May 14, 2008
Patriot League NCAA Tournament Notes 
Navy Continues Play In 2008 NCAA Tournament Against Johns Hopkins
Navy advanced to the quarterfinal round of the 2008 NCAA Tournament with an 8-7 upset win over fourth-seeded North Carolina as an at large bid into the national tourney. Navy-Marine Corps Memorial is one of two quarterfinal sites and the Mids will be taking on the No. 5 seed and defending national champion Johns Hopkins on their home field at 3 p.m. on Saturday, March 17. Virginia and Maryland will play in the other quarterfinal game in Annapolis on Saturday at Noon.
Navy avenged its loss to UNC in last year's NCAA Tournament First Round and improved to 12-11 all-time versus the Tar Heels. The Tar Heels are the highest seeded team Navy has defeated in the NCAA Tournament since 1981 when the Mids upset No. 3 seed Army, 16-8. The win by the Mids was their first NCAA Tournament victory since defeating Delaware, 9-7, in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
The Mids will be looking to snap a 34-game losing streak to Johns Hopkins, which includes a 12-5 loss to the Blue Jays on April 19 of this year. The Blue Jays own a commanding 55-25-1 advantage in the series. The last time Navy beat Johns Hopkins was May 4, 1974, in a one-goal, 13-12 decision in Annapolis. Saturday will mark the first time Navy and Johns Hopkins have met in the NCAA Tournament.
Navy is appearing in the NCAA tourney for the 25th time and for the fifth-straight year in a row. The Midshipmen own a 16-24 record in postseason play. The Mids are 6-6 in opening-round games and 3-2 since the field expanded to the 16-team format in 2003. Navy is 0-2 in championship games, losing to Maryland, 20-13, in 1975, and to Syracuse, 14-13, in 2004.
While Navy has never won an NCAA lacrosse title, it does have 17 USILA National Championships to its credit.
Quarters On ESPNU
All four quarterfinal games of the NCAA Tournament will be broadcast on ESPNU. The Navy-Johns Hopkins game will be called by Dave Ryan and Quint Kessenich.
Patriot League Notebook
The Next Step
The winner of the Navy-Johns Hopkins game will move on to the semifinal round of the NCAA Tournament and face the winner of the Duke-Ohio State game that will be played in Ithaca, N.Y. this weekend. The semifinal and final games will take place in Foxborough, Mass. at Gillette Stadium. The two semifinal games will be played on Saturday, May 24 at Noon and 2:30 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN2. The championship contest will be played on Monday, May 26 at 1 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN.
Navy's Paul Honored
Navy's Tim Paul was named the Division I Nike/Inside Lacrosse Player of the Week after scoring a career-high four goals in the Mids' upset win over North Carolina in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Colgate Drops Heartbreaker to Notre Dame
Colgate entered the 2008 NCAA Tournament as the Patriot League's automatic qualifier and was making its first-ever appearance in the national tournament. The Raiders dropped a heartbreaker at sixth-seeded Notre Dame last Sunday, falling 8-7 in overtime. The Raiders led by as many as three goals, while Notre Dame never led until the final tally of the game.
Prior to Sunday's loss Colgate had won seven straight, including an upset win over No. 2 Syracuse in the regular-season finale. The team's 11 wins ties the program record for wins in a season and is the third consecutive season Colgate has posted 11 victories.
Multiple Bids
This year marked the third time the Patriot League has sent multiple teams to the NCAA Tournament (2004, 2005, 2008). In 2004, the year Navy made it to the NCAA Championship Game, three teams were selected to play (Army, Hobart and Navy). Both Army and Navy claimed spots in the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
2004 Navy NCAA Run
Navy put together the most successful NCAA Tournament run in Patriot League history in 2004 when it made it all the way to the championship game. Navy defeated Penn, Cornell and Princeton to advance to the title contest. The Mids dropped a heartbreaking 14-13 game to national champion Syracuse.
Patriot League In NCAA Tourney
The Patriot League has posted a 6-13 mark in the NCAA Tournament. Navy accounted for three of the five wins during its 2004 NCAA Tournament run to the championship game, while the Mids also won a game in 2005 against Delaware and another this season versus North Carolina. The other Patriot League victory came in 1993 when Army moved past Maryland.
Postseason Appearances
Navy tied Army with the most NCAA Tournament appearances by a school as a Patriot League member with five this year. Hobart, who is no longer a member of the Patriot League, made three NCAA appearances while with the League. Bucknell and now Colgate have each made one trip to the national tourney.
Patriot League Career Charts
Navy senior Nick Mirabito ranks 10th in Patriot League history on the all-time points chart with 157. To move up a spot he would need three more points to tie for ninth. Bucknell's Chris Cara (2002-05) is the all-time record holder with 249 career points.
Colgate senior Matt Lalli closed out his career against Notre Dame tied for seventh on the Patriot League's all-time points list with 183 and seventh in assists with 95. Army senior Adam Fullerton ended his time at West Point ranked fourth on the League's career saves chart with 620.
Patriot League Scholar-Athlete
Army's Scott Rosenshein was named the 2008 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year as a chemical engineering major with a 3.98 cumulative grade-point average. The junior Black Knight was one of the team's starting face-off wings and a valuable member of the defense.
Predictors Correct
The Patriot League preseason voters were right as Colgate's Brandon Corp and Navy's Jordan DiNola were predicated as the Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively, in the beginning of the season by head coaches and sports information directors and were given those awards at the conclusion of the 2008 regular season.
CLASS Top-10 Finalist
Army defenseman Craig Massie was one of 10 student-athletes named a finalist for the 2008 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in the sport of men's lacrosse. A fan vote will be combined with votes from coaches, media and sponsors to determine the recipient of this year's honor, which will be awarded during the NCAA Lacrosse Championship weekend in Foxborough, Mass. CLASS stands for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School.
Other Award Nominees
Both Army's Adam Fullerton and Navy's Jordan DiNola were Tewaaraton Award nominees before the list was cut to the top five candidates. The Tewaaraton Award is given out to the top U.S. college player (men and women) each year. Fullerton is also a member of the USILA Lt. Raymond J. Enners Award Watch List.
Quotable
"As far as being underdogs tonight, we were underdogs at Midway too. That's really the way we have to look at it. You are looking at young men who will defend our country in a few years. The only way we win this game is if you put all the intangibles they learn at the Naval Academy and apply them to lacrosse. We have taken our hits this year, but you wouldn't expect us not to rise again." - Navy Head Coach Richie Meade after the 8-7 win over fourth-seeded North Carolina
Catch It Again
Both of the Patriot League's first round NCAA games were aired on ESPNU live and replayed Monday. Another replay of the games will take place on Thursday with the Navy-UNC game airing at 10 a.m. ET and the Colgate-Notre Dame game following at Noon ET.
Patriot League Lacrosse Involvement
The Patriot League's coaches and administrators are actively involved in the men's lacrosse community. Bucknell Senior Associate Director of Athletics Tim Pavlechko is currently serving as the chair of the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Committee. Army Head Coach Joe Alberici and Patriot League Associate Executive Director Richard Wanninger sit on the Board of Directors for USILA. Navy Head Coach Richie Meade is the President of the Intercollegiate Men's Lacrosse Coaches Association, while Lafayette Head Coach Terry Mangan serves on the US Lacrosse Board of Directors as well as the organization's second vice president.
Former Bison Joins Chicago Machine In Open Tryouts
Paul Stansik, a 2007 graduate of Bucknell, joined the Chicago Machine as a long stick defenseman. Stansik was selected from open tryouts and was one of 35 players competing for the final spot on the Machine's roster.
