Colgate made that so by scoring seven consecutive goals, erasing an early 3-0 Navy lead, and rolling to a 12-9 victory in a Patriot League semifinal before 500 fans at Michie Stadium.

A third consecutive loss drops No. 14 Navy to 9-5 and possibly out of NCAA tournament contention. The Midshipmen had won the past four Patriot League playoff titles.

“The way the NCAA is this year, there is so much parity,’’ Mirabito said. “You don’t know. There are so many teams on that bubble. The only definite way in was (by winning) this tournament. Losing in the first round … there’s not much we can do with it now.’’

Navy’s vaunted defense has taken a major hit the past three weekends, surrendering 33 goals in losses to Army (9-6), Johns Hopkins (12-5) and a resurgent Colgate squad, which has won five in a row. The Midshipmen were allowing 4.91 goals per game prior to that stretch.

Brandon Corp had five goals and an assist, Matt Lalli posted two goals and three assists, Kevin Colleluori tallied twice and Ian Murphy had a goal to lift Colgate.

“We’ve competed against those guys for four years and that’s the best I’ve seen Colgate play,’’ said Navy coach Richie Meade. “They did a very good job offensively.’’

Corp, the Patriot League offensive player of the year and the league’s leading scorer, lived up to his billing. He scored four of Colgate’s seven goals during a 26-minute span which saw the game turn from a potential Navy rout into a dominating effort by the Raiders.

Navy posted an 8-3 win at Colgate on March 23. Lalli had two goals and Corp one in that contest.

“I don’t think (Navy) did anything differently (this time),’’ said Corp, who has 35 goals. “We improved. We played both sides of the ball and came together.’’
Navy shot out to a 3-0 lead on goals from Tim Paul (his 22nd), Joe Lennon
(See COLGATE, Page D6)
non (his 15th) and Sean Standen (his eighth) in the opening 3:48.

Lalli said his team maintained an even keel and relied on a patient, ball-control offense to seize momentum. Colleluori, Lalli and Corp scored by quarter’s end to tie the match. Lalli’s 16th goal was followed by three tallies from Corp for a 7-3 lead.

Mirabito scored seven seconds before halftime. Patrick Moran and Shane Durkin tallied in the third quarter to pull Navy within 7-6. The Midshipmen won the ensuing faceoff but lost possession when Basil Daratsos had the ball knocked away by E.J. Atamian. Colgate turned that into a score by Nick Monastero, the first of three consecutive goals by the Raiders.

“That was the critical part of the game,’’ Meade said. “That took a lot of wind out of our sails. … I really felt had we tied the game at 7-7, having come back that far, that would have changed the momentum.’’

Shane Durkin scored four goals in the second half for Navy. Matt Coughlin made eight saves in the setback. Tim Harrington had 13 saves for Colgate.
Navy beat Colgate, 15-9, in the 2007 Patriot League title game.

Sunday’s Patriot League final is a matchup hardly anyone expected as third-seeded Colgate takes on No. 4 Bucknell (10-4), an 8-7 winner over No. 1 Army in the first semifinal. The Bison scored the lone goal of the fourth quarter, a tally from Perry Menzies with 9:55 to play, and made it stand up for victory.

Adam Fullerton made 10 saves for Army (9-5), which is in the same boat as Navy when it comes to anxious waiting for an NCAA at-large berth. Bucknell backup netminder Matt Antonelli replaced Nick Sciubba, who was yanked in the fourth minute after giving up two goals on two shots, and made 11 stops for his first win of the season.

The NCAA selection show is next Sunday.

“It’s just a waiting game now,’’ said Navy senior Jordan DiNola, the league’s defensive player of the year. “Mentally, we have to keep our poise, and if we are lucky enough to get that berth, we have to be ready to play.’’