New London — A year ago, a four-goal hole against MIT would have swallowed them up.

No way could the Coast Guard Academy men's lacrosse team dug its way out.

"Last year, I would have tried to kill the bleeding," coach Ray LaForte said.

But this is a different and vastly improved team.

The Bears roared back to tie the New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference opener before the Engineers seized the lead for good with just under four minutes left and held on for an 8-7 victory at Cadet Memorial Field.

With the influx of a talented and a deep freshmen class, Coast Guard has taken a giant step forward and already surpassed last year's overall victory total with a 5-3 overall mark.

In just year two in Division III, LaForte has the Bears playing at a high level despite a roster that has only seven upperclassmen.

There's a visible difference in their all-around play, especially at defensive midfield, a weak spot last season.

"We've had an enormous bump in talent," LaForte said. "We're playing lacrosse. We're ahead of where I thought we'd be. I thought an 8-7 loss to MIT might have taken four years and we're in the second year.

"... I'm ecstatic where we are."

The Bears weren't competitive in last year's meeting, dropping a 14-6 decision.

Saturday's game appeared headed in the same dismal direction when MIT jumped out to a 5-1 lead about midway through the second quarter.

Coast Guard regrouped and began to control possession. They scored four straight goals, with senior Louis DePaolis burying a hard shot from close range to tie the score at 5-apiece with 5:13 left in the third quarter.

"We were a little nervous at first," DePaolis said, "because this is a big game for us. Last year, playing them didn't go too well. After we started to calm down and settled the ball on offense, that's what really got us back into it.

"We realized that we can run our offense against them and can get goals on them."

Perhaps with more seasoning and development, the Bears will eventually finish off a comeback against a quality opponent.

MIT (7-2) responded. Sophomore Graham Davis capped a nifty passing sequence by flicking in a shot from the doorstep for a 7-6 edge with 3:55 remaining. Senior Paul Orrson's strike sealed the win at the 1:10 mark.

The resilient Bears answered, as senior Justin Huemme scored his second goal to cut the gap to 8-7 with 26 seconds left. After freshman Colin Cashin won the face-off, they failed to get a shot off in their final possession.

Freshman goalie Trey Johnson, the league leader in goals against average at 6.46, made several impressive saves (15 overall) and freshman Ian Logan added a goal and two assists.

It can be a tricky situation giving freshmen pivotal roles and asking veterans to make adjustments, even more so at a military academy. But that hasn't been an issue.

"At Coast Guard Academy, to meld seniors and freshmen is awkward," LaForte said. "But these six seniors have fully melded these 16 freshmen. There is a brotherhood that has occurred here in a quick year that is really precious."

The loss ended a four-game winning streak, but didn't discourage the Bears.

"We're a lot more confident than last year," DePaolis said. "We have a lot more talent and everyone is putting in a lot more effort and we're a lot more focused. So naturally we expect to get more out of that. ... We've definitely made a lot of progress."

g.keefe@theday.com