Navy Lacrosse (NAVYLAX)

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02/04/2010

Navy Plays Well in Charlottesville !!

Let's drive down to play Virginia, possibly one of the best teams in the country going into 2010 on about 2 days preparation. That will give us a gut check.

Gut check - sat.

We ran down to Virginia to play them early (like Wednesday early) in order to beat the snow that should come in this weekend.

Well, the Navy Lacrosse 2010s came ready to play.

They got off the bus and played a nice first half. The game was tied 4-4 at half-time. RJ Wickham '12 started in goal, with Mike Haas '11 relieving him for the second half.

On defense, Mike Hirsch '11, Matt Vernam '12 and Ian Crumley '12 were the starters, with Peter Rogers '13 (the plebe from Rancho Bernardo HS in California - coached by Dennis Yeatman '83 and Bruce Seitz '83) as part of the 4-man rotation. Jake Brosnan '10 also played a lot of minutes. Another stalwart plebe, Evan McGoogan '13 (Cranberry Township, PA) was not available due to suffering a broken jaw during the 5th quarter of the UMBC scrimmage. That is quite a shame, he was really going to have a chance to play this spring as a plebe, and suffered a very unfortunate injury. Tommy Mansfield '11 is still out, but recovering.

Something must have happened at half-time, because we were Gold in the first half, but rather Blue in the 3rd quarter. Virginia got hot, and we could not pull it together. The Wahoos went up 9-5 after 3 quarters. And yes, it was cold.

Fortunately, both teams went with the younger players in the 4th quarter - and it was all Navy. We are much deeper than most of the typical teams - and on this day for this 15 minutes - the Blue and Gold was bringing the heat.

Our guys beat their guys 5-0 in that 4th quarter for a 10-9 squeaker.

Of course, it is "just a scrimmage" and who knows what happens with a 4th quarter of starters, but I like a group who wants to come back and win no matter who is on the field. Winning is a habit.

Patrick Moran '10, Joe Lennon '10 and Nikk Davis '12 started at midfield and played very well. Again Basil Daratsos '10, Brian Striffler '11 and Kevin Doyle '11 ran well as a second line and the frosh had a lot of playing time early (even in the first quarter). Jay Mann '13 (offense), Bucky Smith '13 (D-middie) and Jordan Seivold '13 (face-off wing) all were playing regularly.

Jaren Woeppel '10 played very well at pole, but Zack Schroeder '10 is down right now, so we are praying for Zack's return.

Marty Gallagher '11 and Joe McAuliffe '10 are playing well at the primary D-Middie spots, with Bucky Smith '13 and others also in the rotation.

The Virginia face-off guy was pretty good today. Our face-off crew of Robby Battle '10, Frankie Coppola '10, Logan West '12 and Will Fields '13 gave them a run, but it was not easy today.

Tim Paul '10 returned to action and played a little over 2 quarters today. He looked good and felt good. Very positive.

Andy Warner '11 and Brendan Connors '10 started on attack, with Kyle Kapron '10 getting some playing time. Ryan O'Leary '12 was hurt and we are praying for his return to give that speed and elusiveness that he brings.

Joe Johnson '13 (son of Joe '83) is back from a injury (he missed most of the fall), and he is handling the ball very well. Darren Pastrana '12 (St Mary's HS) had a chance to contribute, as did just about every freshman and sophomore on the roster.

There was quite a bit to work on coming out of this scrimmage, but a vast horizon of positive signs. Things are looking good for Navy Lacrosse 2010.

Time for the games that count - next up, VMI next Saturday at Navy Marine Corps Stadium - Let's get ready to rumble !!

Go Navy !!

Buddy Garland '84