EASTON, Pa. – Freshman Ryan Ness made nine of his 13 saves in the second half on Saturday afternoon, but the Lafayette men's lacrosse team could not get enough going on the offensive end to come back on No. 19/20 Navy, falling by a 12-7 score at Fisher Stadium.

Ness stopped a number of doorstep opportunities from the Mids in the second stanza to keep his squad in it. The rookie and his team fall to 4-3 this season overall and 0-2 in Patriot League action, while Navy improves to 4-2 and 2-1 in conference play.

The visitors jumped on the scoreboard early and often, scoring five of the game's first seven goals for a 5-2 lead after the opening quarter. The Mids tacked on the only three markers in the second to lead by an 8-2 score into intermission.

Just three goals were scored in the third as the game headed to the final frame at 10-3, but Lafayette came out ready to fight, scoring a pair in the first three minutes to make it 10-5 with 12:17 to play. But Navy answered with a pair back and the Leopards closed with two in the final 2:09 to run the clock out on a 12-7 final.

Senior Connar Dehnert led the Leopards offensively with three points on two goals and an assist, ripping off 10 shots with seven on target. Classmate Conor Walters added a pair of unassisted tallies, while junior Zane Crandall and sophomores Andrew Robbins and Bryan Hess each scored one.

Defensively, sophomore Pat Tully forced three Navy turnovers and picked up four ground balls on the afternoon. Shots finished in favor of the Mids by a 45-40 margin, while ground balls went Navy's way as well, 35-28.

Next up for the Maroon and White is a return to Fisher Stadium on Tuesday, hosting Cleveland State at 5 p.m.