Preseason first team All-American defender Michael Ehrhardt has yet to start a game for the Terrapins men’s lacrosse team this season.

But that doesn’t mean he’s had any less of an impact than last year, when he started all 14 games for coach John Tillman.

For the first time in his college career, Ehrhardt is coming off the bench as the Terps’ long pole, a role former Terp Jesse Bernhardt filled in 2013. The transition to a new position has been relatively easy for Ehrhardt, though, with guidance from Bernhardt, who joined Tillman’s staff as a volunteer assistant coach for the 2014 campaign after graduating.

“I think one of the things Michael was excited about was when Jesse came back; he could just study film with him, talk to him, learn the position better because this is his first year,” Tillman said. “And Jesse has been tremendous.”

Bernhardt earned two All-American honors during his impressive four-year career in College Park, leading the Terps to consecutive appearances in the NCAA national championship game in 2011 and 2012. The Chesapeake Bayhawks drafted the long pole with the No. 4 pick in 2013 Major League Lacrosse Collegiate Draft.

Bernhardt won the MLL championship as a starting close defender for the Bayhawks and secured a spot on the U.S. Men’s National Team, which will have a shot at winning a world title in Denver in July.

“I can’t believe there are too many better defensemen in the world right now than Jesse Bernhardt,” Tillman said.

Ehrhardt’s seamless shift to long pole midfielder was made clear in Saturday’s 14-3 victory over UMBC. Tillman gave Ehrhardt the task of shutting down Retrievers midfielder Pat Young, who won the America East Conference’s Rookie of the Year award last season after scoring 32 goals and notching seven assists in 15 games.

On Saturday, Ehrhardt held Young to one goal and an assist.

“Just being a really veteran guy, an older guy, athletic and long, [Michael] matched up pretty well,” Tillman said.

RECORD DAY

In Saturday’s win over UMBC, the Terps accomplished two things the program hasn’t done in five seasons.

First, the Terps blanked the Retrievers in the first half, the first time they have shut out an opponent in a half since April 4, 2008, against Navy. The Terps didn’t give up a goal to the Midshipmen in the second half, but still lost the game by one goal.

Second, attackman Matt Rambo scored three goals for his second hat trick in as many games. The freshman scored four goals and added two assists in his debut against Mount St. Mary’s Feb. 8, becoming the first freshman since Grant Catalino in 2008 to register hat tricks in his first two games.

At Syracuse on Saturday, Rambo could become the first Terp to record three straight hat tricks since Travis Reed in 2008.

“The best thing about Matt is just that he’s a humble guy,” Tillman said. “Anything he does doesn’t really surprise me, but what’s great about it is it’s never about him. It’s really cool.”

Before he put away his first goal against the Retrievers, Rambo had perhaps his easiest goal-scoring chance of the season. Midfielder Mike Chanenchuk found the freshman unmarked on the crease, but Rambo wasn’t ready for the pass and put his shot wide of the cage.

That miss was all the fire he needed. Twenty-eight seconds later, Rambo got the ball back behind the net, dodged to his right hand and snuck a soft bounce shot past goalkeeper Connor Gordon.

“I was pissed that I should have had that wide-open one,” Rambo said. “I had to do something.”