Both teams are playing on a short week on Friday, but the adrenaline will be flowing with an expected crowd approaching five figures. Here are some details I will be interested in observing from the press box at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium.

1) The Midshipmen's defense isn’t strikingly huge or fast, but the unit is one of the stingiest in the nation, surrendering an average of seven goals per game – which is tied for fourth-best in Division I. Senior Andy Tormey shut out Georgetown’s Ryan Shuler, freshman Matt Vernam limited Ricky Mirabito to just one goal, and short-stick defensive midfielders Geoff Leone and Bobby Lennon are considered two of the best at their position. "They have a tremendous system that they coach and the players understand," Terps coach Dave Cottle said. "We’ve got to do the things that make us successful. It just so happens that our opponent is Navy." But Navy coach Richie Meade said the objective is to keep the scoring to a minimum. "For us to win, it’s going to be 8-7, 9-7, 6-5," he said. "If it gets up to the 10s, 12s and 13s, they’ve got an awful lot of firepower, two very good goalies and a very good defense. I’m not sure that’s a game we’re going to win. But we’re going to look to run on them and they’re going to look to run on us, and a lot of it comes down to them handling the ball and us being able to slide at the right time and cover up the inside and get some turnovers, which we’ve been able to do."

2) Many people knew Tim Paul and Patrick Moran would power the Midshipmen's offense, but Brendan Connors has been a pleasant surprise. The junior attackman has already achieved career highs in goals (14), assists (six) and points (20) and turned in his first career hat trick against Georgetown last Saturday. But the Navy offense will meet a Maryland defense that likes to switch from zone defense to man-to-man and could start either Jason Carter or Brian Phipps in the net. "We need our attack to play well in order to compete against a team like Maryland," Meade said. "Our key is good shot selection and good shot placement."

3) Inside Lacrosse’s Christian Swezey pointed out teams that have been extended to multiple overtimes and lost don’t fare well the next week. In 2002, Navy lost to North Carolina in six overtimes and dropped the next game to Massachusetts. In 1988, Cornell lost to Massachusetts in five overtimes and was nipped by Yale in overtime the next week. But Cottle said he isn’t worried about a possible letdown. "Practice started at 2:30 on Monday, and the team was out 15 minutes early ready to start," he said. "They understand we’ve got a challenge in front of us. We’re playing a good team, a well-coached team. It’s going to be a battle, and they have done everything we’ve asked to focus in on Navy. They haven’t spent one minute on looking back at our last game."