May 7, 2008
Patriot League NCAA Tournament Notes 
Colgate and Navy To Play In 2008 NCAA Tournament
Two Patriot League teams received bids to the 2008 NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament with Colgate and Navy being selected for postseason play. Colgate enters the NCAA tourney as the Patriot League's automatic qualifier after winning the 2008 Patriot League Championship on April 27. Navy was one of nine squads in the 16-team NCAA Tournament field to receive an at-large invitation.
Navy will begin NCAA Tournament play on Saturday, May 10 at fourth-seeded North Carolina in Chapel Hill, N.C. The game will be played at 7:30 p.m. and shown on ESPNU.
Colgate will play its first NCAA Tournament contest on Sunday, May 11 at sixth-seeded Notre Dame in South Bend, Ind. Game time is set for Noon and will also be broadcast on ESPNU.
This year marks the third time the Patriot League has sent multiple teams to the NCAA Tournament (2004, 2005, 2008). In 2004, the year Navy made it to the NCAA Championship Game, three teams were selected to play (Army, Hobart and Navy). Both Army and Navy claimed spots in the 2005 NCAA Tournament.
Colgate will be making its first NCAA Men's Lacrosse Tournament appearance in school history, while Navy will play in the NCAA tourney for the 25th time and for the fifth-straight year in a row. The Midshipmen own a 15-24 record in postseason play. The Mids are 5-6 in opening-round games and 2-2 since the field expanded to the 16-team format in 2003. Navy is 0-2 in championship games, losing to Maryland, 20-13, in 1975, and to Syracuse, 14-13, in 2004.
While Navy has never won an NCAA lacrosse title, it does have 17 USILA National Championships to its credit.
ESPNU First Round Coverage
All eight first-round games of the NCAA Tournament will be broadcast on ESPNU. The Navy-North Carolina game will be called by Dave Ryan and Quint Kessenich and Dave Cohen and Mark Dixon will handle the broadcast duties for the Colgate-Notre Dame tilt.
Patriot League Notebook
NCAA First Round Matchups
Saturday, May 10
Navy (9-5, 5-1 PL) at No. 4 seed North Carolina (8-5, 0-3 ACC), 7:30 p.m. (ESPNU)
All-Time Series Tied at 11-11
The Navy-North Carolina series is deadlocked at 11 wins apiece with Carolina boasting an 8-3 advantage in games played on its home field. The two teams will meet for the fifth time in NCAA Tournament action with the Tar Heels holding a commanding 4-1 advantage with wins over the Mids in 1980, 1981, 1982 and 2007. Navy's lone win in postseason play against Carolina was a 13-9 victory in 1976.
The winner of the Navy-North Carolina game will play the winner of the Hofstra-Johns Hopkins contest in one of the two quarterfinal games played at Navy-Marine Corp Memorial Stadium on May 17.
Sunday, May 11
Colgate (11-5, 4-2 PL) at No. 6 seed Notre Dame (13-2, 4-1 GWLL), Noon (ESPNU)
All-Time Series 1-0, Notre Dame
Sunday will be the second meeting between Colgate and Notre Dame in the programs' histories. Notre Dame captured the win 11-10 in overtime in 1987. It will be the third Great Western Lacrosse League team Colgate will have faced this season. The Raiders also took on Denver and Ohio State in 2008.
The winner of the Colgate-Notre Dame game will take on the winner of the Syracuse-Canisius contest in the quarterfinal round on May 17 or 18 in Ithaca, N.Y. at Cornell's Schoellkopf Field.
2004 Navy NCAA Run
Navy put together the most successful NCAA Tournament run in Patriot League history in 2004 when it made it all the way to the championship game. Navy defeated Penn, Cornell and Princeton to advance to the title contest. The Mids dropped a heartbreaking 14-13 game to national champion Syracuse.
Patriot League In NCAA Tourney
The Patriot League has posted a 5-13 mark in the NCAA Tournament. Navy accounted for three of the five wins during its 2004 NCAA Tournament run to the championship game, while the Mids also won a game in 2005 against Delaware. The other Patriot League victory came in 1993 when Army moved past Maryland.
Postseason Appearances
Navy tied Army with the most NCAA Tournament appearances by a school as a Patriot League member with five this year. Hobart, who is no longer a member of the Patriot League, made three NCAA appearances while with the League. Bucknell and now Colgate have each made one trip to the national tourney.
Hot Streak
Colgate heads into the NCAA Tournament on a seven-game win streak, which includes an upset win over No. 2 Syracuse in the regular-season finale. The No. 10 Raiders are 11-5 overall on the season and have defeated a ranked opponent in each of the past four games (No. 9 Bucknell, No. 14 Navy, No. 19 Bucknell, No. 2 Syracuse). The 11 wins ties the program record for wins in a season and is the third consecutive season Colgate has posted 11 victories.
A Pair Of Number Ones
Through Sunday's games both Navy and Colgate were ranked first in the nation in a team statistic. Navy was tops in the nation in scoring defense (6.21), while Colgate was first in man-down defense (0.833).
Patriot League Career Charts
Colgate senior Matt Lalli is ranked seventh on the Patriot League's all-time assists list, now with 94 career helpers. He would need four more assists to move into a tie for sixth place. The all-time record is held by Army's Tim Pearson (1999-2002), who recorded 142 career assists.
Navy senior Nick Mirabito is also a top 10 member, ranking ninth in Patriot League history in points with 155. To move up a spot he would need five more points to tie for eighth. Bucknell's Chris Cara (2002-05) is the all-time record holder with 249 career points.
Patriot League Scholar-Athlete
Army's Scott Rosenshein was named the 2008 Patriot League Men's Lacrosse Scholar-Athlete of the Year as a chemical engineering major with a 3.98 cumulative grade-point average. The junior Black Knight was one of the team's starting face-off wings and a valuable member of the defense.
Recent Colgate Praise
Over the past week three Colgate student-athletes have been honored on the national scene. After the Raiders' Patriot League Championship win senior Chris Eck was selected as the LaxNews.com College Beat Co-Player of the Week, while junior Brandon Corp was tabbed the CBS College Sports and lax.com Offensive Player of the Week and the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Player of the Week. Sophomore goaltender Tim Harrington was named the College Beat Player of the Week by LAXNews.com following the Raiders' upset win over No. 2 Syracuse on May 3.
Colgate Head Coach Jim Nagle was named the US Lacrosse Men's Coach of the Week on April 30 after guiding Colgate to its first-ever Patriot League Tournament title and NCAA Tournament appearance.
Predictors Correct
The Patriot League preseason voters were right as Colgate's Brandon Corp and Navy's Jordan DiNola were predicated as the Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year, respectively, in the beginning of the season by head coaches and sports information directors and were given those awards at the conclusion of the 2008 regular season.
CLASS Top-10 Finalist
Army defenseman Craig Massie was one of 10 student-athletes named a finalist for the 2008 Lowe's Senior CLASS Award in the sport of men's lacrosse. A fan vote will be combined with votes from coaches, media and sponsors to determine the recipient of this year's honor, which will be awarded during the NCAA Lacrosse Championship weekend in Foxborough, Mass. CLASS stands for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School.
Other Award Nominees
Both Army's Adam Fullerton and Navy's Jordan DiNola were Tewaaraton Award nominees before the list was cut to the top five candidates. The Tewaaraton Award is given out to the top U.S. college player (men and women) each year. Fullerton is also a member of the USILA Lt. Raymond J. Enners Award Watch List.
Quotable
"Anyone who receives an at-large berth has earned their way into the tournament by way of their play at some point during the year. Nothing has come easy for our team this year and I really want to say how proud I am of them. I think they deserve the opportunity to play in the tournament and this is a credit to their determination and hard work throughout the year." - Navy Head Coach Richie Meade
Patriot League Lacrosse Involvement
The Patriot League's coaches and administrators are actively involved in the men's lacrosse community. Bucknell Senior Associate Director of Athletics Tim Pavlechko is currently serving as the chair of the NCAA Men's Lacrosse Committee. Army Head Coach Joe Alberici and Patriot League Associate Executive Director Richard Wanninger sit on the Board of Directors for USILA. Navy Head Coach Richie Meade is the President of the Intercollegiate Men's Lacrosse Coaches Association, while Lafayette Head Coach Terry Mangan serves on the US Lacrosse Board of Directors as well as the organization's second vice president.
