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4/19/2002 - Men's Lacrosse
No. 14 Navy Lacrosse Set To Host Second-Ranked Johns Hopkins

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The 14th-ranked Navy lacrosse team will be in search of its first victory over second-ranked Johns Hopkins in 28 seasons when the two teams square off Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Mids will honor their 15 senior players prior to the 12 Noon face-off.

“Johns Hopkins is extremely well coached, and they are a well-disciplined team,” said Navy head coach Richie Meade. “What they do both offensively and defensively isn’t complicated, but they execute extremely well, which is a credit to their coaching staff, and the concentration of their players. What it comes down to for us is trying to be as disciplined as Hopkins in every area. They are a talented team that is only going to get better over time, and we will have to play a disciplined game to have a chance to win.”

The Mids (7-4) are coming off a 10-5 victory at Mount St. Mary’s last Tuesday. Team captain Eddie McKinnon (Sr./Davidsonville, Md.) scored two of his three goals on the afternoon in the first period, while Joe Bossi (So./Skaneateles, N.Y.) also found the back of the net twice in the opening-15 minutes. Freshman Scott Gaiser (Ronkonkoma, N.Y.) scored his first-two career goals in the contest, while All-America candidate Jon Higdon (Sr./Edgewater, Md.) posted six saves in the victorious effort.

The Blue Jays enter Saturday’s game with an 8-1 record and are coming off a 9-8 overtime victory over sixth-ranked Maryland. Kyle Barrie (12 goals, seven assists) scored the winning goal in the extra frame against the Terps, and is JHU’s assist leader. Junior All-American Bobby Benson has notched a team-high 19 goals along with eight assists, while Adam Doneger has found the back of the net 14 times. Senior Nick Murtha has tallied 108 saves in his 542:15 in the Hopkins net, recording a .600 save percentage and a 7.97 goals-against average in the process. The Blue Jays rank second nationally in extra-man efficiency, scoring on 17 of their 35 opportunities.

Last season (April 21) Johns Hopkins scored a 13-11 victory over Navy at Homewood Field in Baltimore. An early 4-1 Midshipmen lead was countered by a 10-4 Blue Jays run, with Conor Ford scoring all five of his goals during that span. He extended a 7-6 halftime lead 34 seconds into the second half with his fourth goal before back-to-back goals by Navy’s Adam Borcz and Eddy Holton (Jr./Northport, N.Y.) tied the game at 8-8. Matt Hanna and Ford scored consecutive goals to give JHU a 10-8 lead it would never relinquish. Higdon turned aside 13 shots in the Navy cage.

The lacrosse game will kick off the Nvay Spring Festival, as head coach Paul Johnson’s football team will play its annual Blue-Gold Scrimmage following the conclusion of the lacrosse contest. Tickets are available at the Navy ticket office at Ricketts Hall or by calling 1-800-US4-NAVY. Tickets for the lacrosse game are $7 for adults, $6 for NAAA members and $3 for students. Fans can get up to four tickets free for the doubleheader by showing their GIANT shopping card at the ticket booth on Saturday. Admission to the football game is free of charge.

Festivities for the day will include a Kid Zone with interactive games, a fly-by before the lacrosse game (F-14's) and another one before the football game (P-3's) and a video board that will show replays of the action on the field.