ANNAPOLIS, MD. - Senior Bruce Nechanicky (Montgomery Village, Md.) led Navy with three goals and an assist, while classmates Tommy Phelan (Towson, Md.) and Andy Tormey (Syracuse, N.Y.) anchored a defensive effort that held Maryland to a season-low four goals as the No. 17 Navy men's lacrosse team (8-3) earned a 10-4 victory over No. 8 Maryland (6-4) Friday night in front of 15,109 fans at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. It was the largest non-Johns Hopkins crowd to see a game at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium and the fifth largest in stadium history.

The six-goal win was the largest margin of victory by Navy over the Terps since 1992 when the Midshipmen earned an 11-3 win. Meanwhile, the last time Navy scored double digits against Maryland was in 1995 when the Terps defeated the Mids, 19-11. The win also denied Maryland of the program's 700th win, needing just one victory to join an elite group of schools who have amassed 700-plus wins. Navy stands fourth on that list with now 736 wins in school history.

"I am really proud of our guys," said 15th-year Navy head coach Richie Meade. "I think we played with a lot more poise and maturity than we did earlier in the year. It was a big night for our seniors and for them to be able to win in front of a crowd like this and in this way, it'll be something they'll remember for a long time."

The tone was set early on in the game, as the Mids scored the contest's first goal after Maryland was whistled for a slash just two minutes into play. Navy junior attackman Brendan Connors (Bellmore, N.Y.) continued to have the hot hand, coming off a three-goal effort against Georgetown, punching in his second extra-man goal of the season off an assist from Nechanicky.

Maryland would eventually answer, but the Terps would be methodic in their offensive possessions. Sophomore attackman Ryan Young, who was defended by first-time Navy starter Tom Mansfield (Port Washington, N.Y.), swung from behind the goal and curled around to the right to find a gap over Phelan's shoulder to even the score at 4:23 in the first quarter.

Maryland would take its first and only lead of the game with just over a minute left in the opening stanza when Notre Dame transfer Will Yeatman took Navy rookie defenseman Matt Vernam (Shoreham, N.Y.) behind the cage and popped in his first of two goals of the evening from the opposite side of the cage.

The Mids scored the equalizer with 4:05 remaining in the first half when Nechanicky picked up the ground ball off a Maryland turnover and was off to the races. Scooping the ball up along the far sideline, Nechanicky raced towards the cage, looking to score but instead found defensive midfielder Bobby Lennon (Westminster, Md.) trailing the play. He sent a pass to Lennon, who fed long pole defensive middie Zack Schroeder (Deer Park, N.Y.) for a picturesque goal. It was Schroeder's third goal of the year and the seventh by a Navy defensive midfielder this season.

Navy scored the go-ahead goal with just five seconds remaining in the opening half on a Tim Paul (Parkton, Md.)-to-Joe Lennon (Westminster, Md.) marker in what may have been the dagger by the Mids. With time winding down, Paul set up behind the goal and found Lennon on the right wing. Lennon was able to turn his defender and get his left hand free to send his shot past Terrapin keeper Jason Carter to give the Mids' a 3-2 lead heading into the half.

Maryland dominated the stat sheet at the half, outshooting the Mids, 20-10 and winning six of the seven faceoffs. But Phelan helped the struggling Mids get through a tough first half by making five saves in each of the first two quarters.

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2009-04-04