Feb. 19, 2010

Center Valley, Pa.--The 2010 men's lacrosse season officially began last week for three Patriot League teams. Navy and Lehigh both recorded victories, while Bucknell fell by one goal against No. 2 Duke. All three teams will be back in action this weekend, while the remaining four teams will commence their 2010 schedules on Saturday.

Patriot League Notebook

Two Out Of Three
Lehigh and No. 11 Navy both picked up season-opening victories last weekend. Adam Johnston notched a hat trick helping Lehigh rally for a 7-6 win at Saint Joseph’s. Navy scored a 16-5 win over VMI, giving the Mids nine straight season-opening victories. No. 19 Bucknell was lone Patriot League team to fall last weekend, dropping a 12-11 decision in overtime against No. 2 Duke in Atlanta. Bucknell jumped out a 7-2 lead and held an 8-5 halftime cushion before the Blue Devils rallied for the victory.

The Weekend Slate
Patriot League squads will face two ranked foes this weekend. No. 11 Navy will host No. 15 Loyola (Md.), marking the first time the two teams have met since 1993. Like Navy, Lehigh will be seeking to move to 2-0 this weekend. The Mountain Hawks will venture south to take on No. 4 North Carolina. No. 17 Bucknell will attempt to move to 1-1 when it hosts Ohio State on Saturday. Three Patriot League teams will open their seasons on Saturday. Army will host VMI, while Colgate, Holy Cross and Lafayette will be on the road. The Raiders will travel to Binghamton, while the Leopards will be at Fairfield. Holy Cross will play the final game of the day. The Crusaders will compete at St. John’s.

Weathering the Storm
Lehigh and Navy both had to play in different locations than originally scheduled last weekend. Lehigh also had to play on a different day. The Mountain Hawks’ game at Saint Joseph’s was moved to Sunday at historic Franklin Field. Navy’s contest against VMI was relocated to Rip Taylor Field. The changes did not adversely affect either squad, as Lehigh and Navy both picked up wins.

Don’t Lose Your Hats
Navy got hat tricks from Patrick Moran and Andy Warner in the Mids’ season-opening win over VMI. Dating back to last season, at least one Navy player has recorded a hat trick in seven of the Mids’ last eight games. The lone contest in which Navy did not get a hat trick was during the Mids’ NCAA contest against Duke.

Hometown Heroics
Atlanta-native Chris Palmer got a chance to shine in front of his hometown fans. Playing against Duke in Atlanta, the Bucknell senior midfielder scored his first goal of the season late in the fourth quarter to break a 9-9 tie.

Navy Picked To Win 2010 Patriot League Championship
Defending Patriot League Champion Navy was selected as the preseason favorite in a vote of coaches and sports information directors. The Midshipmen enter the season having won five Patriot League titles in their six years in the League. Navy received 11 first-place votes and a total of 71 points. Bucknell received the remaining three first-place votes and a total of 63 points. Colgate was picked third with 48 points, followed by Army (45), Lehigh (33), Lafayette (22) and Holy Cross. Coaches and SIDs could not vote for their own school.

Team Notebooks

Army The Black Knights will begin their 93rd season of men’s lacrosse at home on Saturday against the Keydets of VMI. It is the first of just five home games for Army. The Black Knights are 71-21 in home-openers. Army closed 2009 with a 6-10 overall record and a 2-4 mark in Patriot League play. The Black Knights were picked fourth in the Patriot League preseason poll. Junior goalkeeper Tom Palesky is back in goal for Army. As a sophomore, he averaged a League-best 12.75 saves per game and allowed just 8.89 goals per contest.

Bucknell The No. 17 Bison dropped a 12-11 decision to No. 2 Duke in front of nearly 7,000 spectators in Atlanta on Saturday. Bucknell jumped out a 7-2 lead and held an 8-5 halftime cushion after a wild second period during which both teams scored five goals. Duke scored the first two goals of the second half and finally tied the game at with 7:46 left in the fourth quarter. Goals by Atlanta native Chris Palmer and Austin Winter just 12 seconds apart put the Bison back up 11-9 with five minutes to play, but the Blue Devils tied the game with 2:05 to play. Jake Clarke won his 12th faceoff of the day, and Bucknell launched four shots in the final two minutes, three of which just missed. In overtime, Parker McKee pulled a ground ball out of a big faceoff scrum, leading to a fastbreak goal for Duke just 15 seconds into the extra frame. Bucknell was hoping to knock off a team ranked No. 2 or higher for the third time since 2005. The Blue Devils returned seven starters from a team that won the ACC title and went to its third straight Final Four last year. Tim Brandau led the Bison with four goals, while Preseason Patriot League Player of the Year Austin Winter had a goal and four assists. Bucknell will attempt to pick up its first win of the season when it opens its home slate on Saturday against Ohio State.

Colgate The No. 20 Raiders were picked third in the preseason poll after finishing last season with a 5-1 mark in Patriot League play. Colgate was edged by eventual champion Navy in the Patriot League semifinals. The Raiders must replace three-time Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Brandon Corp, but will have the services of Mike Crown and Tim Harrington in the back. Harrington made 9.80 saves per game as a junior. The Raiders will play at Binghamton on Saturday. Colgate is 7-0 all-time against the Bearcats. Colgate defeated Binghamton by an 11-9 count last season.

Holy Cross The Crusaders return 26 letter-winners from last season’s squad. Holy Cross also brings back 8 of 10 starters and 9 of its top 10 scorers from a year ago. The Crusaders were 0-6 in the Patriot League and 3-12 overall last season. They were picked seventh in the 2010 preseason poll. Coach Adam Pascal’s squad will return three-year starter Edison Parzanese. He will be flanked up front by two-time Rookie of the Week winner Colin McGeehin. Holy Cross will be the final Patriot League team to open the season, doing so at St. John’s at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Lafayette The Leopards closed 2009 tied for fourth in the Patriot League, finishing one goal short of a Patriot League Tournament berth. Lafayette gets attackman Tom Perini back after a sophomore season during which he led the nation in goals per game. Perini produced three goals per contest and is expected to again lead the Leopards’ attack. After three scheduled exhibition games, Lafayette is slated to start the season this Saturday. The Leopards will open up on the road against Fairfield.

Lehigh The Mountain Hawks’ season-opener was pushed back to Sunday at Franklin Field in Phialdelphia, but it did not affect Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks started the season with a 7-6 victory over Saint Joseph’s. Lehigh jumped out to an early 3-0 lead on the Hawks and led 4-2 at halftime, but the Mountain Hawks found themselves down 6-5 in the second half before rallying for the 7-6 win.  Sophomore Adam Johnston completed a hat trick with his game-winning goal in the final three minutes of play off an assist from freshman David DiMaria. Lehigh out-shot the Hawks 37-23 on the afternoon and picked up 29 ground balls to the home team’s 14. The Mountain Hawks will remain on the road this weekend, taking on No. 4 North Carolina in Chapel Hill.

Navy The No. 11 Mids jumped out to an 11-0 lead and never looked back in their 16-5 win over VMI on Saturday. Eleven different Navy players scored, helping Navy weather a rare pair of three-minute stick penalties. The game was played at Rip Taylor Field due to snowy conditions in Annapolis. Sophomore goalkeeper RJ Wickham made 12 saves to pick up the win between the pipes. Nikk Davis scored two of Navy’s first three goals, while Andy Warner and Patrick Moran each tallied three goals. Since 2004, Navy is now 40-2 when scoring at least 10 goals. The Mids will host No. 15 Loyola (Md.) on Saturday. It will be the first meeting between the schools since 1993. It will also be Navy’s first of seven opponents ranked in the USILA preseason coaches’ poll. The Mids enter Saturday’s game with 71 wins. Navy is one of just five programs with at least 70 wins in that time, joining Duke (79), Virginia (74), Johns Hopkins (72) and Cornell (70).