Man, Sean Morris has got some gall. He’s standing in a shadowy hallway in Boyden Gymnasium, hair soaked with sweat, talking to a small group of reporters about being patient.

“I just tried to be patient with the ball,” Morris says with a grin.

Seriously?

The kid hasn’t played in a competitive lacrosse game for almost two years, then he goes out and drops a hat trick in a 10-9 win over No. 9 Navy in his first collegiate match.

But wait, he’s patient.

Not anxious, not antsy, not restless, uneasy or edgy. Nope, Sean Morris was patient. He didn’t force anything. He waited for his hopeless defender to relax for the time it takes to blink, then he blew by him like the Roadrunner.

If he didn’t have an opening, he’d just patiently work the ball around to his teammates. But on three occasions he spied a gap, and all three times the ball crossed the goal line. And by the way, he did it with a sore hamstring.

That’s why his coach smiles when he talks about him and fans wonder where this kid came from and writers wonder how such a talent could come from Marshfield, Mass. Because in just one game, Morris made an impression that screamed “special.”

But like his teammates, Morris is just one part of the puzzle. And coach Greg Cannella needed every piece functioning well to take the conference opener from the Midshipmen.

“It’s always a war when we play these guys,” Morris said.

It’s especially tough when the nation’s leading scorer, Kevin Leveille, is held to zero points for only the third time in the last three years. But like Morris, Leveille didn’t force anything.

“That’s Kevin Leveille,” Cannella said. “He just knows what it means to play offense.”

Apparently it means only taking five shots because you’re being double teamed by two long poles almost every time you touch the ball. Instead of pressing, Leveille moved the ball around and helped his teammates get chances.

He didn’t have any assists, but his speed and decision-making in transition helped six different players score goals.

After Morris, midfielders Jeff Zywicki and Chris Fiore led the Minutemen with two goals apiece.

Fiore’s right wing laser off the post gave UMass an all-important 6-5 lead at the break. It served as the cap on a 4-0 run.

“It was huge,” Cannella said of the goal.

Zywicki was Johnny-on-the-spot for the game winner. With under three minutes to go and the score tied at nine, Zywicki scrapped for a rebound and deposited his second of the game for a 10-9 lead that held.

“Those count as good as the ones that you stick in the corner,” Cannella said.

Sophomore goalie Bill Schell was the story on the defensive end. He made 10 saves on the day, but what was most impressive was his comeback from a near fatal gaffe.

After making a remarkable save on an Ian Dingman quick stick, Schell cleared the ball off of Greg Conklin’s stick and into the net to bring Navy within one. The Mids scored again to tie the game but Schell made two crucial saves in the last two minutes to preserve the victory.

“I thought Billy played great in the second half,” Cannella said. “We expected that from him.”