April 19, 2016 Box Score
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - The seventh-ranked Navy men's lacrosse team (9-3) committed 11 of its season-high 18 turnovers in the first half, opening the door for Maryland (10-2) to build what would be an insurmountable five-goal advantage (7-2) at the break, as the Terps went on to defeat the Mids, 10-5, Tuesday evening at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium. The two teams came into the contest with the second and third-longest active winning streaks with Maryland extending its streak to eight in a row, while snapping Navy lost its first game since Feb. 27.
"I have to tip my hat to Maryland," said fifth-year Navy head coach
Rick Sowell. "Winning seven in a row, the position we put ourselves in, we looked at this game as an opportunity. We hung in there despite not playing our best game and I think we will learn some things from it. Losing is no fun, but I have a lot of faith in my team that we will rebound."
"We've got a bunch of warriors in in the locker room," said Tewaaraton Award Watch List member
Chris Fennell regarding the mood of the team at the half. "You aren't going to see us make excuses for this loss. We saw this as a challenge, but just didn't bring our 'A' game tonight."
While Maryland outshot the Mids, 10-5, in the first quarter, Navy keeper
John Connors (Sr. / Bellmore, N.Y.) made three saves to help keep the deficit to just one heading into the second stanza.
The second quarter, however, proved to be one Navy would soon like to forget as the Mids turned the ball over seven times, while the Terps went on to score five goals on eight shots to take a 7-2 at the break.
"I can't explain the turnovers," said Sowell. "I see it as an aberration, not a trend."
Maryland extended its lead to a game-high six behind Colin Heacock's second goal of the game just a minute-and-a-half into the third period. From there the two teams would trade goals as the two teams played to an even 3-3 tie over the final two quarters.
Navy's
Greyson Torain (Glen Burnie, Md.) served as the bright spot on a Navy offense that was held to single digits for just the third time this spring. The rookie midfielder pitched his second career hat trick and first since the opener against Air Force, as he scored all three of his goals in the second half. Seniors
Patrick Keena (A / Vienna, Va.) and
Kevin Wendel (East Islip, N.Y.) both contributed goals with Keena drawing to within one of 100 career points. He also extended his point-scoring streak to 15 games, while it marked the first time in 12 games he did not deal out an assist.
The Mids' defense was under fire for long periods in the contest, seeing double figure shots in the first and third periods. Connors turned away 10 shots between the pipes, while Fennell played a spectacular game against Maryland leading scorer Matt Rambo who was held without a goal on 10 shots.
Navy will celebrate Senior Night on Friday when it plays host to Sacred Heart in the Mids' regular-season finale at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. The game, set for a 7:00 pm start, will be streamed live via PatriotLeague.TV and will be carried on 1430 AM / 99.9 FM WNAV with Pete Medhurst and Joe Miller on the call.
### Go Navy ###
