Navy goalkeeper John Connors had seen enough.
Maryland men’s lacrosse midfielder Tim Rotanz had just laced a shot into the Midshipmen’s net Tuesday night. It was the redshirt sophomore’s second consecutive goal, and the Terps were on a 5-0 run.
So the senior netminder stood up from the split he slid into while lunging for Rotanz’ short and slammed his hands down. Connors continued the motion as he stepped out of the crease for a quick chat with his defenders. Then he turned around to pace again, smacking his stick on each pipe.
After the Midshipmen won the ensuing faceoff and transitioned to offense, one of Navy’s defenders tried to console Connors with a head nod and a pat on the chest. While Navy’s leader in points, attackman Patrick Keena, converted on that possession, the Midshipmen couldn’t counter Maryland’s first-half scoring burst as the No. 5 Terps earned a 10-5 win over No. 7 Navy.
Maryland entered halftime with a 7-2 lead after frustrating Navy’s third-ranked scoring defense that held opponents to an average of seven goals per game through 11 contests, the previous seven all Midshipmen triumphs. The Terps built on that momentum out of the break to cruise to their ninth straight victory.
“We’ve dug ourselves a hole the last few weeks,” coach John Tillman said. “We were like ‘Hey, let’s see if we can come out a little bit faster and maybe set the pace instead.'”
Before the Terps (10-2) generated their momentum against the program Tillman served as an assistant coach for 12 years, the Midshipmen (9-3) opened a 1-0 lead.
As his team cleared after forcing a turnover on Maryland’s first possession, Navy defender Jules Godino starred toward the bench, pounding his chest as his teammates jumped up and down.
When Midshipmen midfielder Kevin Wendel netted the game’s first point moments later, the reserves continued bouncing while enveloping in hugs. Midfielder Patrick Walsh had no one to embrace, so he danced through the bench, slamming into teammates.
But Navy didn’t have much to celebrate for the rest of the game. They finished with 11 first-half turnovers. Then they added seven more in the final 30 minutes. Maryland, meanwhile, ended the match with a 39-23 shooting advantage.
“If you get down a couple goals against them, it’s really tough to come back because of the way they control the ball,” Navy coach Rick Sowell said. “It could have been 15-5 if we threw the towel in.”
The Terps weren’t immune to uneven possessions early in the game, either. Midway through the first half, the Terps lost control twice on the same possession. Each time, however, Maryland weathered the hacks and emerged from the scrums with the ball. Midfielder Henry West punctuated the series, charging in for the equalizing goal, his first of two scores.
Midfielder Pat Young bobbled the ball in the next possession, too. But again the Terps regained possession. And again Maryland scored. This time, attackman Matt Rambo fed Colin Heacock for the converted attackman’s team-leading 27th score this year.
It sparked Heacock’s production, as the junior finished with a game-high four points. The Terps’ next two goals, coming in a 52-second span at the beginning of the second frame, came off feeds from Heacock.
The sequence widened Maryland’s gap to 4-1 before Rotanz tacked on his second score to leave Connors heated in the net.
“[Our veterans are] so used to the environment, and they’re just kind of keeping everybody calm, getting the plays right,” Heacock said. “That was the key for keeping a good pace throughout the first half.”
The Midshipmen stopped the spurt, but they couldn’t stave off Maryland’s late surge. Tillman took a timeout with about a minute to play before intermission, and as the seconds ticked off the clock, midfielder Bryan Cole streaked in front of the cage.
As Connors met him head on, Cole dished the ball to midfielder Connor Kelly who had snuck behind the defense and waited at the left post. The sophomore redirected the feed into the net with 15 seconds remaining in the half, leaving the Terps faithful cheering and Young high kicking on the sideline.
Navy’s third-ranked defense stood looking at one another with little motion.
“Certainly this was one of our better performances,” Tillman said. “We didn’t seem to have many lulls.”
