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Christian Daniel scores clinching goal as Navy survives Loyola rally in 14-12 men’s lacrosse win
By BILL WAGNER, CAPITAL GAZETTE, APR 17, 2021 AT 7:42 PM
At the end of a roller-coaster lacrosse game that was pretty much a tale of two halves, it came down to a coaching gamble and a savvy senior making the opponent pay for rolling the dice.
Navy led Loyola Maryland by one with 1:38 remaining in the game when there was a timeout. The Midshipmen had possession with 52 seconds remaining on the shot clock.
Loyola coach Charley Toomey decided to try to get the ball back immediately. It was a curious call because had Navy succeeded in salting away the rest of the shot clock, the hosts still would have 46 seconds to get the tying goal.
When play restarted, the Greyhounds had defensemen Matt Hughes and Cam Wyers doubling the ball along the sideline. Toomey sent goalie Sam Shafer to the offensive end to get an extra field defender for the purpose of shutting off all the remaining Midshipmen.
When the whistle blew, Navy senior attackman Christian Daniel exploded toward midfield and easily outran the double-team.
Daniel got to the top of the box then turned and ran directly toward the cage before firing a shot from about 12 yards out that sailed into the back of the empty net and gave Navy a 14-12 victory at Ridley Athletic Complex.
“We tried to put our two best long poles on the ball. Credit Christian, who got to his left hand and ran hard to the top side,” Toomey said. “You’ve got to make a play and we didn’t.”
Daniel said Navy offensive coordinator Brad Ross had prepped him for exactly what Loyola did.
“During the timeout, Coach Ross said to expect the double-team. I knew to attack between them to make them collapse,” Daniel said. “Since there was no goalie, I kind of figured I would send [the ball] to the goal.”
“And pray,” added Navy coach Joe Amplo, who was seated next to Daniel during the virtual postgame news conference.
Daniel had five assists to go with his game-clinching goal as Navy beat Loyola for just the second time in the last 11 meetings. The Greyhounds were 7-1 versus the Midshipmen since joining the Patriot League in 2014 with the most recent win coming earlier this season (14-10) in Annapolis.
Navy also beat Loyola on its home field for the first time in five attempts.
“From day one when I arrived and stated some goals, to a man everyone said they wanted to beat Loyola. They’ve been the premier program in this conference for a long time,” Amplo said.
“This is a big win … to validate some of the things these upperclassmen have done. This is one of the moments we can build on and hopefully be a springboard for future success.”
A pair of plebes played prominent roles offensively for Navy. Midfielder Dane Swanson scored three goals and assisted another, while attackman Jon Jarosz totaled two goals and two assists.
Swanson had missed three straight games with a foot injury sustained in the season opener. The McDonogh graduate returned to the lineup against Lehigh and contributed three points. The 6-foot-4, 205-pound St. Mary’s City resident was a force Saturday, scoring twice off wicked crank shots.
“We see it every day in practice. At times, [Swanson] is the best player on our practice field,” Amplo said. “For a freshman to step up and score three goals in a big game … he was as good as anyone on the field today.”
Jarosz did not play in the season opener because the coaching staff did not feel he was ready for Division I competition and they were still trying to figure out if he was an attackman or midfielder. The 6-foot-6, 224-pound Severn School product has seven goals and three assists in five games.
“Jacob was productive. He’s a freshman and making an impact against Loyola Maryland. He’s growing up before our eyes,” Amplo said. “There are times when he’s going to make mistakes and there are times when he’s going to let his size, athleticism and instincts take over. I think that’s what you saw today.”
Goalie Spencer Rees (Boys’ Latin) recorded 15 saves, while junior Jacob Jarosz captured 15 of 25 faceoffs for Navy (4-2, 2-2), which snapped a two-game losing streak. Junior attackman Jack Sweeney scored all three of his goals off extra-man opportunities for the Midshipmen, who raced out to a 6-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
“I thought our energy early was the difference in how the game started off,” Amplo said.
Navy kept the pressure on and led by six goals a total of six times. Last came with 9:43 remaining in the third quarter when midfielder Michael Foster fired an overhand bouncer past Shafer to put the Mids ahead 12-6.
That is when the Loyola comeback began. Sophomore attackman Evan James scored three of his game-high four goals during a 6-0 run that tied the score at 12 with 4:59 remaining in the game. Sophomore midfielder Adam Poitras contributed a goal and assist to the rally, which was helped by a pair of penalties against the Mids that led to extra man goals.
Amplo thought Navy was too aggressive during that stretch with Andrew McKenna committing a costly unnecessary roughness penalty that gave Loyola a man advantage for two minutes.
“It’s more a credit to Loyola. Those guys are really good and are never going to back down, never going to give up,” Amplo said. “We told our players all along the punch was coming. Loyola is a great team, and we knew we were going to have to manage a one-goal game.”
Just when it seemed the Midshipmen were going to collapse and lose again to the Greyhounds, the seniors stepped up. Long-stick midfielder Jeff Durden gobbled up the ground ball on the ensuing faceoff and carried it into the box before unleashing a hard shot past Shafer.
That goal gave Navy the lead again just nine seconds after Loyola had forged the tie and set up the final sequence that produced Daniel’s clincher.
“My hat’s off to Navy. They played hard and got what they deserved. They came out and played with incredible energy, certainly more energy than we did,” Toomey said. “I’m proud of my team for fighting. I’m proud of them for bowing their necks in the third quarter and making it a game.”
Shafer, who was benched during a 12-7 loss to Army West Point last Saturday, replaced starter Freeman Whitaker at halftime and helped spark the comeback. Shafer made six saves, several of which were of the spectacular variety.
Loyola played without two starters — defenseman Kyle LeBlanc and attackman Joey Kamish — who were injured during the Army game.
Navy wound up scoring four extra man goals and got three more in transition from long poles, a development that disappointed Toomey.
“That was kind of the difference. We haven’t seen that very often. When you’re on your heels, those type of things happen,” he said. “We have to go back to the drawing board and get back to playing solid team defense.”
Amplo praised the faceoff work of Jarosz, also a Severn School graduate and older brother of the freshman attackman. “I can’t say enough about Jarosz’s work at the faceoff stripe. If there was one difference in the game, he was it,” Amplo said.
For Amplo, in his second season at Navy, this felt like a game in which the whole program grew up. Because of COVID, the Midshipmen have only played 11 games under the new coaching staff.
“It was a moment when we had to answer. We’ve never been put in that position before against a team like this. I’m proud of our guys for answering in the moment,” Amplo said.
“It’s a breakthrough, no question about it. Loyola could have very easily won that game if we backed down from that punch that they threw at us. We didn’t because our seniors stepped up,” Amplo added.
Navy (4-2, 2-2) 7-3-2-2=14
Loyola (5-5, 3-3) 1-4-3-4=12
GOALS: N – Swanson 3, Sweeney 3, Jon Jarosz 2, Durden 2, Daniel, Cole, Bonitz, Foster. L – James 4, Lindley 3, Poitras, Olmstead, Seay, Rezanka, McNulty. ASSISTS: N – Daniel 5, Jon Jarosz 2, Perreten, Skalniak, Swanson. L – Poitras 2, Swindell 2, Lindley, Olmstead. SHOTS: N – 42. L – 42. SAVES: N – Rees 15. L – Whitaker 7, Shafer 6. GROUND BALLS: N – 39. L – 45. FACEOFFS: N – 16. L – 13. TURNOVERS: N – 18. L – 15.
ARMY@NAVY
Saturday, noon. TV: CBSSN Radio: 1430 AM
Amazing.
Disgruntled employee? 
