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04/08/2009

Andy Tormey '09 & Tommy Phelan '09 Named PL Players of the Week !!

Patriot League honors Navy defensive duo

For Immediate Release
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Men�s Lacrosse Contact: Stacie Michaud (410) 293-8773
For more information on Navy Athletics, log onto www.NavySports.com

Thank you Stacie for keeping our team on the front page !!

Phelan and Tormey Receive Patriot League Weekly Awards

CENTER VALLEY, Pa. � Navy senior goalkeeper Tommy Phelan (Towson, Md.) and Preseason All-American defenseman Andy Tormey (Syracuse, N.Y.) earned recognition from the Patriot League office as both players were named to the league�s list of men�s lacrosse players of the week. Phelan took goalkeeper of the week honors for the first time this season and second time in his career, while Tormey received defensive player of the week kudos, twice receiving the honor in the last two years.

Anchoring a defensive unit that shut down one of the most potent offensive arsenals in the country, Phelan and Tormey helped lead the Midshipmen to a 10-4 victory over No. 8 Maryland last Friday at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in front 15,109 fans. After the Terps took a 2-1 lead late in the first quarter, Navy stymied Maryland for nearly 32 minutes as it was held without a goal until early in the fourth quarter. The nation�s fourth-ranked defense (now third) held the Terps in check who came into the game ranked 12th in the country with their 11.1 goals per game. Managing just four goals, it was Maryland�s lowest goal output since last spring when Navy and Johns Hopkins held the Terps to four goals in back-to-back games. Meanwhile, the six-goal victory was the largest margin of victory by the Midshipmen in the series since 1992 when Navy earned an 11-3 win over the Terps.

After holding Georgetown�s Ryan Shuler scoreless and without a shot a week ago, Tormey came back to shut down one of the nation�s top scorers, Maryland�s Grant Catalino. The sophomore attackman came into the game ranked 14th in the country in points per game (3.67), 19th in assists per game (1.67) and 38th in goals per game (2.00) and walked away empty handed. Tormey snapped Catalino�s 22-game point-scoring streak which was the nation�s 10th-longest active streak. Meanwhile, Tormey also spearheaded a man-down defense that held Maryland off the scoreboard in its two extra-man opportunities. The Terps came into the game ranked No. 7 in extra-man offense, while the Mids are ranked No. 1 in man-down defense, having given up just four goals in 30 attempts (.867).

In addition to Patriot League recognition, Tormey was selected to the Inside Lacrosse Team of the Week by Geoff Shannon for a second consecutive week.

Making his second start in goal this season, Phelan turned away 16 shots on goal by the Terps, the most saves by a Navy keeper in the series since Mickey Jarboe made 17 stops against Maryland in 1999. The 16 saves, meanwhile, are the most saves by a Navy keeper since Seth DiNola stopped 21 Penn State shots in 2003. Phelan was peppered in the first half, but made stops on nine of the 11 shots on goal to help keep the Mids in the game. In the second half, he made seven stops on the 11 shots he faced. Navy�s defense surrendered just one shot to the Terps in the third quarter, a point-blank shot that was turned away by Phelan.

In the two games he has played this year, Phelan has made 31 saves and owns a 72.1 save percentage.

While Phelan was not picked to be part of Inside Lacrosse�s Team of the Week, the IL staff put him on their national ballot for the fan pick. At last count, he had earned over 9,000 of the 16,000 votes that had been cast and was well in front of the pack as the fans� player of the week.

Ironically, all three of Navy�s keepers, Phelan, Matt Coughlin (Brightwaters, N.Y.) and RJ Wickham (Penn Yan, N.Y.), have received recognition from the Patriot League. Coughlin was the season�s first pick as goalkeeper of the week, while Wickham was selected as the rookie of the week on March 10.

The 13th-ranked Midshipmen will be back in action on Saturday when they make the short trip to Baltimore to take part in the Smartlink Day of Rivals at M&T Bank Stadium. Navy will battle arch rival Army in the annual Star Game, marking the first time the schools will play the Star Game on neutral ground. Game time is slated for 11:30 am and will be televised live on ESPNU. Pete Medhurst will lend his voice to the broadcast on 1430 WNAV and 1050 WFED. Following the Army-Navy game will be the 105th meeting between Maryland and Johns Hopkins which is set to begin at 2:00 pm.