Dingman's Late Goal Leads Navy Past U-Md.

In the week leading up to last night's game against No. 4 Maryland, the Navy men's lacrosse team emphasized the importance of capitalizing on extra-man opportunities. The Midshipmen scored on only 1 of 5 such chances in the second quarter of their loss to Georgetown on April 1, and they couldn't afford such a letdown against the Terps.

That focus produced three extra-man goals by the Midshipmen in the second quarter last night and provided No. 11 Navy with a cushion big enough to withstand an intense second-half comeback by Maryland.

And when junior attackman Ian Dingman scored with eight seconds left in a tie game, Navy posted a stirring 7-6 victory in front of 3,512 on a raw, cold night at Byrd Stadium.

"They're so good on extra-man that if you don't counter what they do, you're going to lose," Navy Coach Richie Meade said.

The suspenseful finish was similar to Navy's 9-8 victory over Maryland last season, in which the Midshipmen scored the winning goal with 14 seconds remaining. Six of the teams' last eight meetings have been decided by one goal. The Midshipmen now have a three-game winning streak over the Terps for the first time since 1969-1971.

"It's what we need," Navy senior attackman Jon Birsner said. "It's a crucial time in April."

The Midshipmen (8-2) led 2-1 after the first quarter, during which Maryland Coach Dave Cottle replaced starting goalkeeper Harry Alford with sophomore Jason Carter. Carter's effectiveness was limited by the Terps' penalties in the second quarter, and Navy took a 5-1 halftime lead with two extra-man goals by Dingman and one by junior Tommy Wallin.

Maryland (6-3) quickly got back into the game in the second half. Terps senior attackman Xander Ritz scored an extra-man goal just 23 seconds into the third quarter. Senior midfielder Bill McGlone scored after a superb individual effort less than 30 seconds later to make the score 5-3.

After Navy's Terence Higgins extended the lead to 6-3 with 5 minutes 48 seconds to play in the third, Maryland resumed its comeback with three unanswered goals.

Terps senior attackman Joe Walters tied the game with 3:22 remaining with his second goal of the game. He received a pass from Brendan Healy behind the cage, sprinted out in front of the crease, leapt and fired a high shot past Navy goalie Matt Russell. He celebrated both goals with a salute to the Navy fans.

Dingman made up for an uneven performance (three goals, five turnovers) by winning it for Navy in the final seconds. He took a pass from Birsner, spun away from a defender and from five yards out fired a shot that flew past Carter.

"Coach prepares us all the time for dealing with adversity, and that was an adverse time," Dingman said. "Maryland was coming back and they were gaining momentum. We just had to keep our composure."

The extra-man goals in the second quarter were important. Navy trailed Georgetown 2-1 when it had five extra-man chances, yet did not convert four of them. The Hoyas went on to win, 9-5.

Last night's game was postponed from Friday night because of lightning.

· VIRGINIA 21, NORTH CAROLINA 13 : Freshman Garrett Billings had five goals as the top-ranked Cavaliers (11-0, 2-0 ACC) continued the best start in school history before 2,336 at Fetzer Field.

For the second straight week, Virginia had five goals by the middle of the first quarter. The 21 goals were the most the Cavaliers have scored against the host Tar Heels (2-9, 0-3).

· GEORGETOWN 10, FAIRFIELD 5: Junior Trevor Casey had three goals and sophomore Brendan Cannon added two goals and three assists as the visiting Hoyas (8-1, 3-0 ECAC) won their eighth straight. The Stags (4-5, 2-2) were outshot 48-23.