Providence, Rhode Island – Navy and Brown went down to the wire in the second quarterfinal at Brown Stadium. Brown’s defense had to withstand a furious comeback to continue onto the Final Four in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania next weekend. Coach Lars Tiffany and his Brown Bears take the 11-10 and move into the national semifinal.
After a turnover in transition giving the ball to Navy, T.J Hanzsche would open the scoring. On the preceding faceoff, Navy would allow transition as two players came off the field ill-timed. Kylor Bellistri would score to tie the game at one.
Faceoff specialist Will Gural was winning draws cleanly. On the third such case, Navy goalie John Connors throw an outlet that deflected in front of the crease and longstick midfielder Alec Tulett scored behind-the-back after controlling the loose ball. The pace early favored Brown and they led 2-1.
Henry Blynn would push the lead to two as Bellistri found him open in the middle. Connor could not see the shot through the maze of bodies in front of him. Navy would have an answer with 2:17 left in the first quarter. Casey Rees would score to cut the deficit in half, 3-2.
Navy would tie the game on their next possession as Hanzsche would score his second of the contest, assisted by Greyson Torain. Bailey Tills, who started at attack in place of injured Dylan Molloy, found Bellistri in front of the goal and then he finished behind-the-back. The quarter ended with Brown ahead of Navy, 4-3.
Navy’s Torain would get Navy tied at four into the second quarter, which would be the last of the half for the visitors. Brown would go on a four-goal run to close the half and open the third quarter. This run would double the lead for the Bears.
Bailey Tills would score first and Blynn would score with under a minute to go in the half. Bellistri would score first in the second half and Blynn would finish the run with under five minutes to play in third quarter. Navy would then mount a comeback.
Casey Rees would take over for Navy and would take the Navy offense on his back. Rees would score two in the third and one to open the fourth to pull the Brown lead to one at 8-7. The lead would push back to two when Brendan Caputo would score on the man-advantage.
Neither team would get more than two goals away from the other going down to the wire. Rees would score his fourth straight for the Midshipmen. Brown would answer with Foster Leboeuf’s goal. Patrick Keena would score to make it a one-goal game with 4:57 remaining.
Bellistri would get the lead to two yet again, but Navy would answer with another goal by Case Rees, making it five for the game. Brown would fend off Navy in the last two minutes to preserve the win. Leboeuf would take a chance to beat Navy’s Connors, but Connors stayed tall, thwarting the opportunity. With twenty seconds left, Navy turned the ball over in transition, which allowed Brown to run out the clock.
Casey Rees led Navy with his five goal effort. Senior John Connors had an outstanding game, making 21 saves.
Brown’s starting attack of Blynn (2 goals, 1 assist), Tills, (2 goal, 1 assist), and Bellistri (4 goals, 2 assists) had twelve points on the day total for the nation’s most potent offense. Brown goalie Jack Kelly had 12 saves in the win.
Brown returns to Championship Weekend and awaits Maryland, who won the first quarterfinal of the weekend against Syracuse.
