SPARKS, Md. – The 17th-ranked University of Pennsylvania men's lacrosse team used a stout defensive effort to shut down Navy on Tuesday night, 11-3. The game was played on Tierney Field at the new US Lacrosse National Headquarters.
 
After allowing Navy (3-3) the first goal, Penn (3-2) went into shutdown mode and did not allow the Midshipmen to score for 39 minutes and four seconds. By that time, the Quakers were up 6-1, and they never let up in winning by their largest margin ever over the Mids.
 
The last time Penn allowed just three goals was April 19, 2014 in a 9-3 win over Dartmouth, and it marked the second time the Quakers have held Navy to just three goals in a game (the other coming in a 5-3 Penn win on March 28, 1984).
 
Simon Mathias led the Penn attack with two goals and two assists, while Kevin McGeary and Adam Goldner also scored twice. Overall, eight different players scored for the Quakers. At the other end, a combination of superb defense and a goalie's best friends—the posts and the crossbar—combined to keep Navy's score at three on a night when Penn outshot the Mids, 31-27. Reed Junkin had seven saves.
 
Navy opened the scoring just 2:38 into the game, but Mitch Bartolo and Kevin McGeary (off a Sean Lulley feed) scored exactly a minute apart midway through the period to give the Quakers a 2-1 lead. The Adam Goldner finished a Simon Mathias feed in the final minute of the period. The assist extended Mathias' point-scoring streak to 33 games.
 
The second quarter ended up scoreless, although Navy rang the post a few times and Connor Keating nearly had a spectacular goal in front in the final seconds. But Penn took its 3-1 advantage into the locker room.
 
The Quakers really put this one away in the third quarter, scoring four times and opening up a 7-2 lead. Mathias got the rally started with a lefty goal from the right side, and less than five minutes later he fed Goldner who turned in traffic and somehow got off a shot that found the net. Mathias had a nice solo effort just 95 seconds later to make it 6-1.
 
Navy ended its scoreless streak with 3:18 left in the third, Christian Daniel finishing a solo effort, before Alex Roesner found JJ McBride who converted on the jumping lefty shot with 2:23 to go in the period.
 
Chris Santangelo quickly made it a 8-2 in the fourth, taking the period's opening faceoff and running right down the chute. Just 2:19 after that, Reilly Hupfeldt scored from up top off a McGeary feed. Keyveat Postell (from Ben Bedard) and McGeary (from Joe Licciardi) closed out the scoring.
 
Up Next
Penn will host No. 4 Villanova on Saturday at 1 p.m. The Wildcats suffered their first loss of the season on Tuesday to Brown, 12-9.