The Maryland men’s lacrosse team opened its season with a 15-12 victory over Navy, but coach John Tillman said he was unhappy with the performance of faceoff specialist Austin Henningsen, who went just 7-for-22 on faceoff draws in the contest.

Tillman worried a similar lack of success in the X from the preseason honorable mention All-American might cost the Terps when they visited Saint Joseph’s on Tuesday afternoon.

Instead, Henningsen rebounded from a disappointing first game to dominate the faceoff circle, helping No. 2 Maryland defeat Saint Joseph’s, 16-8.

“Austin Henningsen was really good at the face-off X today,” Tillman said. “That was a great response by him. All the faceoff guys in the last couple of days were disappointed, and they responded really well.”

Henningsen started the game 5-for-5 on draws, and the Terps (2-0) recorded a 68 percent winning percentage in the X for the game.

Attackman Matt Rambo, coming off a three-goal, three-assist performance at Navy, led the way against Saint Joseph’s (0-1) with three goals and four assists. Attackman Colin Heacock added three scores, and freshman midfielder Jared Bernhardt, who recorded his first-ever goal Saturday, also had three finishes. Overall, 10 Terps scored.

“I’m really pleased with a lot of the different scoring,” Tillman said. “We had a few folks with three goals … but there were a lot of other guys who contributed. That helped.”

On defense, the Terps stifled the Hawks in the second half, allowing just two goals in the final two periods.

But much like in Maryland’s game against Navy, when both teams scored within the first minute, Tillman’s squad traded early goals with Saint Joseph’s. Bernhardt put the Terps on the board after 36 seconds, but the Hawks tied the score less than a minute later.

After Heacock and attackman Dylan Maltz netted goals to take a 3-1 advantage, Saint Joseph’s made a big play to keep the game close.

Hawks defender Connor Kubikowski leveled midfielder Adam DiMillo in the center of the field, forcing DiMillo to drop the ball and drawing a loud cheer from the home fans. Kubikowski picked up the ground ball and fed attackman Chris Blewitt, who scored to trim the Terps’ lead to one.

But Maryland’s attack continued to produce, even as Saint Joseph’s racked up six first-half goals. Two Rambo strikes within a minute put the Terps,up 9-6, and a DiMillo’s shot to the right side of the net with 10 seconds remaining in the second quarter gave the team a four-goal cushion entering intermission.

The Terps’ advantage widened at the start of the third frame. Goals by midfielder Connor Kelly, Rambo and Bernhardt put Maryland in control.

Meanwhile, goalkeeper Dan Morris, who started for just the second time in his career, held Saint Joseph’s scoreless for 22 straight minutes between the waning minutes of the second quarter and the third period. He saved seven shots.

Tillman said he was “excited” with the way the Terps made defensive strides in the second half against the Hawks after allowing 15 scores to Navy on Saturday.

“The things we didn’t do quite as well on Saturday, we did better [today],” Tillman said. “At this time of year you’re trying to win, but you’re also trying to improve.”

The Hawks notched consecutive goals early in the fourth frame to inch to within five, but a man-down situation cost them with 12 minutes and seven seconds remaining. Bernhardt fed Heacock, who was stationed wide-open in front of the net, and Heacock beat goalkeeper T.J. Jones.

After the score, Heacock met Bernhardt behind the net for a chest bump.

“To be able to play an away game at Navy and then have a quick turnaround to come up here and beat a team that we think is really good,” Tillman said, “we’re obviously pleased with that.”