With the graduation of 18 seniors and the arrival of a new head coach, it's taken time for the Admirals to grow and develop.

To a man, players and coaches say they have seen this team coming together the past week.

That was evident yesterday as Severn turned in its most complete effort of the season and upset the fifth-ranked team in the Baltimore-metro area.

Senior midfielder Jack Rosson fired in five goals while sophomore goalkeeper Brian Phipps stopped 14 shots to lead Severn to a thrilling 12-11 victory over Calvert Hall.

"We've gone through some growing pains, but we're starting to mesh together and develop some chemistry," Rosson said. "This is a huge win for the program. It shows that all our work in practice has paid off."

Senior midfielder Will Brassel and junior attackman Zach Dunigan both had two goals and an assist for the Admirals, who handed first-year head coach John Tucker his biggest win thus far.

Afterward, Tucker was too exhausted to speak. He spent all of Monday in the hospital with an undisclosed illness and the emotion of the close game had sapped what little energy he'd been able to muster.

"This win means a ton for this team. It proves we are capable of beating a quality opponent," said assistant coach Steve Mann, who handled the postgame interview.

"These kids have been giving us a great effort every day. We've seen solid play in spurts, but this is the first time we've gotten it for a full game. I think it's a case of the kids finally believing in themselves."

Midfielders Drew Turner and Nick Elsmo both had a goal and an assist for Severn, which has won two straight in the MIAA A Conference following an 0-3 start.

"We looked at this game as do or die. This win gives us a lot more life, we're back in the race," Rosson said. "If we can beat Calvert Hall, we can beat anybody. "

Rosson scored three of his five goals in the first quarter to get the Admirals off to a strong start.

Star attackman Kevin Huntley, who has signed with Johns Hopkins, scored off an amazing shot just before the horn sounded to give Calvert Hall a 7-6 halftime lead.

Rosson scored his final two goals in the fourth quarter to tie the game at 10-10 and 11-11. Brassel then netted the game-winner with 4:05 remaining - burying an 8-yard shot from out front off a feed from Dunigan.

Phipps came up big down the stretch, stuffing a quality shot by Kevin Buchanan with 47 seconds remaining and also turning away Huntley (four goals) on an isolation attempt.

Calvert Hall (8-2) 3 4 3 1 _11 Severn (6-4) 3 3 3 3 _12GOALS: CH - Huntley 4, Buschman 3, Reynolds, Baldwin, Jungers, P. Blevins. SE - Rosson 5, Brassel 2, Dunigan 2, Turner, Jones, Elsmo. ASSISTS: CH - Buchanan 3, Reinhardt, P. Blevins. SE - Moran 3, Elsmo, Crumrine, Brassel, Turner, Dunigan. SHOTS: CH - 38. SE - 26. SAVES: CH - J. Blevins 7. SE - Phipps 14. FACEOFFS: CH - 18. SE - 6. GROUND BALLS: CH - 40. SE - 23.