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3/15/2002 - Men's Lacrosse
No. 14 Navy Lacrosse Travels To Rutgers For ECAC Showdown

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The Navy lacrosse team will look to avoid a three-game skid Saturday when it travels to New Brunswick, N.J., to take on Rutgers. Action is slated for 1 p.m. and will be carried by WNAV (AM-1430), with Bob Socci providing the play-by-play call. The broadcast can also be heard on the internet at http://www.wnav.com(.)

"Obviously, this is an extremely important game because it's an ECAC contest," said Navy head coach Richie Meade. "It is crucial for us to get back on track, but that will be difficult against a young and talented Rutgers club."

Navy, , ranked 14th in this week’s STX/USILA Coaches Poll and 15th in the Inside Lacrosse Media Poll, is coming off a 13-10 loss to Massachusetts in the Mids ECAC home opener. After Navy rookie Graham Gill (Medford, N.J.) scored his first-career goal at 13:10 in the second period to knot the game at two goals apiece, the Minutemen scored seven-unanswered goals in the second to post a 9-2 halftime advantage. A six-goal third period pulled Navy to within 11-8, including a pair of goals by junior preseason All-America Greg Conklin (Syracuse, N.Y.), but Navy would get no closer than two the rest of the way.

Saturday’s game will mark the first ECAC contest of the season for the Scarlet Knights (1-4). Michael Schambach of Rutgers leads the ECAC in face-off winning percentage (.656), having won 40 of his 61 draws. Rookie Jamie Lovejoy has scored a goal and dished out a league-high 14 assists. Tim White has tallied seven goals and six assists, while Ken Springer has accumulated all 10 of his points on goals. Craig Lutwyler has started the last two games in net for the Scarlet Knights, and sports an 0-2 record in those contests. He enters Saturday’s game with a 9.19 goals-against average and a .486 seve percentage.

The Mids lead the all-time series by a 20-6 count, and have not lost in New Brunswick since March 10, 1990, when the Scarlet Knights dealt Navy an 11-9 defeat. The series has been played fairly close, as 18-of-26 games have been decided by five goals or less; the Mids have won 13 of those contests.

On a final note, Navy senior attack Eddie McKinnon (Davidsonville, Md.) is one point shy of the 100-career-point mark following his one-goal performance against Massachusetts. A pair of points on Saturday will move him into a 20th-place tie on Navy’s all-time scoring list with Mike Hannan, Bob Pell and John Carter. McKinnon has tallied 61 goals and 38 assists in his four-year career.