Navy men’s lacrosse edges Bucknell, 13-12, in overtime on Dane Swanson’s game-winner
Navy men’s lacrosse entered Friday night’s regular-season finale against Bucknell having already clinched a berth in the Patriot League Tournament.
Seeding was all that was at stake with various scenarios having the Midshipmen as high as third or as low as sixth.
Navy got some good news by halftime as Boston University beat Colgate, keeping alive the possibility of hosting a game in Annapolis in Tuesday’s quarterfinals.
None of that mattered. What was most important was for the Midshipmen to play a clean game and come away with a win that sent the seniors out the right way and provided some momentum going into the postseason.
Senior midfielder Dane Swanson made sure of it. He was the hero as Navy accomplished all those goals by beating Bucknell, 13-12, in overtime. Swanson scored unassisted with 1:53 left in the extra session as the Mids escaped an upset bid by a Bison squad with nothing to lose after already being eliminated from the postseason.
“The one thing we can count on now is that we have heart and soul. These guys have so much darn heart,” Navy coach Joe Amplo said. “If we can figure out a way to execute to go along with that heart, I think we can be a pretty dangerous lacrosse team.”
It was senior night at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and an announced crowd of 1,782 saw several members of the Class of 2024 lead the thrilling win. Attackman Xavier Arline scored three goals and dished off an assist, while Swanson and fellow midfielder Max Hewitt both totaled two goals and an assist.
However, several underclassmen played prominent roles with sophomore goalie Dan Daly recording 14 saves and freshman faceoff specialist Zach Hayashi winning 20 of 28 draws. Sophomore midfielder Jack Flaherty had a big game with a goal and two assists, while junior attackman Carter Ash came off the bench to score twice.
“It means the world to these guys and to the coaching staff. They know how much they mean to this program,” Amplo said of winning on senior night. “They reset the standard for what’s expected. Excellence is the standard and winning is expected.”
Junior attackman Henry Tolker contributed a goal and an assist for Navy (8-6, 5-3), which squandered 9-5 and 12-9 leads in the second half. Midfielder Richie Striano beat a short-stick defender and fired a low shot that capped a 3-0 Bucknell run and tied the score at 12 with 2:19 to go in regulation.
Goalie Jaz Zanelli (12 saves) stopped a shot from the left wing by Arline to give the visitors the ball with less than a minute left and the Bison elected to hold for the last shot. Sophomore midfielder Will Hopkins (St. Mary’s) raced to the cage with 10 seconds left and appeared to score the game-winning goal, but officials ruled that he stepped in the crease.
Bucknell won the faceoff to open overtime and freshman midfielder Hans Huber got off a hard shot that Daly snuffed. There was a rebound, but defenseman Jackson Bonitz was there to gobble up the ground ball.
“I thought [Daly] was great in the first half. In the second half, he was a little shaky, but he stepped up when we needed it most. He made a great save against one of their better shooters,” Amplo said.
Navy was unable to get off a shot before committing a turnover. A Bucknell defender tried to play the ball back to Zanelli, but Tolker was right there to deliver a hard hit that jarred the ball loose and it bounced out of bounds, giving Navy possession.
“I consider what Tolker did there a hustle play. He just ran through the kid’s chest, which was a really smart play,” Amplo said.
Bucknell (4-10, 2-6) called timeout to regroup, and that gave Navy a chance to set up a play. Amplo said the plan was to put the ball in the stick of reserve attackman Tommy Hovivian, a senior who returned to action after missing several games with an injury.
However, Bucknell put a long pole on Hovivian and the ball wound up in Swanson’s stick instead. The McDonogh graduate immediately dodged past a short stick and drove to the middle of the field where he had plenty of time and space to unleash a hard overhand shot while on the run.
“Dane did a good job of getting to the middle and they didn’t have a slide guy,” Amplo said. “The seas kind of parted and Dane hit his shot.”
Navy has now won eight straight meetings with Bucknell, scoring at least 12 goals in each. This marked the ninth time in series history the Bison and Mids played to a one-goal result.
“We knew we were going to get a great effort from those guys. Their record is not indicative of who they are as a team,” Amplo said of Bucknell.
Navy needed to win and have both Boston University and Lehigh win to get a home game in the playoffs. That is exactly what happened as Navy, seeded third, will host sixth-seeded Loyola, which fell to Army West Point, 13-11, on Friday, on Tuesday night.
Army earned the top seed and will host the semifinals and championship game at Michie Stadium in West Point, New York. Lehigh earned the second seed and will also have a first-round bye.
“We have one more guaranteed game left on Tuesday, so that’s where our focus is,” Arline said. “We’ll get back to work on Sunday and hopefully get some more time together.”
It was a historic night for Hayashi, who tied the single-season school record for faceoff wins. He needs to win one draw against the Greyhounds to break the mark established last season by Anthony Ghobriel, who transferred to Virginia.
Amplo presented Hayashi with a game ball in the locker room and the McDonogh graduate thanked his fellow faceoff specialists for helping him prepare and the wing guys for getting so many ground balls.
“Zach wants none of the credit and that is a testament to who he is. He’s just a remarkable young man,” Amplo said. “I’m so proud of this kid. It’s enjoyable to watch the reaction of our guys when he is successful.”
Patriot League Tournament quarterfinals
Loyola Maryland at Navy
Tuesday, TBA