ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- A seven-goal run to start the third quarter put the game out of reach for Boston U. (6-3, 3-2 Patriot League) as the Navy men's lacrosse team (7-3, 5-1 PL) dealt the Terriers a 14-6 loss on national television Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The Mids have won five consecutive Patriot League games as they stand alone in first place in the conference standings with a 5-1 record. "We've had a number of breakthrough moments this year and I think we are still growing as a team," said fourth-year Navy head coach Rick Sowell. "We are still a very young team and you can see how we are evolving each and every game. It's exciting to see our team playing at this level as a whole. "Boston University is a good club. Coach Polley has done a really nice job with that program and they are going to be a force to be reckoned with." The Mids jumped out to a two-goal advantage (3-1) in the opening quarter before pushing it to a three-goal lead in the opening minutes of the second when midfielder Kevin Wendel (Jr./East Islip, N.Y.) set up just outside of the crease in the middle of the field and cashed in on a Colin Flounlacker (So./Stevensville, Md.) pass. BU, however, scored back-to-back goals by Cal Dearth and Ryan Hilburn in the span of 1:17 to trim Navy's lead to one (4-3) with 6:21 remaining in the first half. Navy went on to take a 5-3 lead into the half as attackman T.J. Hanzsche (Jr./Berwyn, Pa.) snatched the ball out of the air off a saved shot from Spencer Coyle (Annapolis, Md.) and punched it. The goal extended Hanzsche's point and goal scoring streak to 11 straight games dating back to last year's finale against Maryland. The Mids came out of the break on fire, scoring seven straight goals including a pair by Wendel, to open up a 12-3 lead. After being held off the scoreboard for nearly 20 minutes (19:21), the Terriers put together a 3-0 run that included a pair by Hilburn to give him a hat trick for the day. Navy went on to score two goals in the final two minutes of the game to earn a 14-7 win and its fifth Patriot League victory of the year. While nine different players scored goals for the Mids, Flounlacker turned in a career-best four-point effort that featured his first collegiate hat trick. "To see how far Colin has evolved not only this year, but dating back to a year ago when he was a freshman is great," said Sowell. "He's a play maker whose shooting skills have gotten better. I think he's just maturing as a player. I gave him the green light this week to go make plays and he certainly did today." Meanwhile, Wendel, Hanzsche, Coyle and junior Patrick Keena (Vienna, Va.) turned in three points apiece. Wendel notched his third hat trick of the year, while Keena scored two goals and added an assist and both Hanzsche and Coyle punched in a goal and had two assists. Defensively, Navy played one of its best games of the season, holding Boston U. to just six goals. The Terriers came into the game ranked 10th nationally in scoring offense, averaging 13.13 goals per game, and having scored double figures in six of their eight contests. Navy has now held eight of its 10 foes to single digits this season, surrendering 7.70 goals per game. The Mids' pressure defense caused 15 of BU's 19 turnovers and was anchored by a fierce performance by long pole Matt Rees (So./Sykesville, Md.) who recorded a career-best six takeaways and paced the team with five ground balls. Meanwhile, Navy's starting close defensemen combined for five caused turnovers. "It was a heck of a game by Matt," added Sowell. "I knew he had four caused turnovers at the half, but I'm not surprised with the numbers he put up today. He's capable of it on any given day. "Our game plan was to put pressure on them using our riding game and I thought we did a good job of that. Our goal was to start fast and finish strong. Without a doubt, the third quarter proved to be the difference in the game." Junior keeper John Connors (Bellmore, N.Y.) also came up with some timely saves for the Mids, producing eight saves on the afternoon including four in the second quarter and three in the fourth. Navy held Boston U.'s top two goal scorers to one goal (Adam Schaal) and one assist (Jack Wilson) as the two came into the game having scored 15 and 19 goals, respectively. Additionally, BU came into the game as one of the top extra-man units in the country (12th), scoring on 15 of its 31 man-up opportunities (.484) this season. The Mids shut the Terriers down, holding them scoreless on six extra-man chances. "Our defense took it possession by possession," said Rees. "We knew we had to shut down their extra-man offense who had just come off scoring four man-up goals last week. We played a physical game." The game was hyped to be one of the best this weekend as the nation's top two faceoff men in Navy's Brady Dove (Stevensville, Md.) and Boston U.'s Sam Talkow were squaring off. Dove, a Tewaaraton Award nominee, came into the game boasting a .706 winning percentage, while Talkow stood at .705. Navy utilized a balanced dose of Dove and freshman Joe Varello (Kings Park, N.Y.) to hold Talkow in check as the Mids edged BU, 13-11, in faceoff wins. Dove won 8 of 14, while Varello was 5 of 10. Talkow, meanwhile, was held to just 11 wins among the 23 attempts he took. "All the credit goes to Navy," said second-year Boston U. head coach Ryan Polley. "They took away our transition with great ground ball play on the faceoffs and they took our man-up away. Across the board, they really took it to us." The Mids return to action next Saturday when they make the short trip to Baltimore to face Loyola (5-5, 3-2 PL), who is in a four-way tie for second place alongside Boston U., Army and Colgate. CBS Sports Network will televise the game live from Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium with faceoff slated for 2:30 pm. Joe Miller will call the action on 1430 AM / 99.9 FM WNAV, while a free video stream will be provided via NavySports.com or PatriotLeague.tv(.)