A / Catonsville, Md.) pass and one timed it past Doherty to cut the deficit to 3 (6-2).
Lafayette's Billy Irish briefly stopped Navy's run when he sent a beauty over his shoulder when he was left alone on the right side of the crease.
Navy remained focus and back-to-back goals by
Paul Garza (Jr / M / Frederick, Md.) and Tolker trimmed the Leopards' lead to 2 (6-4) at halftime.
The Mids struck first in the second half as
Mac Haley (Jr / A / Shady Side, Md.) scored his lone goal of the game, running in from the right elbow in transition to launch a 10-yarder at the 13:41 mark to get to within a goal (6-5).
Lafayette's defense would hold Navy in check the rest of the way, however, as the Mids were unable to target their final 15 shots of the game. The Leopards, meanwhile, scored the final 3 goals of the game to secure the 9-5 victory.
Haley led the way for the Mids with a goal and 2 assists, marking his 15th-consecutive game with a point. He closed out the season as the Mids' leading scorer with 43 points on 22 goals and 21 assists. It's the most single-season points by a Navy player since 2022 when Patrick Skalniak finished with 48 (28G, 20A).
Tolker turned in a goal and assist in the loss, closing out a sensational career where he finished 20th in program history in career points (123) and 6th in career goals (98). His 123 points are the most by a Navy player since Greyson Torain closed out his career with 132 points from 2016-19, while his 98 goals are the most since Ian Dingman scored 125 from 2003-07.
Ash also finished with a goal and an assist in what was his most successful season in a Navy uniform. He reached the 30-point milestone for the first time in his career with 24 goals and 6 assists. He also scored a goal in each of Navy's last 9 contests.
Colin Shadowens (Jr / Severna Park, Md.) and
Zach Hayashi (So / North Potomac, Md.) combined to win the faceoff battle (11-18), while
Dan Daly (Jr / GK / Wayne, N.J.) turned in 10 saves to push his season total to 165 which ties as the 18th most in school history.
Six different players combined to scored Lafayette's 9 goals, including 2 each by Blalock, Joseph Duggan and Liam Sargent. First-Team All-Patriot League attackman Riley Sullivan, the nation's fourth-leading scorer (5.23), dealt out 3 assists for the Leopards. Meanwhile, Doherty made 18 saves in holding the Mids to their fewest goals this season.
Fifth-seeded Colgate knocked off fourth-seeded Lehigh 14-10 in the other quarterfinal. Top-seeded Army will play host to Colgate at 4 pm on Friday in the Patriot League Semifinals, while second-seeded Boston U. will square off against Lafayette at 7:00 pm. The winners of the two semifinal contests will meet Sunday in the championship beginning at 11:30 am.
### Go Navy ###
