March 18, 2008

•Navy-Bucknell Game Notes
Navy Stats | Bucknell Stats

Game 8: Navy vs. Bucknell
Wednesday, March 19 • 4:00 pm • Annapolis, Md. • Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium

Television: None
Radio/Internet: Watch: Navy All-Access on www.NavySports.com; Listen: None
Live Stats: Gametracker on NavySports.com

Game Preview
• No. 8 Navy (6-1, 3-0 Patriot League) plays the first of two very tough Patriot League opponents this week when it plays host to 12th-ranked Bucknell (5-1, 1-0 Patriot League) on Wednesday ... action is set to begin at 4:00 pm at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.
• There will be NO radio coverage for the game, however fans are invited to log onto www.NavySports.com where they can watch a live video feed via Navy All-Access ... additionally fans can follow the game for free via Gametracker which is located on Navy's web site.
• Navy held Holy Cross scoreless in the opening half en route to building a 10-0 halftime lead and an eventual 16-3 victory last Saturday at the 2008 Ford Patriot Cup ... 11 different players scored goals for Navy, while sophomore Tim Paul turned in his second collegiate hat trick and senior Nick Mirabito played a role in each of Navy's first five goals.
• The Mids are ranked third in the country in scoring defense, giving up 4.71 goals per game, while their offense is the 16th best in the nation, producing 10.71 goals per contest.
• After jumping out to a 4-0 lead in the opening quarter, Bucknell held off an upset-minded Lafayette team, 9-7, last Saturday in Lewisburg ... junior attack Joe Mele turned in a hat trick, scoring all three goals in the second half, while keeper Nick Sciubba made four of his six saves in the second half.
• The tandem of Austin Winter and Tim Brandau are among the country's top 50 scorers, as both are turning in 2.83 points per game, as the offense as a whole is ranked 28th with its 9.00 goals per outing.

Taking the Field In ...
10 • 10 of the 19 players who have scored goals this season for the Mids are first-time goal scorers ... meanwhile only three of the 10 are freshmen.
9 • Senior Nick Mirabito is just nine points shy of becoming only the ninth player in program history to reach 150 points during their career.
8 • Senior Nick Mirabito is one of three players on the roster to produce a point against Bucknell ... he owns eight points on four goals and four assists.
7 • Navy has scored seven or more goals in all seven games this year.
6 • Senior Nick Mirabito has produced six points in each of the last two games (2G, 4A in both).
5 • Navy's defense has held five of its seven opponents scoreless in the opening period, including each of the last four.
4 • Attackmen Gregory Clement and Tim Paul are both riding four-game goal-scoring streaks.
3 • Navy's defense has given up just three extra-man goals this season on 15 attempts (80.0).
2 • Since the beginning of 2004, Navy has lost just two games against unranked opponents (33-2).
1 • Navy is the nation's leader in wins over the last five years with 55.

Fast Facts
• Navy senior attack Nick Mirabito has turned in a goal or an assist in 52 of the 53 games in which he has played during his career ... his 40-game streak was snapped against Maryland last spring and was the second-longest active streak in Div. I lax at the time ... he is currently riding a 12-game consecutive points run, including seven straight games with a goal and 11 straight with an assist.
• Three players have turned in hat tricks this season ... Nick Mirabito has pitched a hat trick in two of the last five games, while junior Sean Standen recorded his first collegiate three-goal performance in Navy's win over Lehigh and sophomore Tim Paul produced his second collegiate hat trick with three markers against Holy Cross on Saturday.
• Navy has held the lead at halftime in every game this season ... the Mids have lost 12 in a row when trailing at the break and 57 straight when trailing after three quarters of play.
• The Mids have held six of their seven opponents to seven or fewer goals this season ... Navy has won 18 in a row when achieving this feat.
• Navy's defense has held five of its seven opponents scoreless in the opening period, including each of the last four ... the Mids have outscored their opponents, 17-3, in the first quarter, including 8-0 in league action.
• Navy has put more shots on goal in the first half (91) than its opponents have shot as a whole in the first half (62, 33 on goal).
• Five different players have accounted for Navy's six game-winners this season ... ironically, the two top goal producers on the team, Nick Mirabito and Tim Paul, are without a game-winner.
• Navy's 13-goal win over Holy Cross was the largest margin of victory by a Richie Meade-led team since 2006 when the Mids defeated Holy Cross by 14 (17-3) ... meanwhile it's tied as the seventh-largest margin of victory by Meade's Mids.
• Navy is coming off back-to-back double-digit victories over Lehigh (14-3) and Holy Cross (16-3) ... the last time the Mids achieved that feat was in 2000 when Navy defeated Stony Brook, 16-4, followed by a 17-2 win over rival Academy Air Force in a span of just four days.
• Ranked No. 3 in the country, Navy's defense held Lehigh and Holy Cross to a combined 36 shots a year ago ... it held Lehigh without a shot in the first quarter of its game, while the Crusaders managed just two shots in the opening half of Saturday's game.

Navy vs. Bucknell - The Series
• Wednesday's contest between Navy and Bucknell marks only the seventh game in a series that began in 1996 ... Navy holds a narrow, 4-2, advantage and has won two in a row.
• Navy and Bucknell met twice (1996, '97) before the Midshipmen joined the Patriot League in 2004 ... since becoming a member, the Mids have won three of the four games ... in fact, Navy has lost just two Patriot League games in the last five years and the 2005 regular-season Bucknell contest is one of the two losses.
• Navy owns a 2-1 edge over the Bison in games played in Annapolis, however the last time the two battled at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium was in 2004 when the Mids beat Bucknell, 11-5.

The Last Time ...
• Senior attack Ian Dingman scored three goals, including a critical fourth-quarter goal with 5:20 left that stopped a Bucknell rally, to help lead Navy to a 6-3 victory over Bucknell at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.
• With the win, the Mids improved to 8-0 for the first time since 1986 and for only the second time since 1965.
• Navy dominated play in the first half and through much of the third quarter, scoring five of the first six goals of the game.
• Dingman got Navy on the board with a man-up goal at 7:56 in the first quarter off an assist from Nick Mirabito.
• Dingman made it 2-0 with 3:28 left in the first quarter off an assist from attack Bruce Nechanicky and then Nechanicky scored a goal of his own early in the second period off an assist from senior William Wallace to make it 3-0 Navy.
• The Bison finally got on the board with 10:39 left in the half on a man-up goal by Perry Menzies, but senior middie Tommy Wallin answered with 1:03 remaining off an assist from Nechanicky to give Navy a comfortable 4-1 lead at the half.
• Four minutes into the second half, Nechanicky made it 5-1 off an assist from Mirabito.
• Bucknell worked its way back into the game on back-to-back goals by Joe Mele and Brian Gargan ... Gargan's goal came with 33 seconds left in the third quarter.
• The Navy man-down defense was tested in the fourth quarter as the Mids were hit with four penalties in a two-minute span ... Navy was two men down for one minute and then had to kill a 30-second penalty and a one-minute penalty in succession.
• After returning to full strength, the Mids reassumed control and Dingman's unassisted goal put the game away.
• The Navy defense was sensational once again, allowing just nine shots on goal.
• Another key facet was the faceoff game as the Mids won all 12 draws, including an 8-for-8 performance by Wallace, while Mikelis Visgauss was 4-for-4.

Home Field Advantage
• Navy owns a 28-6 record (.824) in games played at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium since the start of the 2004 campaign, outscoring its foes, 388-215 (11.4 to 6.3 gpg).
• Navy has not lost a Patriot League game at home in its five years as a member of the conference.
• The Mids have allowed just four teams (Colgate in '07; Georgetown in '05; Ohio State and Johns Hopkins in '04) to reach double digits in games played on their home field over the last five seasons ... Navy has held 14 of its 34 opponents to five or fewer goals since 2004 in games played at home.
• Navy owns a 68-28 (.708) record at home under the direction of head coach Richie Meade ... the Mids have reached four wins at home every season Meade has been the head coach are just one shy of reaching that mark again this season ... Navy has recorded five or more wins at home in six of Meade's 14 seasons, including seven wins in 2004, '05, '06 and '07.
• Junior Sean Standen has scored five of his six goals this season at home and six of the seven during his career ... sophomore Patrick Moran also has an affinity for playing at home where he has scored five of his eight goals in '08 and seven of his 10 career markers.

Meet the Mids
• Navy will hold its annual "Meet the Mids" event on Saturday, March 29, following Navy's game against nationally-ranked Georgetown (5:00 pm) at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
• Members of the 10th-ranked Navy men's lacrosse team will be available for autographs on the Blue Concourse, with the first 300 kids in line for the postgame autograph session receiving a Navy lacrosse "Meet the Mids" t-shirt, compliments of Chick-fil-A.
• In addition, Navy's 2008 lacrosse poster and an autograph card will be available, while prizes will be handed out.

Patriot League Success
• Since joining the Patriot League in 2004, Navy is 34-2 (.944) against opponents from the league, including an 8-0 mark in the Patriot League Tournament ... the Mids lost regular-season contests to Bucknell in '05 and Colgate in '06.
• Navy has won 16 consecutive games against Patriot League teams ... its last loss was a 6-3 decision against Colgate on March 18, 2006, in Hamilton, N.Y.
• The Mids own an 18-0 record at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium against Patriot League competition since joining the conference ... the Mids are 12-0 during the regular season and 6-0 in the conference tournament.
• The Mids have produced undefeated marks in conference action in two of the last five years ... 7-0 in 2004 and 6-0 in '07.
• Navy has won at least a share of the Patriot League regular-season title in each of its first four years as a member of the league ... additionally, the Mids have claimed the league's tournament crown all four years.
• 24 different Mids have garnered All-Patriot League recognition, while 13 of the 24 have earned honors multiple times.
• Richie Meade was named the 2004 Patriot League Coach of the Year after leading the Mids to a flawless 7-0 mark in league competition ... he received the award a second time after guiding Navy to a 6-0 record last spring.