The Navy men’s lacrosse team won their fourth game in a row on Saturday, April 22, against Lafayette. The final score was 9-6 in favor of Navy, bringing their record to 7-6 for the season, and 4-2 in the Patriot League. This victory is their longest winning streak since 2018.
The game was initially delayed by two hours due to poor weather, but this did not deter Navy from coming out strong. They quickly took the lead, scoring two goals within the first two-and-a-half minutes of the game. Midfielder Jon Jarosz, from Gambrills, Md., scored the first goal of the game and added a pair of assists throughout the game. All-American defenseman Jackson Bonitz, from Shrewsbury, Pa., closed the opening run by going coast-to-coast, punching in his third career goal. The Leopards managed to score their first goal during the last 40 seconds of the first quarter.
Navy extended their lead to 4-1 after Tommy Hovivian, from Dallas, Texas, scored a back-handed bounce shot with 11:21 left in the second quarter. However, they failed to score for the following ten minutes while Lafayette began to warm up. Attackman Peter Lehman, who was named All-Patriot League, scored two goals in a little over a minute, bringing Lafayette to within one point of the lead. Despite this, Navy secured the final point of the half with Jarosz’s 8-yard goal to lead 5-3.
The Navy extended their lead to three points in the opening minutes of the third quarter when Max Hewitt, from Denver, Colo., scored off an assist from Jarosz. But Lafayette rallied once again, this time with Kalman Kraham, from Alpharetta, Ga., scoring two goals to narrow the gap to one point. Navy’s defense held firm, and the team went on a three-goal run at the start of the fourth quarter to take a 9-5 lead. Mac Haley, from Shady Side, Md., and Paul Garza, from Frederick, Md., each scored a goal, while Jarosz recorded his third goal of the game. Lafayette scored their final goal in the last minute of the game, bringing the final score to 9-6 in favor of Navy.
Defensively, Navy dominated the game, limiting Lafayette to their second-lowest score of the season. Navy goalkeeper Pat Ryan, from Groton, Mass., was named Patriot League Goalkeeper of the Week and the USILA Div. I National Team of the Week, with six saves made in the game. Navy’s faceoff game also proved critical to their victory, winning 14 of the 18 draws, with Anthony Ghobriel, from Dallas, Texas, winning 14 of the 16 draws he took.
Jarosz equalled his career-high with five points, while Haley achieved a 3-point performance that included two assists. Garza also reached a career-high, scoring two goals in his second multiple-point game. Navy’s recent performances have been impressive, with Garza scoring three goals and three assists in the last three contests.
This win brings Navy’s all-time record against Lafayette to 22-2, with Navy winning each of the last five meetings. Navy will next face Loyola University in Baltimore, with the game scheduled to take place on April 29.