Time will tell how good Mount St. Mary’s and Hofstra are defensively. Regardless of the competition, though, the Navy men’s lacrosse offense has looked pretty darn good two games into the season.
The Midshipmen have scored 35 goals in a pair of impressive wins thanks to improved spacing, better ball movement and more accurate shooting.
Senior attackman Xavier Arline scored four goals and dished off two assists as Navy routed Hofstra, 16-8, Saturday. Senior defensive midfielder Jackson Peters scored two goals in the first quarter to spark the Midshipmen, who led 15-4 less than five minutes into the fourth quarter before coach Joe Amplo empties the bench.
It marks the most goals the Mids have scored in two games to start a season since 1994.
Offensive coordinator Dave Cottle deserves a lot of credit for the offensive improvement as his strategies and schemes have certainly made a major difference. The Midshipmen are sharing the ball and moving it quickly, while players are in constant motion as to being stationary.
Amplo acknowledged that Cottle has “made a big impact,” but also praised assistant Blake Miller for pushing the players on the offensive end.
“Coach Miller is out on the field 30 minutes before practice every single day doing individual work with these guys. That makes a difference in their mindset and performance,” Amplo said. “I’m really proud of the way we’re playing offensively. The challenge for us is continuing that. We have to get better from here.”
Peters scored just 11 seconds into the game off an overhand crank shot, having found himself wide-open following the opening faceoff. It was a somewhat sloppy first quarter for just over 15 minutes until Peters scored again off a left-hand crank shot to jump-start a 6-1 run that gave Navy an 8-3 lead at halftime.
Peters was recruited out of Darien High in Connecticut as an offensive midfielder, but switched to short stick defense as a sophomore and said he “has grown to love the position.” Amplo pointed out that Peters works the wing on faceoffs, plays tough defense and is a factor in the clearing game in addition to being a threat on the offensive end.
“I’m not afraid to say this: [Peters] is our best player. He’s our most complete, most impactful player,” Amplo said. “Today was a day that Jackson really shined and I think more people are going to notice that. He’s really grown into the position I forced him into.”
Just like last Saturday when it amassed 19 goals against Mount St. Mary’s, Navy scored in a variety of ways. There were multiple goals off faceoffs, in transition as a result of aggressive riding and other unsettled situations.
Close defenseman Jackson Bonitz scored for the second straight game, while short stick defender Chad Connolly set up a transition goal by clearing the ball the length of the field and feeding midfielder Jack Flaherty.
“Everybody’s an offensive player. We think the first offensive play is a ground ball or a save,” Amplo said. “Those guys have the green light to be offensive players in the middle of the field. Guys are starting to sniff out opportunities to create those transition plays.”
Peters agreed with that assessment and said the Mids are trying to make things happen in the open field.
“For the past three years we’ve been trying to be a transition team. I think the mindset is to take every opportunity you can in transition. It’s a lot easier to score than in the six-on-six offensive set,” he said. “Even with all the transition goals we scored today we still left a lot on the table.”
Navy also had great offensive balance for the second straight game with nine different players scoring. Flaherty and Keegan Houser (Broadneck), both members of the second midfield, had two goals apiece. Backup attackman Will Schiffenhause contributed two goals and an assist.
Arline put forth one of the best offensive performances of his career and showed versatility in scoring his four goals. Two came off wicked crank shots from the wing, while the highlight came when he beat a defender from behind then used a nifty backhand flip to beat the netminder.
Another highlight came when Arline dodged through the heart of the entire Hofstra defense, realized he did not have a quality shot and dished to Schiffenhaus, who was wide-open and buried a sidearm crank shot.
“Now that [Arline] is solely focused on this team and this season, I think you’re really seeing who he is as a player. He seems relaxed and poised,” Amplo said. “It’s the first time that I’ve been around Xavier that I sense a joy. It’s fun to watch Xavier Arline have fun on the lacrosse field.”
Both coaches felt the way the host Midshipmen began the game set the stage for what would transpire over the course of 60 minutes.
“I think we played as hard as I’ve seen a Navy team play since I’ve been here,” Amplo said. “We just hustled all over that field, especially in the first quarter when we set the tone for the game.”
Hofstra coach Seth Tierney, had the exact same opinion.
“Navy’s energy level and compete level was higher than ours to start the game and that kind of deflated the balloon from the beginning,” he said.
Hofstra scored 21 goals in its opener against Wagner, but was limited to just four well into the fourth quarter. The Pride scored four meaningless goals in the final 9:09 when the Mids had backup defenders on the field. Sophomore goalie Dan Daly recorded 12 saves to anchor the suffocating defensive effort.
Navy defensive coordinator Jon Orsen, along with Amplo and Miller, is a Hofstra graduate.
“Jon Orsen is one of the best out there and his group plays for him,” Amplo said. “This was an important game for us. Jon had a little edge this week and I think the guys felt that. He’s built a great team defense.”
Freshman faceoff specialist Zach Hayashi (McDonogh) had another strong game, winning 16 of the 23 draws he took. He got great support from wings such as Bonitz, Peters and Sean Gallagher.
“Zach’s having a great impact. He’s a real warrior and wise beyond his years,” Amplo said. “He’s so crafty and knowledgeable about the faceoff game, but the biggest thing is that he’s an unbelievable competitor.”
Navy 16, Hofstra 8
Hofstra (1-1) 2-0-2-4=8
Navy (2-0) 5-3-3-5=16
GOALS: H — Madsen 3, Natalie 2, Turner, Rudd, Sykes. N — Arline 4, Schiffenhaus 2, Flaherty 2, Houser 2, Peters 2, Haley, Tolker, Bonitz, Rhee. ASSISTS: H — Turner 2, Roselle, Rudd, Sykes, Veit. N — Arline 2, Ash, Connolly, Flaherty, Jarosz, Kittelberger, Marsh, Schiffenhaus. SHOTS: H — 31. N — 43. SAVES: H — 8. N — Daly 12, Craven 2. FACEOFFS: H — 9. N — 17. GROUND BALLS: H — 27. N — 28.