Virginia?s Kip Turner didn?t look like the goalie of the defending national champion in the first quarter of the Cavaliers? game against Syracuse last Saturday.
Turner, a Severn School graduate, allowed five goals in the first 15 minutes as the Orange jumped out to an early 6-5 lead. But Turner remained calm and gave up just two more goals over the next three quarters en route to an 11-8 Virginia win at M&T Bank Stadium.
“We certainly got confidence from Kip?s play in goal,” Virginia coach Dom Starsia said. “Kip and the defense really have to keep this team grounded while this young team gets their feet on the ground.”
The poise and leadership Turner displayed in anchoring Virginia?s defense last week came from three years of starting for the Cavaliers. Turner also leaned on the lessons he learned playing behind St. Mary?s graduate Tillman Johnson his freshman year, along with his prep experience in the highly competitive Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference.
Turner?s story is similar to a number of other top college goalies who hail from Anne Arundel County, including Navy?s Colin Finnegan and Maryland?s Brian Phipps. Both Anne Arundel County natives came up with big plays for their respective teams.
Finnegan (St. Mary?s), a senior who waited three years to start, made 14 saves in Navy?s 19-8 victory over North Carolina last Friday. Phipps (Severn), a freshman who got thrown into the starting job because of injuries, had 13 saves in a 14-7 loss to Duke.
Turner said seeing so many goalies from Anne Arundel County perform at such a high level is a source of pride for him. He added that there is a special bond between players growing up in the local lacrosse hotbed and that everyone does what they can to help future generations succeed.
For him, those whom he looked up to include Johnson and Chris Garrity (St. Mary?s), a 2003 Penn State graduate who was a member of the U.S. national team in last year?s world championships.
“That?s the goal,” Turner said on being a mentor. “I had people to look up to growing up like Tillman Johnson and Chris Garrity, and I hope people will look up to me like that. We all came up in the AYLA [Annapolis Youth Lacrosse Association] and Severna Park Green Hornets organizations. There?s just good competition growing up in that area and good coaching because a lot of people go back to the Annapolis area after playing college lacrosse to give back to the community.”
Johns Hopkins freshman backup goalie Mike Gvozden looks at Turner as a role model. Gvozden, a Severna Park graduate, started all four years in high school but is now stuck on the depth chart behind current Blue Jays starter Jesse Schwartzman.
“There are so many great lacrosse playersfrom Anne Arundel County,” Gvozden said. “You really learn a lot from watching some of those older guys. Also, not starting allows me to see the game from a completely different perspective and try to find different ways to help the team until it?s my turn to get out there.”
GOALIE NOTES
» Maryland?s Brian Phipps (Severn) has 45 saves, an 8.75 goals-against average and a .562 save percentage for the 2-2 Terps.
» Navy?s Colin Finnegan (St. Mary?s) has 29 saves, a 4.73 goals-against average and a .674 save percentage for the 3-0 Midshipmen.
» Virginia?s Kip Turner (Severn) has 28 saves, a 6.92 goals-against average and a .549 save percentage for the 3-1 Cavaliers.
