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The tradition of the Terrapin men's lacrosse team facing North Carolina, Virginia, Navy and Johns Hopkins on consecutive weekends dates back to 1978.

Each season it represents one of the toughest stretches that any team in the country will face.

Coach Dave Cottle said each season he approaches the stretch knowing it is imperative that the Terps at least split the four games to put themselves into position to qualify for the NCAA tournament.

That's what makes wins against then-No. 5 North Carolina and then-No. 1 Virginia the past two weekends so exciting for the young Terps.

"When you look at those four games, you say you've got to win a minimum of two of them," Cottle said. "Now you've won the first two, and you want to win the next one."

The No. 3 Terps will try to keep a three-game winning streak alive when they host No. 9 Navy tonight at 8 at Byrd Stadium.

Just getting this far is an accomplishment for the Terps.

The last time they won the first two games in the stretch was 2004. (That team was 8-0 heading into the Navy game but proceeded to lose to both the Midshipmen and the Blue Jays.)

The only time the Terps have gotten through the full stretch unblemished was in 1987.

But at this point, the Terps (7-2) know they have a chance to repeat the feat, if they can continue to improve.

"I think we're in a really good position right now," junior midfielder Jeremy Sieverts said. "We're focused and we're excited for Friday night."

Freshman attackman Grant Catalino, who tallied a total of three goals and an assist in the last two games, said the wins gave the team confidence and showed that hard work in practice pays off.

But he acknowledged that there is still a lot of season left to be played.

"These next few games are just as big as the last ones," Catalino said. "We can't get too confident. We still gotta work hard through practice to keep getting better."

Cottle said it is especially important because Navy (8-2) presents a unique match-up because they play a notoriously slow style. The Terps showed the ability to stop the potent transition game of Virginia last week, but this week their goal will be to quicken today's game's pace.

Sophomore long pole Brian Farrell said the ability to adapt is the key to getting through this stretch of games.

"We play great teams, and we've got to prepare ourselves mentally and physically every week," Farrell said. "We've done a really good job of that to beat some great teams."

Cottle said the wins have helped build a tournament resumé that he is satisfied with at this point, but now he is interested to see how his team will handle the success.

"As a coach, you never get a chance to look back," Cottle said. "You're always looking forward, and right now the most important thing in our lacrosse lives is the United States Naval Academy."

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