Diamondback Online - The University of Maryland's Independent Daily Student Newspaper

Media Credit: Jaclyn Borowski

Terrapin men's lacrosse fans finally got something to cheer about when freshman attackman Grant Catalino's goal cut No. 6 Navy's lead to 5-4 with 8:07 remaining in Friday night's game at Byrd Stadium.

The No. 7 Terps were held scoreless in the first half as the dedicated contingent of Navy students routinely drowned out the Terp faithful in the crowd of 7,106.

But a fourth-straight unanswered Terp goal in the second half changed that, bringing the Terp fans to their feet and bouncing to Zombie Nation as Navy called a timeout to regroup.

"We were pumped," senior midfielder Drew Evans said.

But as quickly as the Terps surged back into the game, their offense reverted back to its earlier form, turning the ball over and failing to finish down the stretch.

While the Terp defense got the ball back to the offense on several occasions, the Terps could not capitalize, allowing Navy to escape with a 5-4 win.

"I felt like the last three minutes, we were coming, we were trying, and we were competing," coach Dave Cottle said. "We were just waiting for somebody to make a play. Everybody was hoping that the next guy could make the play rather than stepping up and doing it."

After Catalino's goal, the Terps' final five possessions resulted in five shots, three turnovers and no goals.

Navy goalie Tommy Phelan, who stopped two shots during the stretch, said even as the Terps were coming back, he realized his defense was playing well enough that his job would be simple.

"In the end, it's just no worries," Phelan said. "Just watch the ball. Play my game. Piece of cake."

The Terps contributed to the ease with a pair of turnovers, including a crucial one with 57 seconds left.

After the Terps secured the ball and used a timeout to set up a play, junior midfielder Dan Groot failed to connect with freshman attackman Ryan Young on an unpressured pass near the end line. The ball flew out of bounds, ending the opportunity.

The Terps' final possession resulted in a very high shot and another turnover.

"We had a couple of big turnovers that could've been the game-changing goals," Evans said.

Cottle said his young team also forced too many quick shots down the stretch instead of waiting for the best opportunity. The players got impatient with having fewer possessions as Navy tried to run down the clock.

"The biggest thing we have to learn from this is to stay composed whether we're leading or behind," Cottle said.

The bottom line is that the Terps failed to come up with the clutch goal and wasted a second-half defensive performance that limited the Midshipmen to nine shots and no goals.

Cottle said it was the first time he has ever lost a game where his defense held an opponent scoreless for a half. But he added that four goals are not enough to win a game.

And unlike last season at Navy, when they rallied from a two-goal fourth-quarter deficit to win in double overtime, the Terps could not summon the late-game heroics necessary to get the win.

"We came back and got close, but this time we didn't make the plays we've been making lately," Evans said.

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