Jay Carlson
The Terrapins men’s lacrosse team had little trouble putting away Navy in its regular-season finale last year, riding a 17-5 faceoff advantage to a 12-6 victory.
The Midshipmen looked dominant in their 2015 season opener Sunday, though, in a 21-7 win over VMI. Eleven different Navy players scored, and they won the faceoff battle, 23-9.
So after watching film of the Terps’ in-state rival, coach John Tillman said he considered Navy the favorites for the Terps’ season-opening Saturday afternoon tilt in Annapolis. The No. 10 Terps, after all, have a litany of question marks, while Navy dominated all facets of the game against VMI.
“We haven’t proven anything,” Tillman said. “We’re looking at it like we’re going to have our hands full, and we’re a little bit of an underdog.”
Navy got off to a hot start against VMI, as they scored seven of the game’s first eight goals. With 11 different scorers, the offense avoided predictability and stayed efficient throughout the game.
Faceoff specialists Brady Dove and Joe Varello helped the Midshipmen’s cause by limiting VMI’s opportunities to score.
The Terps, though, feel confident in the faceoff X with specialist Charlie Raffa, who posted an ACC-best .686 faceoff percentage in 2014.
“[Raffa] is the best faceoff guy in the country,” midfielder Joe LoCascio said.
With suspended attackman Matt Rambo’s status still unknown, the Terps will likely look for LoCascio to provide offensive production against Navy. The senior, who was selected 17th overall in the MLL draft by the Florida Launch, scored 20 goals and added five assists last year.
“I’ve seen in the past that teams that run through a couple of guys are not really the ones that are successful, unless they’re some unbelievable players,” LoCascio said. “Our offense will be very diverse.”
Tillman will also rely on attackman Jay Carlson to shoulder some of the offensive burden. The senior said he was comfortable with the heightened responsibility that comes with being a veteran.
“We had a couple big names last year, but we still expect to play at a high level,” Carlson said. “Each game we expect a different player to step up, as opposed to one main focus.”
While Navy mostly controlled possession in the opener, its goalkeepers — John Connors, Ryan Kelly and Noah Pounds — made seven saves when called upon.
Connors, a junior, finished last year with the nation’s 18th-ranked goals-against average (9.14) and looked impressive during 40 minutes of action in Navy’s opener. The Bellmore, New York, native allowed four goals against and made two saves before leaving with the game out of reach.
The Terps’ goalkeeping situation is less stable. For weeks, Tillman has said senior Kyle Bernlohr maintains a slight advantage over redshirt freshman Dan Morris, but the coach hasn’t named an official starter.
And that trend extends beyond who is in the cage. In their first game of the season, the Terps will look to fill some of those holes while capturing a win against a rival.
“They’ve destroyed another team,” Tillman said. “They’ve proven something already.”
MORE COVERAGE:
[ READ MORE: Maryland vs. Navy: A timeline of the heated men’s lacrosse rivalry ]
