Mids can’t finish off comeback in Star game loss

A determined comeback fell short as Navy men’s lacrosse lost the Star game to archrival Army. The Mids rallied from a five-goal deficit to tie the score early in the fourth quarter, but could not sustain the momentum.

Sophomore midfielder Evan Plunkett scored three goals and dished off two assists as 12th-ranked Army finished the game strong to beat Navy, 13-8, at Michie Stadium.

“I thought it was a great game. Army just made more plays,” Navy coach Joe Amplo said. “We committed some mental errors that gave Army more possessions and that proved costly.”

Senior attackman Jon Jarosz scored four goals to lead Navy (7-5, 4-2 Patriot League), which had a threegame winning streak halted. Senior midfielder Max Hewitt scored two goals for the Mids, who were outscored 6-1 over the final 10 minutes of the game.

After Navy tied the game at 7 midway through the fourth quarter, Army’s Will Coletti won the ensuing faceoff and Army quickly responded to retake the lead, 8-7, with 9:47 left in the game. Midfielder Ryan Sposito made a terrific cross-crease feed to attackman Paul Johnson on the back side for a goal from the doorstep that put the Black Knights (9-2, 4-2) ahead to stay.

“They scored the go-ahead goal with literally a second left on the shot clock,” Amplo bemoaned. “We played great defense for the entire possession then give up a goal just as the horn sounded. That was a backbreaker.”

Navy appeared to tie the score just over a minute later when Jarosz scored on a diving shot. It was ruled a goal on the field, but replay review showed that Jarosz stepped in the crease.

The Mids still got an extra man opportunity because defender

John Sullivan crosschecked Jarosz in the back. However, Tolker’s quick shot attempt from the right side was knocked down and Navy turned the ball over without even running a play.

“That was a big moment in the game,” Amplo acknowledged. “That was an important possession on which we did not capitalize.”

Army scored five straight goals to go up 12-7 with just over four minutes left.

“Give Army credit. They made more plays down the stretch when the game was hanging in the balance,” Amplo said.

Coletti scored directly off the draw to give Army a 7-2 lead at the 7:14 mark of the second quarter. However, the Midshipmen responded in resounding fashion, scoring four goals in the final five minutes of the second quarter to get within one at halftime.

Freshman Zach Hayashi sparked the rally by repeatedly winning faceoffs to give Navy possession.