Goalie

Yale goalie Eric Natale doesn't want his dream to become a nightmare. During most of his childhood days while playing for the Gamber recreation program in Westminster, he dreamed of playing in a NCAA Division I tournament game against one of the top teams in the country. He gets to live that out at 3 p.m. Saturday at Byrd Stadium when unseeded Yale (12-4) plays No. 1 Syracuse (14-3) in the NCAA Division I lacrosse quarterfinals. When it comes to offense, there are few teams that can match the Orange, which has five players with more than 30 points - midfielders JoJo Marasco (19, goals, 36 assists)

When the call came from Maryland coach Cathy Reese, Kasey Howard was sitting in senior English class at Broadneck High pretty well convinced her days as a lacrosse goalie were just about over. Howard, who led Anne Arundel County in save percentage her last two seasons at Broadneck, figured she wasn't meant to be a college athlete when things didn't work out with another Division I program. Instead, she would go to Maryland for the education. Then her cell phone rang with an opportunity Howard had never imagined.

Chesapeake Bayhawks rookie goalie Brian Phipps (Maryland), who made a career-best 21saves in Saturday night's 13-11 victory over the Rochester Rattlers, was named Defensive Player of the Week by Major League Lacrosse. "Phipps was incredible on Saturday, and his confidence in the cage has been unmatched this season," Bayhawks coach Brendan Kelly said. "His ability to stop Rochester's shots kept us ahead in the game the entire time and his performance was outstanding. "

Hardly anyone would second-guess Denver coach Bill Tierney if he elected to start Saturday's NCAA tournament semifinal against top-seeded Syracuse with junior goalkeeper Jamie Faus in the cage rather than opening with sophomore Ryan LaPlante as he has done in 17 of the team's 18 contests this season. After all, Faus was one of the primary reasons why the fourth-seeded Pioneers (14-4) are enjoying its second Final Four in the last three years. He made 11 saves and surrendered just five goals in more than 50 minutes of play after replacing LaPlante in the first quarter of an eventual 12-11 decision against fifth-seeded North Carolina last Sunday in the quarterfinal round.

For three years, Army could take some solace in knowing that the defense was anchored by goalkeeper Tom Palesky, who was instrumental in the team's upset of Syracuse in the first round of the NCAAtournament in 2010. With Palesky's graduation, the Black Knights are hoping that senior Zach Palmieri can fill the void. Coach Joe Alberici said Palmieri deserves the chance to begin the season as the starter. “He's waited his time, three years behind Tom Palesky and served as a very valuable backup,” Alberici said Wednesday.

At the end of last season, it appeared that then-junior Brian McCullough, who made of 11 of 13 starts, was poised to be UMBC's featured goalkeeper. But someone forgot to tell junior Adam Cohen, who impressed the coaches enough in fall workouts to overtake McCullough as the starter. And Cohen has validated their faith in him by registering career bests in both goals-against average (8.50) and save percentage (.585) in two games this year. “It was a good feeling,” the Arnold native and Severn graduate said Tuesday afternoon.

Chris Sanderson , who played goaltender for the former Baltimore Bayhawks of Major League Lacrosse, died Thursday morning after a 3 1/2-year battle with brain cancer, the Philadelphia Wings of the National Lacrosse League announced. He was 38. Sanderson, a Virginia alumnus who also played for the NLL's Baltimore Thunder and New Jersey Storm, was diagnosed with the grade IV malignant tumor glioblastoma multiforme in December 2008. The Orangeville, Ontario, native was a Wings assistant from 2005 to 2011 and was selected as the All-World goalie at the 1998 world championships in Baltimore.

Each week, The Baltimore Sun will publish a Q&A with an area college lacrosse player to get you more acquainted with the player and his/her team. Today's guest is Mount St. Mary's senior goalie Brigid McTavish , whose grandfather was a Mountaineers basketball legend. Jack Sullivan, who passed away in 2010, set the men's career scoring record of 2,672 points that still stands along with 10 of his other records. McTavish, 22, is a South Carroll graduate in her fourth season in the cage for the Mountaineers, who made it to the Northeast Conference title game last season.

Considering there is a goal scored maybe once in every six or seven soccer games, there is nothing more embarrassing than an awful blunder from a goalkeeper. The latest goalie goof to go viral is from Sammy Bossut, who plays for Zulte-Waregem of the Belgian Pro League, and it's a good one. After grabbing a corner kick out of the air, Bossut tried to toss the ball downfield, but somehow managed to throw it backwards and right to an opponent, who casually deposited it in the goal.

No. 17 Loyola appeared to have found a successor to goalkeeper Jake Hagelin in junior Michael Bonitatibus, who started the team's first three contests. But since taking over after halftime of Saturday's 11-8 victory over Bellarmine, sophomore Jack Runkel has played the last six quarters in the cage. Greyhounds coach Charley Toomey said he isn't sure which goalie will start when No. 8 Duke visits Ridley Athletic Complex Saturday. “It's a situation where we're just asking them to compete on a daily basis,” Toomey said Thursday afternoon.

Yale goalie Eric Natale doesn't want his dream to become a nightmare. During most of his childhood days while playing for the Gamber recreation program in Westminster, he dreamed of playing in a NCAA Division I tournament game against one of the top teams in the country. He gets to live that out at 3 p.m. Saturday at Byrd Stadium when unseeded Yale (12-4) plays No. 1 Syracuse (14-3) in the NCAA Division I lacrosse quarterfinals. When it comes to offense, there are few teams that can match the Orange, which has five players with more than 30 points - midfielders JoJo Marasco (19, goals, 36 assists)

McDonogh senior goalie Nick Doyle was playing in his final lacrosse game at home Tuesday against rival Gilman with the winner receiving a prized first-round bye in the upcoming Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association A Conference playoffs. It was pouring for much of the game and his area in front of the cage was mostly mud. Doyle showed it was nothing he couldn't handle. He finished with 14 saves, blanked the visitors for a pivotal 20-minute stretch that included the entire third quarter and helped lead No. 2 McDonogh to a 10-6 over the No. 3 Greyhounds in the regular season finale for both teams.

Goalkeeper Dimitri Pecunes started in Stevenson's 26-5 shellacking of Lycoming last Saturday, but played just the first quarter and did not record the win. The Baltimore native and Calvert Hall graduate is expected to play much longer in the team's home contest against Lebanon Valley in Wednesday night's semifinal of the Middle Atlantic Conference tournament. Coach Paul Cantabene said the sprained AC joint in Pecunes' shoulder that sidelined the freshman for three games is no longer an issue.

Severna Park and Broadneck have developed one of the area's top girls lacrosse rivalries. Close games have been the norm between the Anne Arundel County powers, including last year's one-goal Severna Park victory. But on Friday, it was Broadneck that won. Sparked by a five-goal run, the host Bruins turned a three-goal second-half deficit into a 9-8 victory over the defending Class 4A-3A state champions. Senior midfielder Ellie McNulty's four-goal effort led the Bruins (8-2, 6-1)

No. 4 Stevenson has won two consecutive games without Dimitri Pecunes, but the freshman goalkeeper could return for Saturday's road contest at Middle Atlantic Conference rival Widener. Coach Paul Cantabene said the sprained AC joint in Pecunes' shoulder that he sustained in the first quarter of the Mustangs' eventual 14-13 overtime loss to No. 13 Roanoke on April 9 is improving. He is expected to test his shoulder in practice Thursday afternoon, and Cantabene said he is “optimistic” that Pecunes could play against the Pride.

ESPN analyst Quint Kessenich participated in a Q&A on Monday . The former Johns Hopkins All-American goalkeeper, who can be followed on Twitter via @QKessenich, also addressed a few questions about No. 6 Maryland, No. 8 Loyola, No. 13 Johns Hopkins, Towson and UMBC: How concerned should Maryland be with an offense that has averaged just 8.0 goals in its last four contests? They've been coasting. Only eight against Carolina, nine against Virginia, 11 against Navy and then only four against Johns Hopkins.

William Lane and John Martin shared Hood's goaltending duties last year with Lane starting in nine games and Martin starting the other seven. The anticipated competition to start in 2012 between the pair of juniors never materialized, however, as Martin, who registered a 10.01 goals-against average and a .581 save percentage, was ruled academically ineligible for the season. That opens the door for Lane to open the season as the undisputed starter - although that doesn't necessarily fit with coach Jeremy Mattoon's preference.

New York Rangers goalie Mike Richter is set to return after missing more than six weeks with a strained right groin.Glenn Healy started all 15 games in his absence and went 8-3-4. Richter might start tonight when New York can tie a franchise home unbeaten streak record of 24 games.

The Mount St. Mary's carousel at goalkeeper has spun back to Adam Borgogelli. The sophomore is expected to start Sunday's Northeast Conference game at Robert Morris, coach Tom Gravante announced Friday. Freshman Frankie McCarthy had started the last two contests, but he was pulled after surrendering seven goals and making just one save in 10 minutes, 34 seconds of play in the team's 12-8 loss to Quinnipiac last Saturday. Borgogelli  - who has made nine starts this season - replaced McCarthy and allowed five goals while making nine stops in the last 49:26.

Denver midfielder Jeremy Noble , a preseason first-team All-American as a junior, won't play against Loyola in Saturday's pivotal Eastern College Athletic Conference matchup, a team spokesperson said Wednesday. He has been held out since the Pioneers' loss to Notre Dame at the Whitman's Sampler Mile High Classic on March 16 with an undisclosed injury. On the year, Noble has nine goals, six assists and 18 ground balls in six games. Denver freshman attackman Gordie Koerber (Gilman)