There’s much at stake when No. 20 Navy visits No. 5 Maryland at Byrd Stadium in College Park on Saturday at noon. The Midshipmen (5-5) could use a quality win to further enhance their resume for the NCAA Tournament, while the Terps (6-2) would like to beat their intra-state rivals for only the second time since 2003. Here are a few game developments that could factor into the outcome.
1. One key to a Navy win: The Midshipmen have been experiencing some issues on defense, which is somewhat of a departure for a program that has built a reputation as having one of the toughest defenses in the nation. Navy could help the defense by avoiding unnecessary penalties. After committing 41 penalties for a combined 26 minutes last season, the team has already been flagged 40 times for 36 minutes, 30 seconds. That plays into Maryland’s favor as the Terps rank second in Division I with a .607 success rate (17 of 28) on extra-man opportunities. “You can’t foul them,” Midshipmen coach Richie Meade said. Navy isn’t exactly a slouch in killing off penalties as the man-down unit has surrendered just 14 goals in 41 short-handed situations.
2. One key to a Maryland win: The Terps boast one of the more explosive offenses in the country, a unit averaging 11.3 goals per game thus far. But that production has been limited in back-to-back losses to No. 3 North Carolina and No. 1 Virginia because the face-off unit has struggled to win possession for the offense. Maryland won 8 of 19 face-offs in a 9-7 loss to the Tar Heels on March 27 and just 9 of 24 draws in an 11-10 loss to the Cavaliers last Saturday. For the season, the Terps have been successful on 46.6 percent (88 of 189). Perhaps the silver lining in Saturday’s match-up is that Navy is winning just 43.3 percent (91 of 210) of its face-offs. “It’s two below-average face-off teams going at it,” Maryland coach Dave Cottle said. “So you never know how that’s going to work out. I know there will be some groundballs out on the wings, and we have to do a better job on that. That’s an area where it doesn’t look like either is going to get away from each other. So you just hope that you get your share.”
3. One key match-up: This may sound gratuitous, but Friday’s edition of The Sun highlighted the friendship between Midshipmen senior midfielder Patrick Moran and Terps senior goalkeeper Brian Phipps. Those two may play a role on Saturday. Moran leads Navy in goals (20) and points (27), and his ability to shoot from both sides of his body makes him a dangerous sniper from the outside. Phipps, who made a season-high 16 saves against Virginia, is a technically-sound netminder who has a stick to match the quickness of his feet.