Navy Lacrosse Preview for the 2006 Season

[Sonny]

Navy Lacrosse Preview for the 2006 Season

The 2006 edition of the Navy lacrosse team opens the season in the place it hopes to end it - Philadelphia - with a non-conference battle against upstart Saint Joseph's at 1:00 p.m., on Finnessey field on the campus of Saint Joseph's University. Navy is looking for its fourth straight season-opening victory, with the last two coming away from Annapolis. The Midshipmen are ranked No. 6 in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll and No. 7 in the preseason Face-off Magazine Coaches Poll.

Season Openers...
• Navy is 85-12-1 all-time in season openers, and have won four in a row, dating back to the 2002 season. Over the • This year's opener against Saint Joseph's marks the second time that Navy will open its season against the Hawks. Navy took the 2002 season opener over Saint Joseph's, 16-2, in Annapolis.
• Over the last four season openers, all Navy wins, the Mids are outscoring their opposition, 51-6, or 12.8 to 1.5 per game. Included in the unbeaten stretch is a 16-2 win over Saint Joseph's (2002), 12-1 over Marist (2003), 14-1 over Lafayette (2004) and 9-2 over Providence (2005).

A Look Back..
• Navy is coming off another outstanding season, posting a 12-4 record in 2005, winning its second straight Patriot League Tournament and sharing for the Patriot League regular-season title. The Mids advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals, where they lost a 10-8 heartbreaker to Virginia. The NCAA Tournament appearance was Navy's 22nd all-time, the fifth most in NCAA history.
• The 2005 senior class departed with a 41-19 record in its four years, which tied the school record for most victories by a class. The 1978 senior class posted a 41-16 mark.
• Nine Navy players earned All-Patriot League honors, highlighted by Graham Gill, Mitch Hendler, Billy Looney, Chris Pieczonka and Matt Russell garnering first-team recognition. Jon Birsner, Mike Felber, Clipper Lennon and Steve Looney earned second-team recognition.
• Six Mids were named to the All-America lists, headlined by Gill and Hendler earning first-team honors. It marked the first time in almost 25 years that Navy had two first-team honorees. Russell was named to the second team, while Steve and Billy Looney were selected to the third team. Jon Birsner was named honorable mention.
• Navy led the country in scoring defense, allowing just 6.63 goals per game. The Mids ranked in the NCAA top 10 in scoring defense, face-off win percentage, scoring margin and win percentage.
• The Navy defense was the story of the year, as it allowed just one foe (Georgetown) to reach its scoring average entering that game. It also held its foes scoreless for over 15 minutes 22 times last season.

About Saint Joseph's...
• Saint Joseph's opened its season on Saturday with a 9-5 loss to Delaware in the nation's first collegiate lacrosse game of 2006. The Hawks fell behind 5-1 after one quarter and 7-1 at halftime, before outscoring Delaware, 3-1, in the fourth quarter to make a game of it. The Hawks outshot Delaware, 31-22, but won just three-of-18 face-offs and had just 18 ground balls to Delaware's 25. Andrew Four led Saint Joseph's with two goals and Mike O'Neill and Frank Abruzzini added a goal and assist each. Eric Hotaling made just three saves in the cage, and Ben Kinch took all 18 face-offs.
• The Hawks return 26 letterwinners from last year's 3-11 team, including their top three scorers and five of the top six point-getters from a year ago. Keegan Wilkinson led the Hawks with 33 points on 19 goals and 14 assists and fellow classmates Andrew Four and Alex McColough added 39 combined points between them. Four of the Hawks' top returning scorers are seniors.
• Saint Joseph's has a solid mix of young and old, featuring 11 seniors and 30 freshmen or sophomores. Just five juniors dot the Hawks' roster.
• Pat Cullinan is in his second year at the helm after guiding West Chester to a 25-32 record in four years and a trip to the ECAC Division II championship game in 1999 and 2002 and finishing 2003 ranked ninth in the country.

The Series With Saint Joseph's...
• Navy and Saint Joseph's have met just once on the lacrosse field, with Navy claiming a 16-2 triumph in the 2002 season opener on Feb. 16, 2002.
• Dave Pittard led the Mids with seven points (3 g, 4 a) and Eddie McKinnon added four (2 g, 2 a). Joe Bossi and Eddy Holton chipped in with two goals each. The Mids outshot the Hawks, 44-15, while winning the face-off battle 13-8.
• Jon Higdon stopped nine shots in goal for Navy, which led 6-1 after one quarter and 8-1 at halftime.

Connections to Saint Joe's...
• Several members of both teams attended the same high school.
• The Looney brothers (Steve and Billy) were high school teammates at DeMatha Catholic of Mike Kirlin and Keegan Wilkinson of Saint Joseph's. Both Kirlin and Wilkinson are seniors.
• Brendan Teague, Colin Finnegan and Andrew Thorp went to the same high school, St. Mary's in Annapolis, as SJU's Brian Ponne.
• Lastly, Matt Russell was a teammate at Fairfield Prep (Conn.) of Sante Faustini and Peter Finlay, both midfielders for the Hawks.

Some Preseason Publicity...
• Navy finds itself in familiar position entering the 2006 lacrosse season. The Mids are ranked seventh in both the Face-off Magazine preseason poll as well as the Lacrosse Magazine poll. It marks the 24th consecutive poll Navy has been ranked and the 23rd consecutive poll Navy has been ranked in the top 10.
• Navy started last year fourth in the Face-off Magazine preseason poll, and were 14th in 2004.
• In addition to the high team ranking, several Mids were named on preseason All-America lists.
• Senior goalkeeper Matt Russell headlines this year's list of Preseason All-Americans. Russell, a Second-Team All-American last spring, was named to the preseason first team. The Looney brothers were named to the third team, while senior Jon Birsner and junior Ian Dingman were honorable mention selections.
• For the first time in nearly a quarter of a century, Navy had two players named First-Team All-Americans. Graham Gill and Mitch Hendler were named first-team members after leading the Mids to their second-straight Patriot League title and a second-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. The last time two Navy players were named to the first team was in 1981 when Syd Abernethy and Michael MacLaughlin garnered first-team kudos. Since the 1981 campaign, only seven players have earned First-Team All-America status.
• In addition to Gill and Hendler, Matt Russell (Second Team), Billy Looney (Third Team), Steve Looney (Third Team) and Jon Birsner (Honorable Mention) gained All-America kudos.
• Nine Mids earned All-Patriot League recognition last season. Graham Gill, Billy Looney, Chris Pieczonka, Mitch Hendler and Matt Russell earned spots on the first team, while Jon Birsner, Steve Looney, Clipper Lennon and Mike Felber were on the second team. Four of the seven players honored return to the field for the Mids this season.
• Eight players earned invites to the 2006 U.S. Men's Lacrosse Team tryouts. Jon Birsner, Ian Dingman, Graham Gill, Mitch Hendler, Billy Looney, Steve Looney, Chris Pieczonka and Matt Russell were all invited to the tryouts.

Birsner, Russell Named Co-Captains...
• All-Americans Jon Birsner and Matt Russell have been selected by their teammates to serve as co-captains of the Navy lacrosse team this spring.
• An Honorable Mention All-American a year ago, Birsner is the point man in Navy's offensive scheme. Arguably one of the most underrated players in the country, Birsner paced the Mids in scoring last spring with 42 points on 11 goals and a team-best 31 assists. Along with Russell, Birsner was the recipient of the 2005 Lt. Robert T. Bianchi Award presented to Navy's most valuable player.
• One of Navy's most decorated players in the history of Navy lacrosse, Russell was named a Second-Team All-American, a First-Team All-Patriot League selection and the Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Year last season. The co-recipient of the Lt. Robert T. Bianchi Award, Russell owned the nation's second-best goals-against average (6.69), allowing 106 goals in nearly 952 minutes of play. He has led Navy to a 26-5 record when he is the goalkeeper of record.
• Birsner and Russell are the first Navy lacrosse co-captains since Tom Calabrese and Neil Duffy captained the 1984 squad, leading the Mids to a 6-6 record, a win over fourth-ranked Virginia and a No. 13 final ranking.

What's Coming Back...
• Considering what is coming back for head coach Richie Meade, it is easy to see why Navy is ranked highly in the preseason polls.
• The Mids will return over 63 percent of their scoring, including almost two-thirds of the the goal production from a year ago.
• Navy returns returns at least half of its production in nine of 13 categories, with the exceptions being face-offs won and attempted and penalties and penalty minutes.

Road Warriors...
• With all of the success over the past two years for the Navy lacrosse team, much of it has come on the road.
• In true road games, dating back to the start of the 2004 season, Navy is 9-2, defeating seven ranked teams in the process. Navy's lone losses in that span were a pair of overtime decisions last year (8-7 to Bucknell and 9-8 to top-ranked Johns Hopkins).
• Including neutral-site games, Navy is 13-4 over the same span, with losses coming to Syracuse (2004) and Bucknell, Johns Hopkins and Virginia last season.
• Navy's 2006 schedule features three ranked teams on the road (North Carolina, Maryland, Army) and an early-season trip to San Diego for "The First Four" against Bucknell.

Turning it Around...
• Navy has enjoyed success over the last two seasons that few schools nationally have experienced. Over the last two seasons, Navy has put together a 27-7 record (.794). The 27 wins are the most in the country and the .794 winning percentage is second only to Johns Hopkins (29-2, .935).
• In the last two seasons, the Midshipmen have produced the top-two win totals in school history. Navy won 15 games in 2004 en route to its NCAA Championship game appearance, and last year the Mids produced 12 wins in earning their second-consecutive NCAA Tournament berth.

Home Sweet Home...
• The Mids have enjoyed success over the years playing at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Navy owns a 13-3 mark at home over the last two seasons, outscoring its foes, 191-114 (11.9 to 7.1 gpg). The Mids have allowed just three teams (2005 - Georgetown, 2004 - Ohio State and Johns Hopkins) to reach double digits in games played on their home field over the last two years.
• Last year, Navy owned an impressive 7-1 mark at home with its lone loss as the hands of No. 5 Georgetown who dealt the Mids an 11-6 setback on April 2-3.

Coming Out In Droves...
• Not only has Navy had major success on the field, but also at the turnstiles. The Mids averaged 5,332 fans per game at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in 2005, the most in the country.
• Navy was the only school in the Patriot League to average at least 1,000 fans per game last spring, and only one school in the league, Army, drew what Navy averages.
• Last April, the third-largest documented home crowd in school history (14,124) watched Navy defeat Maryland, 9-8. It was the largest crowd to watch a regular-season Division I lacrosse game last season.
• In the following home game, a crowd of 12,117 watched Navy beat arch rival Army, 12-9, in the Star Game. It was the fourth largest in school history and it marked the first time in school history that Navy drew over 10,000 fans in back-to-back games. Additionally, it was the largest documented crowd to see an Army-Navy lacrosse game.

National Exposure...
• Navy's lacrosse resurgence over the last few seasons has increased its national exposure.
• Navy appeared on national television six times in 2005 and in 2006, five regular-season contests will be aired, including four by CSTV. Home games against Georgetown (4/1) and Johns Hopkins (4/22) will be carried by CSTV, while the network will also air the Mids' Patriot League battle against Bucknell in San Diego (3/11) and the annual showdown between Navy and Maryland (4/7). ESPNU is slated to pick up the Army-Navy Star Game at West Point's Michie Stadium.
• Over the last two years, Navy has been on television 12 times. Navy is 4-1 on CSTV all-time and 3-4 on the ESPN family of networks.

Playing the Best Brings Out The Best...
• The Mids have consistently played one of the toughest schedules in the country. Since 1997, Navy has played at least six ranked teams each season and heading into the 2006 campaign, the Mids are slated to face seven ranked programs.
• Navy played nine ranked teams in 2005 and turned in a 6-3 record.
• The Mids played a top-10 ranked team in six of their last eight contests last spring, with Navy recording a 5-3 mark.
• Over the last two seasons, Navy is 14-6 against ranked teams.
• Navy head coach Richie Meade has led Navy to a 32-42 mark against ranked teams since 1997 and a 46-5 mark against unranked teams in that same span.

Balancing Act...
• Last spring Navy was one of the most balanced teams in the country with six players tallying at least 20 points. The Mids were one-of-10 teams nationally with six players recording at least 20 points.
• Navy was also one-of-seven teams around the country with five players netting at least 17 goals.
• Navy, Delaware and Mount St. Mary's were the only schools last season to have five players score at least 17 goals, four players produce at least 30 points and six players record at least 20 points.

Getting Defensive...
• The Navy defense has been a big reason why Richie Meade's club has enjoyed success for the years • Last spring, Navy allowed just 106 goals on 411 shots for a shooting percentage of just .258.
• Twenty of the goals came via man-up opportunities for the opponents, meaning 86 goals came even-strength, an average of 5.38 even-strength goals per game. When even strength, Navy outscored its foes 133-86.
• The 38 goals allowed in the first eight games of the 2005 season were the fewest since the 1970 team held its first eight foes to just 36 goals.
• Navy has limited 12 of its last 34 opponents to five or fewer goals, and only five foes (Ohio State 2004, Army 2004, Syracuse 2004, Georgetown 2005 and Virginia 2005) have managed to reach double figures.
• Since 2004, Navy has limited 16 of its 34 opponents to under 25 shots. During that time frame, Navy is 15-1 (Ohio State 2004) when holding its foes to under 25 shots.
• Navy held 15 of its 16 opponents (Georgetown) under their scoring average last season, and in 14 of 16 games, the Mids shut out their opponent for over 15 minutes.
• Navy has lost just two games when holding foes to nine or fewer goals since 2004, posting a 26-2 mark. Both losses came in extra minutes during the 2005 campaign (Bucknell and Johns Hopkins).

The Last Line Of Defense...
• Matt Russell burst onto the scene in 2004, earning the starting keeper job in the team's third game and never let it go. He went on to earn First-Team All-America honors as a sophomore and was the Kelly Award recipient as the nation's top goalie. Heading into his senior year, he owns a 26-5 career record.
• Earned Patriot League Defensive Player-of-the-Week honors twice in 2005, winning the honor five times in his career.
• Had a heroic effort against sixth-ranked Maryland, stopping 10 shots to lead Navy to victory. He played the game with a severely sprained ankle and as of 1 p.m. on gameday, he wasn't going to play.
• Turned it up to a notch in the Mids' NCAA Tournament win over Delaware. Stopped a season-high 13 shots, including nine in the first half, to keep the Blue Hens at bay.
• He has saved at least 50 percent of the shots he has faced in 25-of-32 games he has played in since 2004. When Russell stops at least 50 percent of his shots, Navy is 23-2, with the lone losses coming to Johns Hopkins (4/24/04) and Bucknell (3/12/05).

The Distributor...
• Jon Birsner has been one of the most underrated players on the Navy roster the last few seasons, but his play-making skills have proven to be invaluable.
• He tallied his 100th-career point in the Patriot League Championship against rival Army, becoming just the 25th Navy player to accomplish the feat.
• Birsner had a career game in the March 19 meeting with Colgate. He dished out eight assists, tied for the second-best total in school history, leading the Mids to an 11-6 win over the Raiders. The eight assists were the most since Paul Basile had eight in a 14-6 win over Brown (5/13/87). The eight assists were the most in the NCAA last season and the eight points tied for the most.
• He followed up with a six-point (3 g, 3 a) effort at Lehigh. The 14 points in consecutive games are the most since Mike Buzzell had 20 points (10 g, 10 a) in a two-game stretch against Delaware and Syracuse in 1978.
• Has recorded 21 career multi-assist games in just 44 career games.
• Recorded assists (31) on 19.7 percent of Navy's goals (157) last season and accounted for 35.2 percent of Navy's (85) assists in 2005.

Looneys Do It All...
• The Looney brothers have been instrumental in Navy's resurgence over the last two seasons. • The elder, Steve, is one of the most versatile players in the country, performing on the top midfield line, the face-off crew, defensive midfield and the EMO unit.
• He scored a career-best five points on five goals in leading Navy to a 9-2 triumph over Providence in the season opener. It was a breakout game for the Steve, as he recorded just his second-career hat trick.
• In the Mids' win over No. 7 North Carolina, he tallied five points (4 g, 1 a) and scooped up a Navy season-best nine ground balls. He was named the Insidelacrosse.com National Player of the Week, as well as Patriot League Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.
• Recorded a monster game against No. 4 Army, scoring three points (2 g, 1 a) and picking up eight ground balls. The effort earned him his second Patriot League Offensive Player-of-the-Week award this season.
• A ground-ball machine, Steve scooped up a game-high seven grounders against Johns Hopkins, then added four more against Lehigh. He has gobbled up 162 career ground balls and needs just 52 to set a new school record.
• Steve was added to the Tewaaraton Award watch list midway through the season.
• Meanwhile, Billy, who was named the 2004 Patriot League Rookie of the Year and a First-Team All-Patriot League midfielder in 2005, has started all 34 career games, and is averaging over a point a game for his career (47 career points in 34 games).
• He produced his first-career multi-goal game against Colgate, then added four goals against Holy Cross.
• Led the Mids to a 12-9 triumph over Army with a team-best three goals. Two of his goals came in the second half to help Navy build an insurmountable lead.
• Combined, the brothers tallied 38 points (32 g, 6 a) and 56 ground balls in the last 12 games. In 2005, the duo combined for 53 points (44 g, 9 a) and 76 ground balls.

Fantastic Freshman...
• Head coach Richie Meade has had a long line of freshmen succeed in his offense.
• Nick Mirabito was the team's fourth-leading scorer last spring with 33 points and scored at least two points in 11-of-16 games.
• He was named the Patriot League Rookie of the Week on March 22 after producing two points at Lafayette, followed by his first-career hat trick in the victory over Colgate.
• With 27 goals, Mirabito finished fourth among the nation's freshmen in goals and seventh with 33 points. His goal total is fifth all-time among Navy freshmen and his 33 points is eighth all-time.
• Tallied three points six different times during the season, and scored in every game.

Welcome Back to the Big Man...
• There is no question that the return of junior Ian Dingman should bolster what should be an already strong Navy offense.
• Dingman returns after scoring 62 points as a sophomore and garnering second-team All-America honors while helping Navy to the 2004 national title game. • The 62 points were the sixth most in school history and the second most by a Navy sophomore in school history, behind only Brendan Schneck's 78 points in 1978. His 36 goals were tied for the 13th most in a single season.
• He is one of four players in school history to score 100 points in his first two seasons at the Academy, joining Mike Herger (1987-88; 109 points), James Lewis (1964-65; 110 points) and Brendan Schneck (1977-78; 121 points). Dingman currently has 102 career points.

About the Schedule...
• Navy will once again play one of the toughest schedules in the nation. According to the preseason Face-Off Yearbook national poll, Navy will face seven of the top 25 teams in the country and two more that are receiving votes. Included in that tally are three of the top six and five of the top 15.
• Last season, nine of Navy's 16 games came against teams ranked in the top 25 at the time of the game, including seven teams ranked in the top nine. Seven of Navy's last eight games were against teams ranked in the top 16.
• Since the start of the 2004 season, Navy has played 20 of its 34 games against teams ranked in the top 20, posting a stellar 14-6 record. Two of the six losses have come to the No. 1-ranked team in the country at the time (Johns Hopkins twice). Other losses to ranked teams in that span were against No. 20 Ohio State (2004), No. 4 Syracuse (2004), No. 7 Georgetown (2005) and No. 6 Virginia (2005).
• In fact, in the new decade beginning in 2000, 50 of Navy's 86 games (58.1 percent) have been against ranked teams. In those games, Navy is 26-24 (52.0 percent). Six of those losses have come to Johns Hopkins.
• In games against unranked foes since 2000, Navy is 32-4 (88.9 percent). The losses have come to UMBC (2001), Air Force and Penn State (2003) and Bucknell (2005).

Moran Joins Navy's Coaching Staff...
• Navy lacrosse head coach Richie Meade has announced that former Maryland All-American Ryan Moran has joined his staff as an assistant coach, while Mark Goers will assume the title of Director of Lacrosse Operations.
• Moran, who spent last year coaching at the Naval Academy Prep School in Rhode Island, will be responsible for Navy's face-off specialists, as well as the defensive midfield. He led NAPS to a 10-1 record a year ago which featured wins over Army's JV team, as well as Army's prep school.
• Coaching has been in the Moran family bloodline for years. Ryan's father, Jack, has been a successful lacrosse and football coach for the past two decades at Chaminade High School on Long Island. Ryan's great uncle, Richie, was a standout lacrosse player at Maryland (1958-60) before becoming one of the most successful lacrosse coaches in the country. He led Cornell to three national titles and is a member of the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame.
• A 2003 graduate of Maryland, Moran served several roles for the Terrapins during his four-year career. During his freshman and sophmore seasons, he was a short stick defensive midfielder who contributed in the face-off game by playing on the wing, or taking the draws if needed.
• As a junior and senior, Moran's focus turned to the offense where he played the majority of the time at the midfield, but also played attack. In those two seasons he scored a combined 39 goals, and added 11 assists, this after not scoring a goal in either of his first two years. He also won 50 percent (38-76) of the face-offs he took during his senior campaign. He was a First-Team All-ACC selection and member of the ACC All-Tournament Team his senior season, Moran led the Terps to a 12-4 record in 2004 and an appearance in the Final Four. For his efforts, Moran was named a USILA Third-Team All-American in 2003.

[Sonny]

Profile: Ian Dingman of Navy
http://www.laxpower.com/profiles/dingman.php