No. 18/16 Navy edged the Bison men’s lacrosse team, 13-10, on Sunday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The game was a nail-biter until midway through the third quarter, as neither team could build more than a one goal cushion.  Up until Navy’s game-deciding 5-0 run, which stretched from the third frame’s 9:31 to 3:49 marks, the teams were tied six times and traded the lead twice. The 5-0 goal run gave the Midshipman an 11-6 lead on the Bison, the largest lead of the contest.

Alston Tarry ’22 decided enough was enough, and scored a “herculean effort” goal by spinning his way out of a double team, diving out of the way of another charging defender and finding the back of the net. This goal created the spark the Bison needed to re-ignite their bench as well as their high powered offense. It was the first goal of a 4-1 Bison run that trimmed the deficit to 12-10 at the fourth quarter’s 7:11 mark.

Brendan Lundy ’22 scored three goals in the game, which was his second career hat trick. Tarry finished with one goal and two assists. Sumner Brumbaugh  ’21, Dutch Furlong ’24 and Harry Wellford ’23 also saw multi-point outings.

The Bison were solid in the faceoff X this weekend, winning 15 faceoffs, while Navy only won nine. Nick Crovatto’22 won nine of his 13 face-offs while Conor McCusker ’23 went six for 11. Danny Striano ’23 collected a game-best eight ground balls while Tarry and Ben Clark ’21 scooped up five apiece. Clark finished the game with 10 saves, and a .435 save percentage on the afternoon. All American “Honorable Mention” Travis Talarico’22 caused two turnovers and collected four ground balls.

Talarico spoke highly of their opponent, and commented, “The Naval Academy is arguably the toughest opponent that we as a team face.  They were incredibly talented, and we often preached about matching their intensity and grit for the full 60 minutes. For almost the whole game, it was a one score contest, as we exchanged punches with one of the toughest teams in the country. Although the game didn’t go our way, it showed that we as a team are finally starting to put the pieces together.” 

Overall, the Bison led in shots (47-35), shots on goal (27-23) and faceoffs (15-9). The Midshipman caused only three more turnovers than the Bison (15-18), proving how much of a battle this game was. The ranked Midshipman managed to edge the Bison by a very slim margin, proving the potential and strength of the Orange and Blue at this point in their season.

Looking ahead for the Bison, Talarico is confident in his team for the remaining Patriot League matchups this season, as he says, “The hardest part of our season is behind us, as we faced three Patriot League rivals, who were all nationally ranked. Having those games under our belt, as well as more practice time has put us in a good spot as we face Colgate this weekend. Any Patriot League game is going to be a dogfight, and we expect this game to be no different, but I am confident our best lacrosse is in front of us.”

The Bison take on the Colgate Raiders this weekend on April 3 at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium for a noon game, and it will be streamed on ESPN+.