Maryland–Navy lacrosse rivalry

The Maryland–Navy lacrosse rivalry is an intercollegiate lacrosse rivalry between the Maryland Terrapins and Navy Midshipmen. Hailing from College Park and Annapolis, the state rivals have another historical series in college football, known as the Crab Bowl Classic. In lacrosse, the teams first met in 1924 and have met annually since 1927, aside from brief interruptions due to World War II and the COVID-19 pandemic. Prior to Maryland upgrading its club team to varsity in 1924, the teams met seven additional times, with Navy winning five of those.[1] However, these do not count in the official record.Traditionally taking place in either April or May, the game has been moved up to the earlier months of the season to accommodate the teams' increasing difficulty to schedule non-conference games, compounded by the expansion of the Patriot League and Maryland's decision to join the Big Ten Conference.[2] Despite concern that the series may have to be postponed indefinitely,[3] the teams have maintain the annual series, though it has at times been played mid-week rather than as the weekend headliner.

Maryland–Navy lacrosse rivalry

Maryland Terrapins Navy Midshipmen
First meeting	April 12, 1924 Maryland 5, Navy 3
Latest meeting	February 23, 2019 Maryland 14, Navy 9
Statistics
Meetings total	94
All-time series	Maryland leads, 60–33–1
Largest victory	Maryland, 21–7 (1998)
Longest win streak	Maryland, 11 (1993–2003)
Current win streak	Maryland, 10 (2010–Present)

Navy owns 17 national championships and Maryland claims 12, three of which (1973, 1975, 2017) have come in the NCAA Division I Tournament era. The teams rank No. 1 and No. 2 in terms of the number of first team All-Americans produced, while all four of the winningest head coaches by percentage roamed the sidelines of the two schools.[4] The rivalry is the second-longest in Terps history, only trailing its series with Johns Hopkins.[5] On Navy's side, the rivalry is also its second-longest series, only trailing its all-sports rivals Army.[4] Through 2020, Maryland leads the series 60–33–1.[6]

Series History

Early Years (1920s through 1960s)

The first game in series history was played in Washington, D.C. in 1924. Maryland won by two goals. A three year gap would take place before the next meeting, which then gained an annual spot on the schools' schedules. Maryland dominated early on, winning all but four contests before the series went on hiatus in 1941. The teams would meet again in 1943, before resuming on annual basis for good in 1946. After five straight Maryland victories, Navy embarked on its most successful period in both the rivalry and program history. The 1960s featured eight straight national titles for the Midshipmen, from 1960 to 1967.[7] The last of these would be shared with their rivals from College Park and Johns Hopkins,[8] though the meeting between the two went the way of Navy. Each game during this stretch was won by the Midshipmen until Maryland ended the streak in 1968.

Early NCAA Era (1970s through 1990s)

The introduction of the NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship in 1971 brought new stakes to the rivalry. During the regular season, Navy downed the Terps 10–5 at home, but would lose a Final Four rematch on the road. Maryland held on to a four goal halftime lead to advance to the inaugural title game, which they would lose to Cornell. The current USILA polling system began in 1973, with #4 UMD taking the first ranked meeting over the #4 Midshipmen. This would began a stretch of 15 straight games with the two programs ranked in the Top 10 and 28 consecutive with both ranked in the polls. As of 2020, 43 of 52 meetings since the introduction of the polls have been between two ranked teams.[9]

The 1970s would feature three more postseason meetings, all won by Maryland. In 1975, the teams would meet for a national title. In the Final Four, Maryland had blown out Washington & Lee 15–5,[10] despite being questioned for their inclusion in the tournament, while Navy upset the number 1 seed, Cornell.[11] After grabbing a five goal lead after the first quarter, the Midshipmen held on after a furious rally from the Big Red. The final was the 50th all-time meeting between the Terps and Navy, held at Homewood Field, the home field of their mutual rival Johns Hopkins. Though the Midshipmen upset Maryland during the regular season matchup,[12] the Terps would get revenge. After a combined 11 goal first period, Maryland would pull ahead before halftime with a 9–6 lead. The third quarter featured eight more goals and Maryland carried a 13–10 advantage into the fourth. Using seven goals, the Terps pulled away to win 20–13,[13] the highest scoring game in the series since 34 goals were scored in a 1962 Navy victory. 120 total shots were launched during the game, the second-most of the 1975 tournament. The game remains tied for the second-highest all-time game between the two programs and the highest-scoring title game in NCAA history.[10] In the title game, Frank Urso led the Terps with five goals, pushing him over the 100 goal mark,[10] while Bob DeSimone led the Midshipmen with four.

1976 would feature a title game rematch in the Final Four, with 1-seeded Maryland dominating Navy 22–11, tying the previous postseason game with 33 goals scored. The Terps blitzed Navy in the first quarter, hanging 10 goals on the Midshipmen. While Navy played the rest of the game fairly evenly with the Terps, only being outscored 12–10, the initial surge had put the game out of reach. Ed Mullen scored 7 for undefeated Maryland, which would be dealt its first and only loss of the season in the national championship game by 16–0 Cornell.[6] Maryland would win each of the next three meetings against Navy prior to their most recent postseason meeting in 1979. Held in College Park, the Final Four game featured #2 Maryland and #3 Navy. Despite outshooting the Terps, Navy was unable to overcome a 7–4 halftime deficit and would fall 15–10. Maryland would again fall in the title game, this time to fellow state rival Johns Hopkins.

The following year, Navy would capture its first victory over the Terps in eight tries. The Midshipmen would win four of the next six after their 1979 postseason defeat. After several more years of fierce battles, a 1993 loss to Maryland would portend poor fortunes for Navy in the years to come. From that game, Maryland won 11 straight matchups. Several games early in the streak were convincing UMD victories, including an eight goal victory in 1995[14] and a dominant 21–7 victory in 1998. The 14 goal margin marks the largest differential in series history. However, that game would shift the series to an even more bitter stretch for Navy. The next four meetings would all end in the same score: six to five. The Midshipmen came close each time but were unable to come out with a victory. The 1996 meeting featured a late rally by Navy to dig themselves out of a four goal hole, but just fell short of upsetting the #2 Terps, losing 11 to 10.[15] During this 11 game streak, six of the losses came by just a single goal, amplifying the heartbreak. UMD ended the 1990s with a 9 to 1 advantage for the decade, their best ever in terms of winning percentage in the rivalry to that point.[16]

Recent Years (2000s to Present)

In 2004, Navy overcame their struggles against their rivals, upsetting #1 Maryland on the road. The Midshipmen would carry that momentum throughout the season, ultimately finishing as the national runner-up. In addition to that victory, Navy would prevail in four of the next five meetings. In 2005, before a record Annapolis crowd of 14,124 attended the rivalry, with Navy pulling out a 9–8 victory with a Graham Gill goal with 14 seconds left in the game.[17] This record would be topped two years later and again in 2009 when 15,109 fans attended, also counting as the fifth most-attended home Navy lacrosse game, only trailing its similar rivalry matchup with Johns Hopkins.[4] The only Maryland win during this stretch was an 8–7 double overtime thriller in Annapolis.

While the teams split the 2000s at five victories apiece, the narrative would change in the next decade. Maryland would win all 10 games in the 2010s; the current streak is the second longest in series history.[18] Intrigue was increased with the hiring of current Maryland head coach John Tillman, who spent 12 seasons as an assistant with Navy.[19] The 2016 matchup was the first since 2008 to feature two Top 10 teams. With a balanced scoring attack, the Terps defeated #7 Navy 10–5 in College Park.[20] The most recent game was won by Maryland, a 14 to 9 victory that required a four goal stretch in the final quarter to pull away from their rivals, pushing Tillman's record against the Midshipmen to a perfect 9 and 0.[21] Significantly in 2020, the game was not played for the first time since World War II. Initially postponed due to a norovirus outbreak among members of the Naval Academy team,[22][23] the rescheduled game was cancelled along with the entire season by the COVID-19 pandemic.[24]

Rival Accomplishments

The following summarizes the accomplishments of the two programs.[6][9]

Team	Maryland Terrapins	Navy Midshipmen
Pre-NCAA National Titles	9	17
NCAA National Titles	3	0
NCAA Final Four Appearances	26	8
NCAA Tournament Appearances	42	27
NCAA Tournament Record	63–39	17–27
Conference Tournament Titles	6	5
Conference Championships	35	8
Tewaarton Award Recipients	1	0
Lt. Raymond Enners Award Recipients	3	0
Consensus First Team All-Americans	127	105
All-time Program Record	839–276–4	807–366–14
All-time Winning Percentage	.752	.686

Game Results

Maryland victories

Navy victories

Tie games

No. Date Location Winner Score 1 1924 Washington, DC Maryland 5–3 2 1927 Annapolis, MD Navy 6–2 3 1928 College Park, MD Maryland 3–2 4 1929 Annapolis, MD Navy 4–3 5 1930 Annapolis, MD Maryland 5–1 6 1931 Annapolis, MD Maryland 8–1 7 1932 Annapolis, MD Maryland 4–2 8 1933 College Park, MD Maryland 7–3 9 1934 Annapolis, MD Tie 6–6 10 1935 College Park, MD Maryland 6–5 11 1936 Annapolis, MD Maryland 7–2 12 1937 Annapolis, MD Maryland 6–2 13 1938 Annapolis, MD Navy 8–7 14 1939 Annapolis, MD Maryland 5–3 15 1940 Annapolis, MD Maryland 12–3 16 1943 Annapolis, MD Navy 9–8 17 1946 Annapolis, MD Navy 11–4 18 1947 Annapolis, MD Navy 10–9 19 1948 College Park, MD Maryland 8–3 20 1949 Annapolis, MD Navy 14–4 21 1950 College Park, MD Navy 6–5 22 1951 Annapolis, MD Maryland 10–9 23 1952 College Park, MD Navy 10–9^OT 24 1953 Annapolis, MD Maryland 10–9 25 1954 College Park, MD Navy 12–7 26 1955 Annapolis, MD Maryland 9–8 27 1956 Annapolis, MD Maryland 10–5 28 1957 Annapolis, MD Maryland 5–4 29 1958 College Park, MD Maryland 17–10 30 1959 Annapolis, MD Maryland 15–8 31 1960 College Park, MD Navy 15–14 32 1961 Annapolis, MD Navy 9–7^OT No. Date Location Winner Score 33 1962 College Park, MD Navy 22–12 34 1963 Annapolis, MD Navy 17–9 35 1964 College Park, MD Navy 11–3 36 1965 Annapolis, MD Navy 13–7 37 1966 College Park, MD Navy 11–9 38 1967 Annapolis, MD Navy 10–8 39 1968 College Park, MD Maryland 5–3 40 1969 Annapolis, MD Navy 7–6 41 1970 College Park, MD Navy 6–3 42 1971 Annapolis, MD Navy 10–5 43 1971 College Park, MD Maryland 10–7 44 1972 College Park, MD Maryland 12–10 45 1973 Annapolis, MD #3 Maryland 14–7 46 1974 College Park, MD #1 Maryland 12–7 47 1975 Annapolis, MD #5 Navy 10–9 48 1975 Baltimore, MD #4 Maryland 20–13 49 1976 College Park, MD #2 Maryland 14–10 50 1976 College Park, MD #1 Maryland 22–11 51 1977 Annapolis, MD #2 Maryland 16–13 52 1978 College Park, MD #2 Maryland 16–13 53 1979 Annapolis, MD #2 Maryland 17–12 54 1979 College Park, MD #2 Maryland 15–10 55 1980 College Park, MD #7 Navy 11–9 56 1981 Annapolis, MD #8 Navy 16–15 57 1982 College Park, MD #7 Maryland 12–10 58 1983 Annapolis, MD #15 Navy 10–9 59 1984 College Park, MD #12 Maryland 7–4 60 1985 Annapolis, MD #13 Navy 7–5 61 1986 College Park, MD #2 Maryland 11–8 62 1987 Annapolis, MD #1 Maryland 17–5 63 1988 College Park, MD #14 Navy 8–7^OT 64 1989 Annapolis, MD #4 Maryland 6–5 No. Date Location Winner Score 65 1990 College Park, MD #12 Maryland 18–6 66 1991 Annapolis, MD #7 Maryland 10–6 67 1992 College Park, MD #13 Navy 11–3 68 1993 Annapolis, MD #13 Maryland 11–10 69 1994 College Park, MD #8 Maryland 11–4 70 1995 Annapolis, MD #3 Maryland 19–11 71 1996 College Park, MD #2 Maryland 11–10 72 1997 Annapolis, MD #4 Maryland 10–5 73 1998 College Park, MD #1 Maryland 21–7 74 1999 Annapolis, MD #7 Maryland 6–5 75 2000 College Park, MD #7 Maryland 6–5 76 2001 Annapolis, MD #6 Maryland 6–5 77 2002 College Park, MD #6 Maryland 6–5 78 2003 Annapolis, MD #4 Maryland 9–7 79 2004 College Park, MD #4 Navy 9–6 80 2005 Annapolis, MD #8 Navy 9–8 81 2006 College Park, MD #11 Navy 7–6 82 2007 Annapolis, MD #11 Maryland 8–7^2OT 83 2008 College Park, MD #9 Navy 5–4 84 2009 Annapolis, MD #17 Navy 10–4 85 2010 College Park, MD #4 Maryland 11–9 86 2011 Annapolis, MD #7 Maryland 10–4 87 2012 College Park, MD #12 Maryland 13–6 88 2013 Annapolis, MD #1 Maryland 11–8 89 2014 College Park, MD #8 Maryland 12–6 90 2015 Annapolis, MD #8 Maryland 8–1 91 2016 College Park, MD #5 Maryland 10–5 92 2017 Annapolis, MD #2 Maryland 15–12 93 2018 College Park, MD #1 Maryland 10–4 94 2019 Annapolis, MD #3 Maryland 14–9 Series: Maryland leads 60–33–1 Source:[25]

References

1. "Men's Lacrosse Looks to Rebound at Navy". University of Maryland Athletics. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
2. Wagner, Bill. "Will Air Force-Navy lacrosse rivalry continue?". capitalgazette.com. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
3. Wagner, Bill. "Maryland manhandles Navy in traditional rivalry that is now in peril". Carroll County Times. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
4. Wagner, Bill. "Sports Comment: Navy, Terps need to stick with rivalry". capitalgazette.com. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
5. "#12 Maryland Terrapins Men's Lacrosse to Play Navy in College Park Friday Night". cnsmaryland.org. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
6. "Record Book (PDF)" (PDF). University of Maryland Athletics. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
7. Naval Academy, United States (1980). Annapolis: Catalog 1980-1981. Annapolis: USNA. p. 146.
8. Flynn, Tom (2016). Men's Lacrosse in Maryland: The Pride of the Old Line State. Arcadia Publishing.
9. "2019 Men's Lacrosse Media Guide (PDF)". Naval Academy Athletics. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
10. "Maryland's 1975 NCAA Championship Men's Lacrosse Team To be Honored This Weekend". University of Maryland Athletics. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
11. "Lacrosse In The 1970's: Maryland Men's Lacrosse Defeated Navy 20-13 To Win 1975 NCAA National Lacrosse Championship (Sports Illustrated June 9, 1975)". LAXBUZZ. 2010-12-05. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
12. Attner, Paul (April 23, 1977). "Terps, Navy Lacrosse Foes". The Washington Post.
13. "College Roundup: Maryland to honor 1975 lacrosse title team". capitalgazette.com. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
14. DeNunzio, Jon (April 9, 1995). "CHOMO, MARYLAND ROUT NAVY". The Washington Post.
15. Hensley, Jamison. "Listless Terps barely edge Navy No. 2 Maryland glad to survive 11-10 scare". baltimoresun.com. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
16. "Local Rivalry Heats Up As No. 7 Terps Meet No. 11 Navy". University of Maryland Athletics. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
17. "#6 Terps Sunk By #8 Navy On Go-Ahead Goal With 14 Seconds Left". University of Maryland Athletics. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
18. "Preview: Terps Lax Renews Rivalry with Navy Today". 247sports. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
19. Suggs, David. "Maryland men's lacrosse's Saturday game postponed due to Navy's Norovirus outbreak - The Diamondback". www.dbknews.com. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
20. Stubbs, Roman (April 19, 2016). "Maryland uses a balanced attack to beat Navy, earn ninth straight win".
21. "No. 3 Maryland Gets a Big Day from Shockey, Beats Navy 14-9". insidelacrosse.com. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
22. Simberg, Brandon (2020-02-21). "No. 4 Maryland men's lacrosse vs Navy game postponed". Testudo Times. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
23. Blinn, Michael (2020-02-21). "Navy, Maryland postpone lacrosse game over Norovirus breakout". New York Post. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
24. Wagner, Bill. "Navy-Maryland men's lacrosse may not be played this season". capitalgazette.com. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
25. "Maryland Men's Lacrosse Record Book" (PDF). Retrieved 19 March 2019.