Matt Rambo
The Terrapins men’s lacrosse team defeated Navy, 12-6, on Saturday’s Senior Day on a sunny afternoon at Byrd Stadium. Though attackman Mike Chanenchuk didn’t start and played limited minutes, coach the Terps offense ran smoothly and efficiently en route to the victory.
The team’s nine seniors — attackmen Chanenchuk, Rustin Bryant and Quinn Haley; midfielder Tyler Adelsberger; goalkeepers Niko Amato and Thomas Guarino; long pole Michael Ehrhardt; midfielder Brian Cooper and defender Emmett Cahill — were honored in a pregame ceremony, during which they joined their family members on the field.
None of the seniors found the back of the net, though, as coach John Tillman’s team relied on its underclassman to put away the Patriot League foe. Freshman attacker Matt Rambo and junior attacker Jay Carlson paced the No. 7 Terps with two goals each.
The Terps put the pressure on Navy early, jumping to a 5-1 lead after the first quarter.
Early in the first quarter, long pole Michael Ehrhardt scooped up a loose ball on the left flank and found defender Casey Ikeda with a bit of open space in the Navy third. The junior breezed past the defense and fired the first score of the game at 12:07.
The Midshipmen evened the game back up on the very next possession, however, when Navy attacker Tucker Hull blasted a shot past goalkeeper Niko Amato.
But less than two minutes later, the Terps struck back. Sophomore midfielder Henry West spun away from his defender and fired a shot at Connors. The attempt ricocheted off the goalkeeper to Carlson, who corralled the rebound and fired it into the back of the net in one motion.
The Terps displayed adept ball movement a few minutes later. Sophomore defender Matt Dunn scooped up a loose ball around midfield and found Cannizzaro on the left side of the net. Cannizzaro quickly passed to Carlson a few feet away, who stood close to the net but was flanked by defenders. The attacker saw Rambo wide open on the right and fed him for the assist for Rambo’s first goal of the game.
Rambo added another tally on the next possession, when he spun away from his defender along the left side of the net and fired off of his back foot, giving the Terps a 5-1 lead at the end of the period.
The early lead provided a cushion for the rest of the half for the Terps. The Midshipmen outscored the Terps in the second period, 3-2, but the hosts still entered halftime with a 7-4 lead.
Charlie Raffa started the second half off by winning the opening faceoff, sprinting down the field, and weaving through Navy defenders until he slipped a goal into the back of the net.
The pace of play slowed in the final period as the sun beat down on the Byrd Stadium turf. Navy scored when Austin Heneveld beat Amato with 8:48 left in the game. The defense stopped several Midshipmen attacks down the stretch, preserving the lead.
Finally with 3:27 left in the game, LoCascio stepped into Connors’ face, faked high and zipped a goal into the bottom half of the net, to give the Terps a 10-6 lead that essentially sealed the victory.
