Sowers leaves Navy with bad taste, loss
Attackman leads 19-11 Princeton win; Mount upsets No. 15 Richmond
Navy’s coaching staff knew Princeton was led offensively by a terrific attackman and had several defensive strategies prepared.
Michael Sowers laid waste to the entire plan devised by defensive coordinator Ryan Wellner.
Sowers destroyed the home team’s defense with nine points to lead Princeton to a 19-11 rout on a frigid Tuesday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Sowers had seven assists in picking apart the 19th-ranked Midshipmen and scored two unassisted goals for good measure.
“It was pretty clear we had no answer for their offense, particularly the Sowers kid. He’s a terrific player, one of the most dynamic attackman in Division I,” Navy coach Rick Sowell said. “We threw the kitchen sink at him and he was just too good. It made for a tough night for us defensively.”
Midfielder Emmet Cordrey and attackman Phillip Robertson were the primary beneficiaries of the Sowers feeds, scoring five goals apiece with most coming from point-blank range. Attackman Chris Brown contributed two goals and four assists for Princeton (2-2), which came into the contest ranked fourth nationally in scoring offense with an average of 15.33 points.
“Obviously, they have some guys that know how to move off-ball really well and (Sowers) puts it right on their stick where all they have to do is catch and shoot,” Sowell said.
The Midshipmen have a proud tradition of playing tough defense and has annually ranked among the national leaders in fewest goals allowed. Princeton’s 19 goals were the most Navy has given up since Maryland scored 21 in 1998.
Navy (3-2) has allowed an average of 7.3 goals in its three wins, but gave up 14 in a loss to Maryland and now this. The Midshipmen finished with 17 saves, meaning 36 of the Tigers’ 48 shots were on cage.
“They probably took 40 of those shots within five yards,” bemoaned Sowell. “We have to figure out our off-ball play. In our two losses, we’ve given up a lot of high-percentage shots.”
Navy came out in a traditional man-toman defense, but that did not last long. Sowers ran right past his long pole to feed Cordrey for an easy shot from the doorstep. The Mids then fell into a zone with no defender behind the net, allowing Sowers all the time in the world to find open cutters.
The Upper Dublin High product proceeded to do just that and piled up six assists by halftime as Princeton took a commanding 11-5 lead into the locker room. Navy also tried shutting off Sowers before settling on using short stick defensive midfielder TimGriffin to chase himaround.
“It’s basically like picking your poison. Play us one way we’re going to get you. Play us another way and we’ll get you, too,” Sowell said. “We do have to figure out the off-ball execution because we’re going to play against some dynamic attackmen. Sowers is a special talent and we’re not the first team he has been able to ring up some points against.”
If lacrosse tracked secondary assists the same as hockey, Sowers probably would have reached double digits for helpers. The 5-foot-8,165-pound Pennsylvania native has a lightning-quick first step and the speed to immediately gain separation on a defender.
“I’ve personally never put the ball in one kid’s stick the way we did with Michael today,” Princeton coach Matt Madalon said. “A very good performance by Michael, but I’m not surprised.”
MOUNT ST. MARY’S 12, NO. 15 RICHMOND11, OT: Two four-goal scorers led the visiting Mountaineers (3-4) as Luke Frankeny scored the tying goal with one second left in regulation and Chris DiPretoro scored the game-winner with 1:38 left in overtime.
Mount St. Mary’s has won its past two games and its victory over Richmond (3-3) is the first this season over a ranked opponent. DiPretoro scored his 100th career goal in the first quarter.
Nation men
NO. 16 GEORGETOWN 18, FURMAN 6: Jake Carraway (St. Mary’s) had five goals and two assists and Daniel Bucaro had three goals and three assists to lead the host Hoyas (5-1) past the Paladins (2-5). Georgetown has won three straight.
The 18 goals ties the most scored by the Hoyas since an 18-10 win over Vermont in 2015.
Nation women
NO. 6 PENN 12, DREXEL 10: Erin Barry scored two of her game-high three goals during a 4-0 run to help the host Quakers (5-0) break away from the Dragons (2-3).
Penn trailed 4-0 with 23 minutes left in the first half before the game was tied five times. The 4-0 run broke the final tie, 8-8, with 23:22 left to play.
NO. 20 GEORGETOWN 13, GEORGE WASHINGTON 4: Natalia Lynch had a hat trick and Liz Liotta (St. Paul’s) and two goals and an assist to lead the host Hoyas (5-1) past the Colonials (1-4). Georgetown has won three straight.
Haelle Chomo made nine saves for the Hoyas, whose defense limited George Washington to two goals per half.
Baltimore Sun staff contributed to this article.