Navy Defense Readies for High-Octane Affair
by Andy Krauss | Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
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| Navy gets a boost Saturday with Tim Paul expected to start in its NCAA tournament first-round game at Duke, but the Mids' defense will have its hands full with the Blue Devils' highly productive attack. |
Things were pretty tough for Navy on the third Saturday in March. The Midshipmen had seen a two-goal, third-quarter lead slip away in a 10-9 loss to Patriot League rival Colgate at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium. It was their first league loss at home since becoming a PL member in 2004.
Furthermore, the Midshipmen fell to 6-3, and 4-2 in the Patriot League. A loss to Army would have put them in danger of missing the Patriot League tournament, much less earning a sixth straight invitation to the NCAA tournament.
Only two programs own longer streaks.
What ensued in the following six weeks was a tough and gritty run
that earned Navy its fifth league title in six years and the right
to take on third-seeded to Duke in Durham tomorrow at 7:30 p.m.
It all started that Sunday night, March 22, the day after the
Colgate loss. The senior leaders of the team, led by captain Andy
Tormey, held a meeting to discuss what was wrong and how it could
be fixed.
Not beating Army? Not winning the Patriot League tournament? Not returning to the NCAA tournament?
Unacceptable.
Tormey shared his thoughts with head coach Richie Meade and a team
meeting that afternoon ensued. "What we realized was that all of
our goals were still in front of us," said Meade. "The
question was how to get there."
The answer was to become more focused in practice, while keeping
it enjoyable at the same time. "That Monday practice was the
best we had all year as far as intensity," said Tormey.
Five days later, the Mids were ready to take on Georgetown and the
rest of their season. The Hoyas had been a hurdle that Navy
stumbled over the last five seasons. That Saturday, however, senior
goalkeeper Tommy Phelan made 15 saves and junior attackman Brendan
Connors scored three goals to lead Navy to a 10-8 win in D.C.
Phelan's performance was significant, because it was his first
action of the entire season after Meade had experimented with
fellow senior Matt Coughlin and freshman RJ Wickham.
The move continued to prove fruitful, as Phelan and the Mids
caught fire, defeating local rival Maryland, 10-4, on senior night
in Annapolis. The following week, Navy beat its rival of all
rivals, Army, 8-4 in the "Day of Rivals" doubleheader at M&T
Bank Stadium in Baltimore.
Phelan made a whopping 16 saves in each contest, aided by
tightening defense that was led by Tormey.
"When Tommy is in the cage and he makes huge saves, it gives us
(the defensemen) a little room for error," said Tormey. "It's
a comforting feeling to have him back there."
Navy quickly put its 15-7, season-ending loss at Johns Hopkins
behind it and began to prepare for the Patriot League tournament at
Bucknell. It was a tournament the Mids most likely had to win
to return to the NCAA tournament.
Their first opponent would be the team that forced Navy to rethink
its direction, Colgate, which came into the weekend with the
nation's leading scorer and Patriot League Offensive Player of the
Year Brandon Corp.
The defense limited Corp and his partner in crime, Kevin
Colleluori, to two goals combined through 69 minutes and 14 seconds
of play, which gave Navy junior midfielder Joe Lennon the
opportunity to score his fourth goal of the game in triple overtime
for a dramatic victory.
It set up a rematch between Navy and another team that had beaten
the Mids by one goal in the regular season, Bucknell. Playing
on the Lewisburg, Pa., campus for the third time in 2009, the Mids
earned revenge once again, outlasting the Bison, 9-8. Phelan
made 10 saves and was named the tournament's MVP.
Now that the Midshipmen have reached their preliminary goals --
beat Army, win the Patriot League tournament and return to the NCAA
tournament -- they can aim higher.
Navy has not played Duke, the ACC champion Duke, in 10 years. Once
again, the Mids must solve a high-octane offense led my senior
attackman and Tewaarton Trophy finalist Ned Crotty, as well as the
equally dangerous Max Quinzani.
Navy will benefit from the return of its own offensive leader, attackman Tim Paul, who has not played since spraining his ankle against Maryland, but is expected to start Saturday. But the tallest task belongs to its defense.
"Duke's got a great team and great senior leadership," said
Tormey. "They haven't played a defense like ours yet."All the
intangibles are going to matter. Whoever wins the ground-ball wars
and clears the ball is going to win the game. I can't wait for the
prime-time battle."
Navy has the added incentive of playing in front of its home crowd
for the NCAA quarterfinals May 17 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial
Stadium, should it advance.
"That would be a big deal," said Phelan, hesitant to look that far
ahead. "A lot of our buddies want us to come back and play for the
final four at home the week of graduation. We have to worry about
Duke first."
