Defense carries Mids to first win
Kern makes 10 saves to help turn back Retrievers
Going into this season it appeared a potent, veteran offense might have to carry a young, inexperienced defense for the Navy lacrosse team.
Three games in, it looks as if the Midshipmen may rely on the stingy defense that has been a long-standing tradition of the program.
Goalkeeper Ryan Kern made 10 saves to anchor a strong defensive effort as Navy shut down UMBC, 7-5, in a steady snowstorm at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. Close defenseman Hiram Carter had two caused turnovers and four ground balls for the Midshipmen, who held the Retrievers scoreless for a stretch of almost 16 minutes spanning the third and fourth quarters.
Junior midfielder Greyson Torain totaled two goals and an assist to lead the Navy offense, which struggled to put the ball in the net for the third straight outing. Freshman attackman Christian Daniel added a goal and assist for the Mids (1-2), who have won 21 of their last 25 home openers.
“Like I just told the guys in the locker room, sometimes the first one is the hardest one. It certainly was tough out there today,” Navy coach Rick Sowell said. “You have to give credit to UMBC, which is well-coached and did a nice job. We also have to give credit to ourselves. I thought we really grinded it out.”
Freshman attackman Trevor Patschorke (Severna Park) scored two goals and assisted another for UMBC (1-1), which had opened the season with an upset of No. 20 Richmond. Sophomore attackman Ryan Frawley had a goal and an assist for the Retrievers, who have won just four of 27 games against the Midshipmen.
“From a statistical standpoint, you’re not going to win many games scoring five goals,” UMBC head coach Ryan Moran said. “When you generate 35 shots and only score five goals, that’s not a very good stat.”
Navy faceoff specialist Joe Varello won 12 of 15 draws. Varello got superb assistance from his wing men, which were usually Torain and freshman long-stick midfielder Jeff Durden. Varello schooled UMBC sophomore specialist Jake Brothers, prompting Moran to put long-stick midfielder Billy O’Hara (South River) at the faceoff stripe.
“When a team switches to the pole they usually want to turn it into a three-on-three situation,” Varello said. “Greyson and Jeff did a great job of talking to me. I just threw it out in space and let them do their job. Almost all those ground balls off the faceoffs were by the wing guys.”