Coach Joe Amplo said back in January that Navy men’s lacrosse needed to make a statement this season. On Tuesday night at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, the Midshipmen finally got the signature win that makes lacrosse fans sit up and take notice.
Senior midfielder Tommy Hovivian sparked a balanced offense and sophomore goalie Dan Daly anchored a determined defense as third-seeded Navy defeated No. 6 Loyola, 12-10, in the Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals.
Hovivian, who battled back from injury, scored two goals and dished off two assists as the Mids pulled out a back-and-forth affair that featured five ties and three lead changes. Daly recorded a career-high 10 saves, including many of the spectacular variety, as Navy contained one of the most dangerous offenses in the Patriot League.
It was an historic victory for Navy, which last won a Patriot League Tournament game in 2010. The Midshipmen had lost four times in the quarterfinals and twice in the semifinals since then.
“We’re not big on tangible results because we’re process driven. We know internally what’s happening here, things are shifting here,” Amplo said.
“I get it. It’s a results-driven business and you need nights like this to get some validation for other people. The validation I was after was for this senior class, which started to change the culture of this program. For them to get that Patriot League [Tournament] win that hasn’t been around here for a while… I think that is really important to them.”
Freshman faceoff specialist Zach Hayashi also played a huge role in the game by winning 18 of 26 faceoffs for Navy (9-6), which advances to meet second-seeded Lehigh in Friday night’s semifinals hosted by top-seeded Army.
“It definitely feels good for now. We’ll enjoy it tonight, but winning one Patriot League [Tournament] game hasn’t been the goal of our senior class. It’s just a step toward getting where we want to go,” Hovivian said. “We’ll celebrate this one tonight, but we’re looking for a lot more and everyone on this team has a lot to prove.”
Senior midfielders Dane Swanson and Max Hewitt both totaled two goals and an assist for Navy, which had lost five straight games to Loyola in Annapolis. The Greyhounds had beaten the Midshipmen twice in the Patriot League Tournament during the careers of the current seniors.
“Navy-Marine Corps is a spectacular stadium and a special place to play. There is no better place to call home,” Hovivian said. “For our seniors, we definitely were not going to lose on our home field for our last game here.”
Junior attackman Carter Ash scored two goals for Navy, which had 10 different players factor in the scoring. Senior attackman Xavier Arline and junior running mate Henry Tolker contributed a goal and assist apiece.
Graduate student attackmen Adam Poitras and Evan James both notched hat tricks for Loyola (7-8), which finished with a losing record for the first time since 2015 and failed to win a game in the Patriot League Tournament for the first time since 2019. Goalie Luke Staudt kept the Greyhound in the game by making 15 saves.
“I’m a little disappointed in a few things. Statistically, you look at the sheet and minus faceoffs and saves you win the game,” Loyola coach Charley Toomey said. “I can’t be upset with the effort tonight. We just couldn’t muster that next gear that we had down here last time.”
Loyola had beaten Navy on its home field just 11 days prior. The Greyhounds won the ground ball battle that night, 39-30, and Toomey noted his squad fell one short of doing something the Midshipmen take great pride in.
Navy’s coaches and players talk about getting a “Looney” in the ground ball department, which means totaling 40 to match the jersey number worn by one of the program’s all-time heroes. Brendan Looney, a gutsy long stick midfielder, was killed in action in Afghanistan wile leading a special forces mission.
“We absolutely took that personally. They stated that they wanted to get a Looney on our field. That was a dagger to us,” Amplo said. “We were going to do everything we could not to let that happen again, and I’m really proud of the guys for doing that. I felt like we really fought hard for the 50-50 ground balls.”
Hayashi had a huge hand in turning that statistic around for Navy, which won the ground ball battle 37-32 on Tuesday. The McDonogh graduate and Patriot League Rookie of the Year took every draw and dominated counterparts Carson Hall and Eric Pacheco.
“We needed to be in control, not only of that area, but the middle of the field. I think [Hayashi] really set the tone there. He was in control of that event and was really strong with the ball in his stick,” Amplo said.
Loyola has some deadly accurate shooters with James, Menicus and Poitras leading the way, but Daly definitely stole some goals with lightning-quick reactions and acrobatic saves.
“The shooters for Loyola are excellent. They’re as good as it gets, especially in our league,” said Daly, a second team All-Patriot League pick. “I just felt good in the goal and was seeing the ball well as the game went along. Credit to the defense. They were giving the shots I wanted to see early on and I just rolled from there.”
Loyola neutralized the Navy advantage on faceoffs and ground balls to some extent with a season-high 16 caused turnovers. Toomey was disappointed the Greyhounds didn’t turn those turnovers into goals.
“We weren’t able to run like we like to run. Typically, when we have a caused turnover, it leads to some transition,” he said. “We weren’t able to capitalize on a lot of our transition opportunities. They did a good job of getting in the hole and eliminating that.”
Loyola (7-8) 4-2-1-3 — 10
Navy (9-6) 4-3-2-3 — 12
GOALS: L — Poitras 3, James 3, Heuston 2, Menicus, Fairey. N — Hovivian 2, Swanson 2, Hewitt 2, Ash 2, Tolker, Arline, Garza, Jarosz. ASSISTS: L — Gregory, Heuston, Higgins, Lindsey, McGillicuddy. N — Hovivian 2, Arline, Conway, Flaherty, Hewitt, Swanson, Tolker. SHOTS: L — 40. N — 34. SAVES: L — Staudt 15. N — Daly 18. FACEOFFS: L — 8. N — 18. GROUND BALLS: L — 32. N — 37.
PATRIOT LEAGUE TOURNAMENT SEMIFINALS
Navy vs. Lehigh
At Army West Point
Friday, 7 p.m.
TV: CBS Sports Network
