Senior short stick Jimmy Borell walked around the Terrapin men’s lacrosse team’s locker room Tuesday wearing a Navy lacrosse T-shirt.
With the No. 10-ranked Terps (7-3) facing off against No. 7-ranked Navy (8-1) tonight, Borell wasn’t wearing the shirt as a measure of his respect for the Midshipmen. Instead, he wears the shirt as a means to mentally prepare himself for the big game.
“This is huge for us. I want to beat them so bad,” Borell said. “I worked a camp there, so I wear this shirt so it pisses me off, gets me pissed off all day, so I don’t forget they beat us the past three years.”
Borell is the only Terp to have defeated Navy in his career, having beaten the Midshipmen while at Air Force for his freshman year. Meanwhile, the rest of the Terp seniors have gone three long years without a win over their in-state rival, despite back-to-back final four appearances. Making matters worse, the past two Navy wins have been determined by game-winning goals in the last 15 seconds of regulation.
The Terps haven’t forgotten the stinging pain of the past two seasons and would love to ensure that they won’t taste a bitter defeat again this season.
“Oh, it’s so tough,” senior long pole Ryan Clarke said. “Getting a goal scored with a minute left, it’s just heartbreaking. I don’t even want it to be close this year. I hope that we can get ahead by more than one goal and keep it that way, so they don’t have that chance.”
Due to the natures of the two teams, an early two-goal lead could be significant enough to hold on for the win. Neither team has topped 10 goals in any of the past eight games in the series. Both teams have reputations for being physical and defense-oriented.
As a result, the Terps know the team that wins will likely be the team that maximizes each individual possession. The Terps foresee each turnover, ground ball and face-off to be crucial in the expected slugfest.
“It’s just a hard-nosed, hard-hitting game,” senior defender Ray Megill said. “Every goal counts, every goal is important. You can’t slack off at all. You’ve just got to play hard the entire game or else the other team will capitalize on it.”
The rivalry is steeped in history; the two teams have met 80 times. Most notably, the Terps defeated Navy 20-13 in the 1975 National Championship, the last time the Terps won the title.
The past three Midshipmen victories have only added to the heated nature of the rivalry. And while the games are always intense, the Terp seniors have found motivation in not wanting to end their career 0-4 against Navy.
“It just motivates us to try that much harder,” senior midfielder Chris Feifs said. “Every time you step on the field against a team like Navy, you’ve got to give your all. But losing two close games the past two years really lights the fire in us to get this win.”
Last season, the Terps were in a similar position. The senior class, including first-team All-Americans Joe Walters and Bill McGlone, had lost to Johns Hopkins, the Terps’ top rival, the first three years of their careers. But Walters put on a show with six goals, and the Terps cruised past the Blue Jays, a statement win that helped propel the Terps to a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament.
The Terps can look to last season’s senior statement as an example for what they aspire to do this season.
“Hopkins was a team that was always a big rivalry game for us, and we could never get enough done to beat them,” Clarke said. “It’s the same thing with Navy. It’s always a big game every year – our crowd or theirs, it’s always huge. Hopefully we can get it done this year.”
This game can also be a signature win for the Terps. The Terps have yet to defeat a top-10 opponent this season, although they do have two wins over ranked opponents. And while Navy is coming off a loss to Georgetown last week, the win would be the biggest of the season thus far.
From the perspective of the players, especially the seniors, the win would mean more than simply a notch on the belt heading into the postseason. It would mean vindication after three years of losing. Coach Dave Cottle traditionally wants his team to focus on the now, but he understands – even expects – his team to come into this one fired up and ready to make a statement.
“You’ve got to play in the present, that’s obvious. But you can learn from the past,” Cottle said. “Our seniors are 0-3. I think that’s the theme for our seniors – it’s time to get a win against Navy.”
Contact reporter Adi Joseph at ajosephdbk@gmail.com.
