The No. 11 Midshipmen added injury to insult when they learned after Saturday's 8-7 overtime loss to No. 10 Loyola that senior attackman Tim Paul (torn anterior cruciate ligament) would be lost for the season. Here are a few factors that could play a role in the outcome of Thursday night's home contest against No. 3 North Carolina.
1) Watch the turnover count. The most glaring number from Saturday's loss was Navy's inability to protect the ball. The team committed 24 turnovers to the Greyhounds' 14, and coach Richie Meade calculated that the offense turned the ball over an astonishing 18 times. The Tar Heels are coughing up the ball 17.3 times per game, but also forcing opponents into an average of 27.3 turnovers per contest. "Obviously, we're disappointed in our performance Saturday not from the standpoint of how we played offense, but that we couldn't throw and catch," Meade said. "That's a big component to it. You don't go into something thinking you're going to have that many turnovers, but we did.
2) Attack the net. Without Paul, the onus to lead the attack now falls on senior attackman Brendan Connors and junior attackman Andy Warner. And senior midfielders Patrick Moran and Joe Lennon will be asked to assume more responsibilities. On the flipside, the Midshipmen have to contain a North Carolina offense that average 11 goals per game. Junior attackman Billy Bitter, one of a few preseason favorites to win the Tewaaraton Trophy, has recorded three goals and six assists, but he is complemented by sophomore attackman Thomas Wood (7, 5) and senior midfielder Sean DeLaney (6, 0). "Billy's been more of a distributor this year so far," Meade noted. "So we've got our hands full. But I think we've got enough people and we're athletic enough to hang in there. Our biggest focus is we have to play well. We can't worry about North Carolina."
3) As Johnny Cash might say, "Get rhythm." Playing two games in five days might not help physically, but Thursday night's game is perhaps the best remedy for Navy to forget Saturday's loss. "Our one goal is to win the next game," Meade said. "Always, when you play and you're not successful, you've got to ask yourself, 'What did you learn from the game?' So we learned some things from the Loyola game that we've got to apply in our next opportunity. This is the early season, and it's a disappointing loss. But you've got to shake it off and move forward, and that's what we're going to attempt to do here."