ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Much of the first half of Sunday’s game against Jacksonville was a slog befitting the soggy weather for Navy.
The Midshipmen had scrapped their plans to ride after yielding an early goal to the Dolphins, and their defense had settled in. Yet the offense was still sputtering, sloppy and lacking significant opportunities.
The answer to the problems: A transition score by senior long pole Jeff Durden late in the second quarter to spark a run of nine consecutive goals to send the Mids to a 13-6 victory at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.
“I think when Jeff scored, it was almost a momentum change, just because our bench was so crazy and brought so much intensity that it really revived our team,” junior faceoff man Jacob Jarosz said. “We kind of woke up and started to turn things on.”
Jarosz did his part, too, winning 17 of 23 faceoffs for Navy (2-0). Matt Stagnitta had a goal and two assists for Jacksonville (2-2), which held a 5-2 lead deep into the second quarter but was stymied thereafter.
That’s when Durden ignited things. He took a long pass from freshman defenseman Jackson Bonitz and charged toward the goal. Coach Joe Amplo nearly called a timeout and thought better of it, a decision rewarded when Durden fired it past Jacksonville goalie Adam Baker (eight saves) with 2:34 left in the first half.
“It made us settle down more than bring us to a higher level because I felt like there were some nerves,” Amplo said. “There was some anxiety on the sidelines and the way we were playing, and we needed to play. Jeff as a senior, he did what he was supposed to do and play.”
It was a bit of a surprise turn for Jarosz, who took only seven draws in two appearances last season and didn’t even get into Navy’s opener, an 8-5 defeat of Mount St. Mary’s. Amplo made it a point to text Jarosz after that game, insisting the staff probably should have found a way to get him in and wouldn’t let it happen again.
Jarosz started and, after splitting the first six draws, settled in well and helped Navy dominate the closing minutes of the first half and the beginning of the second. The Mids tacked on two goals after Durden’s pole goal to tie it at the half, and then rattled off six more in the first nine minutes of the third quarter.
The final tally from that stretch of less than 12 minutes: A 9-0 scoring run, an 8-1 advantage in faceoffs and a 13-3 edge in shots. One of the Dolphins’ shots in that span was a long heave by Baker at the end of the second quarter.
“The coaches just kept getting on us and told us to play our game, and I think they had a great game plan,” Durden said. “It all just started to click. Jarosz started to win a bunch of faceoffs, which obviously helped. It all started to fall into place.”
For its part, Jacksonville struggled to generate scoring chances in their sporadic opportunities in the second half. The Dolphins had more turnovers (12) than shots (nine) after the break, and they mustered just one goal in the final 36:49.
Possession time tilted heavily toward Navy played a role, but it wasn’t the only factor in Jacksonville’s problems.
“I felt like we came into the game confident in our ability to compete with a team like Navy and I thought we showed that for glimpses in the first half,” Jacksonville coach John Galloway said. “Obviously, to make the number of mistakes we did in the second half, it’s tough to be competitive against a team that’s that well coached and that physically imposing.”
It closes out a busy month for the Dolphins, who picked off Bellarmine and Mercer in contests that count as nonconference games and dropped decisions at North Carolina and Navy. Only five Division I teams --- Denver, Duke, Mercer, North Carolina and Towson --- have played more games so far this season.
Galloway believes games like Sunday’s, as well as upcoming dates with Utah (Saturday) and Duke (March 14), will help set up Jacksonville for a push in the Southern Conference in the second half of the season.
“We’ve been able to be battle-tested on the road against two top-20 teams, and this is going to put us in a position to compete in the conference,” Galloway said. “I do believe our expectations are higher and that we can win some of these games and we’ll have another chance against a good Utah team next weekend.”
As for Navy, it learned plenty about its younger players Sunday. While Jarosz had the best day of his college career, his brother Jon’s is just getting started. And what a debut it was: A three-goal burst to lead a balanced Navy offense that saw nine players score.
“Every time he scored, I was screaming,” Jacob Jarosz said. “I wanted to try to get an assist or something to him on a fast break, but it didn’t work out. But it was awesome to see.”
It was also telling how much Navy leaned on younger players in its two games prior to Patriot League play. Bonitz has already settled in as a reliable figure at close defense. Plebes Jon Jarosz, Bryson Rhee (two goals) and Max Hewitt (one goal) combined for six goals.
Overall, five of the nine players Navy used on its starting attack and top two midfields Sunday are freshmen and sophomores. That group doesn’t include freshman midfielder Dane Swanson, who started the opener but was unavailable against Jacksonville.
“Our potential and success later on in the season is going to be determined by how mature these kids can be moving forward,” Amplo said.
Delaware Comes Back to Beat Bellarmine
Tye Kurtz had four goals and Charlie Kitchen had a goal and five assists as Delaware (3-1) came back to beat Bellarmine 14-11. The Blue Hens trailed by as many as three goals in the second half, but used a five-goal run in the second half to take the lead. Jake Hervade won 12 of 15 faceoffs and also added a pair of goals in the win. Kyle Playsted had a hat trick for Bellarmine (1-3).
Mercer Nips Cleveland State 10-9
Will McCarthy had a game-high four goals and Michael Quinn scored the game-winning goal with 3:35 to play as Mercer beat Cleveland State 10-9 on Sunday. Ashton Wood won 12 of 21 faceoffs for the Bears and Collin Kelley made 10 saves to earn the victory.