ANNAPOLIS, Md. —  The Navy men's lacrosse team (4-2 / 1-1 Patriot League) used an 11-1 run between the second and fourth quarters to overcome a four-goal deficit and earn a 16-12 victory over Bucknell (5-2 / 1-1 Patriot League). The Mids scored nine-consecutive goals, including eight in the third quarter, to take the lead for good.

The win marked Navy's 10th in a row against Bucknell, including the Mids' sixth in a row against the Bison in Annapolis. It's Navy's longest active winning streak against a Patriot League opponent.

"I thought it was a great game," said seventh-year Navy head coach Joe Amplo, who is now just a win away from his 100th collegiate victory. "Bucknell came out and played really well. They are an excellent offense, probably one of the best we will see this year. They've got some really dynamic players. The kid Meyer had a day. He's an excellent lacrosse player. Defensively, we really keyed in on #41 (Peter Grandolfo) and did a great job there.

"It was interesting having the Superintendent on the sidelines for the first time this year and his comments after the game about the war-fighting spirit he is trying to bring back to this place. The way the game went and his comments were directed at our resiliency and the mental toughness that I thought our team showed. I said to the team that it was an excellent team win."

Much like last week's game against Boston U., the game opened with a flury of goals. Bucknell scored just eight seconds into the contest off the opening faceff, but the Mids answered with goals by Quinn Anzelone (Fr / M / Potomac, Md.) and William Goers (Fr / A / Chester, Md.)  just 53 seconds apart to take a 2-1 lead.

The Bison, however, scored the next three to pull ahead by two with 5:54 remaining in the opening period.

After an eight-minute drought, second-line middie Ryan Landolphi (Jr / M / Manhasset, N.Y.) took a Jack Ponzio (So / M / Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) pass and drained his shot over the shoulder of starting goalkeeper Luke Renaud to cut the deficit to one (4-3) at the quarter break.

Sparked by Michael Meyer's goal at 10:53 in the second frame, Bucknell went on a 3-0 run to take its largest lead of the game (4 / 7-3) with 7:35 to go. 

After being held without a goal for nearly 15 minutes, Navy found some life on the offensive end with co-captain Mac Haley (Sr / A / Shady Side, Md.) and Alec Gregorek (So / A / Wading River, N.Y.) scoring goals just 13 seconds apart. Haley isolated his defender and was able to wrap around the left side of the cage for his first goal of the day, while Gregorek's shot found the five-hole to get Navy back to within two (7-5).

Bucknell took advantage of an extra-man opportunity with 1:46 remaining in the first half, as Sean Berrigan fed Meyer for his third goal of the half.

Navy took the field in the third quarter a much more energized team on both ends. 

Jack Flaherty (Sr / M / Massapequa, N.Y.) beat Renaud down low from 10 yards out less than a minute into the half and the Mids never let up. Navy went on to outscore the Bison 8-0 in the third quarter as 6 different players accounted for those 8 goals (Gregorek with three).

Navy made it a 9-0 run when Jack Flaherty punched in his second of the day at 13:19 in the fourth quarter to give the Mids a 14-8 lead.

After more than 19 minutes (19:02) without a goal, Bucknell finally found its way past the Navy defense with an Owen Kovacs goal at 12:44. 

The two teams would each score a pair of goals over the final 10 minutes, but the Bison would get no closer than the final margin of four.

"The players took over," said Amplo in regards to what was said at halftime. "There were some subtle things (we changed), but it was really a player-led locker room and obviously a player-led third quarter. I sat back and just watched and let those guys take over. It was pretty impressive the way they performed in that quarter."

Navy's defense proved to be a menace for the Bison throughout the contest, as the Mids forced 18 of Bucknell's 22 turnovers. The 18 caused turnovers tied the program record set against VMI on Feb. 12, 2011. Patrick Flaherty (So / Massapequa, N.Y.), who moved from offensive midfield to long-stick midfield following the fall campaign, came up with a career-high six caused turnovers. That mark is tied as the second most in program history (one off the record) and the most since Matt Rees had six against Air Force on Feb. 6, 2016. 

Tewaaraaton Award nominee AJ Marsh (Jr / D / Reisterstown, Md.) also had a big day for the Mids with three caused turnovers, five ground balls and a pair of assists.  He now stands 14th on Navy's all-time career caused turnovers list with 30, just four outside of the top 10, while he moved into a tie for second on Navy's career scoring list by a pole (D/LSM) with 17 points (8-9=17). He trails Rees by just two points.

Not to be left out, Chad Connolly (Sr / SSDM / Huntingtown, Md.) turned in a career-best three caused turnovers after entering the contest with just five for his career.

Navy had three players pitch hat tricks in the contest, including Gregorek who matched his career high with four on eight shots. All four of his goals were scored during the Mids' 11-1 run between the second and fourth quarters.

Haley extended his point streak to 21-straight games, as he finished with three goals and an assist. With his four-point day, he moved into a tie for 26th on Navy's all-time scoring list with 115 points alongside three-time All-American and National Hall of Famer Karl Rippelmeyer (1958-60). Meanwhile, Goers recorded his third hat trick in the last four contests with three goals on five shots.

One of the key matchups entering the game was that at the faceoff "x." The Mids have dominated the Bison over the last several years, but junior Colin McLoy came into the game ranked 17th in the country and third in the league with his 60.8 winning percentage. The Mids dominated in the first and third quarters, as Navy won the battle 20-12.

Once again Colin Shadowens (Sr / Severna Park, Md.) and Zach Hayashi (Jr / North Potomac, Md.) split the faceoff duties with Shadowens winning 11 of 16 and grabbing seven ground balls, while Hayashi won nine of 16 and picked up six ground balls. Shadowens pushed up to 15th on Navy's all-time faceoff wins list with 144, while Hayashi took sole possession of third with 322. Additionally, Hayashi moved into 12th on Navy's career ground balls list with 162, needing just 15 more to enter the top 10.

Meyer, who entered the game averaging 4.00 points, 3.33 goals and 1.33 assists per game, led the Bison with five points on three goals and two assists. Rookie midfielder Sean Murray pitched in three goals on four shots, while Luke Brunner scored on both of his shots.

Navy will play its first of three-consecutive games on the road when the Mids travel to Florida to battle Jacksonville on Tuesday evening. Faceoff is slated for 7:00 pm at Rock Stadium. The game will be streamed live on ESPN+ and live stats will be available on Navysports.com(.)

### Go Navy ###