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

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ANNAPOLIS - After waiting three years to beat Navy, the Terrapin men's lacrosse team's seniors were more than willing to wait two overtime periods to notch their first win in the rivalry.

"It's just a great feeling," senior attackman Michael Phipps said after the Terps' 8-7 victory Friday night. "Three times in a row I've lost to them. So this time made it extra special, just because it's my senior year and everything. Our senior class has gone so far, and to do this together is just one of the greatest feelings I've had since I've been here."

Just reaching overtime was exhilarating enough for the No. 10-ranked Terps.

Down two goals with less than five minutes to play, sophomore midfielder Jeremy Sieverts cut to the goal and scored off a Phipps pass. After being stopped by the Midshipmen defense on a key possession, the Terps were left with seven seconds remaining when junior midfielder Drew Evans took the ball, broke his man down and wound up for a 16-yard shot that zipped past Navy goalie Colin Finnegan.

Evans' desperation goal knotted the game at 7-7. Coach Dave Cottle let his playmaking midfielder handle the ball, and Evans did the rest.

"I'd like to tell you that we told him to drive up and roll back seven times, then shoot on the high post," Cottle joked. "But Drew just made an athletic play himself. Drew made another shot like that in another game ... so we had seen that; we just hadn't seen it with [seven] seconds left."

In the first overtime period, the Terps stopped the No. 7-ranked Midshipmen from scoring. Freshman goalie Brian Phipps, who recorded 13 saves, stopped two in the initial overtime. But the Terps struggled to produce offense and could not come through with a goal in the four-minute span.

Another freshman, short stick Bryn Holmes, came up huge for the Terps by winning the first face-off of the second overtime. Senior short stick Jimmy Borell came up with the ground ball, and after junior attackman Max Ritz was stonewalled by Finnegan, sophomore midfielder Dan Groot found his opportunity.

"I just came through the left alley and got a step on the kid and scored the goal," Groot said after scoring the game winner. "This is a great feeling. It's probably the best goal of my life."

The Midshipmen defense shut down the Terp offense early, holding them to only two goals in the first half. But the Terps (8-3) played strong defense and never allowed Navy (8-2) to pull away, despite the 15-5 first-half shot advantage for the Midshipmen.

"We knew this wasn't going to be a game where just playing tough would be enough," Cottle said. "We knew how tough Navy is. So we had to play tough and play well. To be honest, we were very fortunate to be down one at half. Navy controlled the play much better; they should have been up more."

The game proved to be the expected slugfest, marking the ninth consecutive time neither team has reached double-digit goals. But the result was different this time for the Terps, as the seniors finally notched a win against the in-state rivals.

After losing to Navy the past two years in the final 15 seconds, it was the Terps who created some late-game magic to come away with a victory in Annapolis. In front of 14,625 fans, Evans created his own miracle, and Groot sealed the win.

For the Terp seniors, the ending was exactly what they wanted, even if they had to wait a little longer than expected.

"I was walking to the face-off in the overtime, and I looked at the ref, and I was like, 'This is insane,'" senior defender Ray Megill said. "I was like 'This is the best game ever.' And he's looking at me, and he's dancing to the music. And I'm like, 'Well, I guess you like it too.' It was a huge game. It was unbelievable."

Contact reporter Adi Joseph at ajosephdbk@gmail.com.

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