Maryland men?s lacrosse coach Dave Cottle said games like the one the No. 11 Terps play at No. 6 Navy tonight is why players decide to go to College Park or Annapolis.
Tonight?s game continues one of the longest rivalries in the sport. Maryland (7-3) and Navy (8-1) are facing each other for the 62nd consecutive year. The Terps lead the overall series, 49-31-1, but the Midshipmen have won the last three years.
Navy?s recent dominance over Maryland is a stark contrast from the team it played last Saturday, when the Midshipmen lost to Georgetown for the fourth straight time, 10-9. Maryland also comes into tonight?s game following a loss after dropping a 12-8 game to No. 3 Virginia.
“This is such a great, intense rivalry,” Cottle said. “Whether the game is a Byrd Stadium or Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, there is always a big crowd, and it?s always a great game. The biggest difference in recent years is that Navy has made the plays to win when it needed to and we didn?t. We have to get off to a quick start if we want a chance to win.”
In a season plagued by injuries, Maryland is finally starting to get healthy. Last week, the Terps got midfielder Rob Morrison back after he missed eight games. This week, Cottle said midfielder Travis Holmes would be available after missing seven games. Cottle added that goalie Harry Alford is about 80 percent healthy while recovering from a shoulder surgery that has kept him sidelined all season.
While Maryland is getting healthier, Navy is dealing with some tough injuries of its own, most notably the season-ending knee injury to sophomore attack Bruce Nechanicky, who went down early against Georgetown last week.
“Bruce is an awesome player, but what we?re going to miss most is the great emotion he brought to every game,” Navy senior midfielder Billy Looney said. “He?s always out there working hard, hustling and getting to groundballs.”
Looney said for Navy to get back to its winning ways, it needs to make better decisions than it did at Georgetown, when the team converted only 18 of 32 clear attempts, including just 3 of 9 in the second quarter.
“We need to get back to playing Navy lacrosse,” Looney said. “We have to just play good defense, control the ball and get good shots off.”
MARYLAND-NAVY NOTES
» Faceoff is set for 7 tonight at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
» Six of the last eight games in the rivalry have been decided by one goal, including last year?s 7-6 win by Navy.
» Navy is going after its fourth straight win in the series, something it hasn?t accomplished since taking eight straight from 1960 to ?67.
