Forced to make another comeback Friday night, members of the Terrapin men’s lacrosse team found themselves trailing North Carolina 6-2 early in the second half.

The last time the Terps had to make a significant second-half run – April 8 against Navy – senior midfielder Brendan Healy shot 0-for-7. Navy won in the final seconds.

Within seven minutes, Healy obliterated any memories of that game.

He drove through the middle of the Tar Heel defense and hammered the ball into the net as he tumbled to the ground. Healy followed that spectacular goal with two more, scoring a natural hat trick and bolting the Terps back into the game.

But Healy’s masterful performance – making three of his first five shots in the half – had even greater worth than the power behind the win and a revival of the senior’s confidence. That’s because Ian Healy wasn’t just there to see it, he was on the field snapping pictures of his brother’s three-goal night.

Ian, who was photographing the game for Lax.com, played with Brendan as a Terp for three seasons, and Friday night was another shared moment of relief for the brothers.

“It was pretty cool because he’s struggled at times this year,” Ian said. “For me, it was about time he started hitting the damn goal. But it was really rewarding to see him do well.”

Brendan had been mired in a shooting slump dating back to the Terps’ first game against North Carolina. Until last weekend’s ACC tournament, he was shooting 2-for-24 in his past five games while the Terps were 3-2.

After playing as if he were incapable of making a mistake in the third quarter, Brendan said the game eased his own frustration.

“I needed it pretty badly. It has been a very frustrating season for me,” he said. “It definitely felt good to get that off my shoulders a little bit.”

Even though the Terps lost the ACC title game Sunday, Brendan was among the best players on the field, scoring twice en route to a spot on the all-tournament team. Ian was there for that game, too, and just tried to put that loss into greater focus, saying it could help if the Terps are across the field from Virginia again.

But as tough as the Terps took that loss with an ACC three-peat at stake, Brendan has had to deal with individual disappointment from his scoring struggles. Ian said he worries about his brother being too hard on himself when games don’t go well.

“It’s not like he’s missing wide 100 yards. – He just can’t seem to get the breaks as a senior,” Ian said. “But he doesn’t have the cornerback mentality where you can shrug off a play and just forget about it.”

When announced as a member of the all-tournament team after the six-goal loss to Virginia, Brendan and teammates Harry Alford and Bill McGlone walked to the awards table with their heads down to shake hands with Virginia players. That day, Brendan had the individual success, but that was greatly reduced as the Cavaliers celebrated their championship victory.

Friday night, when the positive emotions were overflowing, Brendan said he had been feeling the improvement coming in practice for several weeks. Ian knew his brother would emerge from the slump – and at the perfect time, too.

“All the signs were pointing to it,” Ian said. “It’s far more useful at this time of the year. – I hope he can keep riding this momentum.”

That momentum is Brendan’s five goals in two games after scoring seven goals in the Terps’ first 11 games. As he was dominating Friday night, Brendan left little doubt that his 13.6 shooting percentage was well behind him.

And if it were Brendan’s turn-around game, there’s no better person to capture the moments and grasp the importance than Ian. Asked if he had snapped good enough pictures of his brother putting the ball in the net, Ian was sure he had done his job, just as Brendan had.

“My bosses are very happy,” he said.