March 21, 2009

Box Score

ANNAPOLIS, Md. -- Colgate's starting attack combined to score eight goals including all four in the second half to lead the Raiders (4-3, 2-0 PL) to a 10-9 victory over the 15th-ranked Navy men's lacrosse team (6-3, 3-2 PL) Saturday afternoon at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The loss was the first suffered at home by the Mids against a Patriot League foe since joining the conference in 2004, as Navy came into the contest boasting a 20-0 record.

Navy has now lost all three games this season by one goal - 9-8 at North Carolina, 8-7 at Bucknell and 10-9 vs. Colgate. Over the last two seasons, Navy has had nine games decided by one goal, winning four.

While Navy held the Raiders under their scoring average (12.67), head coach Richie Meade felt his squad would have to hold Colgate to six or seven goals in order to pull out the win. After giving up six first-half goals, the Mids chewed up a great deal of the clock in the third quarter, giving the Raiders few opportunities on their offensive side of the field.

But a transition goal with 2:10 left in the third stanza by senior attackman Kevin Colleluori helped spark a four-goal run by the Raiders. Suddenly, the Mids found themselves down by two goals instead of leading by a pair as they were midway through the third.

Navy cut the lead to one on a Michael Beggins (Smithtown, N.Y.) runner with 5:12 remaining in the final quarter, but the Mids would get no closer as Colgate scored its second consecutive win over Navy and remained unbeaten in the Patriot League.

"Their attack just shredded us today," said Meade, whose defense came into the contest ranked fifth nationally giving up just 6.50 goals per game. "There were times that we played alright, but we slid to the wrong guy at the wrong time, we got caught in several unsettled situations and left guys open. It's tough for a goalkeeper to save balls when the shot is right on top of him. At the end of the day, our defense was giving them easy goals and our offense didn't convert shots into goals."

Much to the dismay of Meade, if one were to look at the box score you'd be hard pressed to believe Colgate came out the victor. Navy outshot Colgate, 44-28, produced a 30-19 advantage in ground balls, won 15 of the 23 faceoffs, held the Raiders without a goal on four extra-man opportunities and turned in six fewer turnovers.

What gives? An experienced offensive unit that is one of the best in the country.

Two-time Patriot League Offensive Player of the Year Brandon Corp scored three goals and added two assists for Jim Nagle's Raiders, while Colleluori also punched in three goals and the third amigo on the starting attack line Zack Craumer posted a pair of goals.

"I thought Colgate played pretty well," said Meade. "They played with a lot of intensity and their seniors stepped to the plate and played very well. Corp is going to get his goals, but I was hoping we'd be able to get a handle on Colleluori."

After Navy had taken a 2-1 lead nearly seven minutes into the game, the Raiders strung together three consecutive goals, including a Craumer-to-Colleluori score off a Navy turnover at the 7:14 mark that helped start the run.

The Mids answered when senior Shane Durkin (Germantown, Md.) found junior attackman Tim Paul (Parkton, Md.) behind the cage and Paul curled around the right side of the goal and found an open space to thread the shot. The Paul goal, scored at 1:14 in the opening quarter, was the spark Navy needed as the Mids scored six of the next eight goals. Paul also gave the Mids some momentum going into the half, as his top-shelf runner with 14 seconds remaining helped even the game at six apiece.

Navy then opened the second half by scoring back-to-back goals, first an unassisted marker by junior middie Joe Lennon (Westminster, Md.), followed by a shot from 10 yards out by classmate Patrick Moran (Annapolis, Md.) who was fed by Paul. Navy had possession of the ball and hoped to push its lead to 9-6, but a turnver by the Mids turned the momentum in Colgate's favor.

Lennon, Moran and Paul paced Navy with two goals, while Moran also added a pair of assists in the losing effort. Meanwhile, Navy continues to improve at the faceoff "x" where it won 15 of the 23 draws, including a 15-for-22 performance by junior Frankie Coppola (Bethesda, Md.).

"This is definitely a disappointment," said Meade, whose hopes of reeling in the top seed in the Patriot League Tournament are slipping away. "I don't care about the Patriot League seeding right now .... I can't worry about that. All I care about is getting out to practice on Monday and correcting the mistakes we are making. All I care about is winning the next game."

The competition doesn't get any easier for the Mids as they look ahead to next week's opponent. Navy will travel to Washington, DC to battle 19th-ranked Georgetown, who, like the Mids, is in desperate need of a win. The Hoyas dropped to 2-4 on the year after losing a 9-5 decision to Duke in Durham on Saturday. The Mids and Hoyas will meet up next Saturday in a game slated for a 1:00 pm start that will be broadcast live by MASN. Navy fans can also tune in to 1430 WNAV and the WFED family of networks (1050 AM, 820 AM 1050 AM) to hear the Voice of Navy Lacrosse Pete Medhurst call the action.