Owen Blye

The story of Owen Blye’s second-half emergence Saturday against Johns Hopkins is the stuff of legend.

With the Terps down 6-3 in the early stages of the third quarter at Homewood Field, the junior attackman netted four goals in a 19-minute span to will his team to a 9-6 victory on lacrosse’s biggest stage. It was a star-making performance, one that will be long remembered in the storied rivalry.

And it almost never happened.

Tillman revealed yesterday that Blye had been nursing an undisclosed injury last week to the extent that it kept him sidelined for several of the Terps’ practices. It was uncertain whether Blye would even play against the No. 7 Blue Jays.

“We didn’t know if he’d play, and it just was a random thing,” Tillman said. “Like all of a sudden, he had a little issue and he was like, ‘Man, it’s pretty painful.’ So we said rest it, see how you feel.”

During warm-ups Saturday, just moments before the opening whistle blew on the Terps’ most important game of the year, Blye felt better. He told Tillman he was ready to compete.

The rest, as they say, is history.

“For him to go out and do what he did was pretty amazing,” Tillman said.

BERNHARDT BACK?

The Jake Bernhardt saga took an unexpected turn yesterday.

Just a week after indicating that Bernhardt likely wouldn’t return for the rest of the season, Tillman said before practice yesterday that the senior midfielder might play in tomorrow’s ACC Tournament semifinal against No. 5 Duke.

“I would say it’s going to be tough, but I’m not going to rule it out,” Tillman said. “We’ll see how it goes.”

Bernhardt had surgery Feb. 8 after suffering a left shoulder injury during a preseason scrimmage at Loyola (Md.) and has yet to appear in a regular-season game. With just four guaranteed games remaining, it seemed likely he would apply for a medical redshirt and regain a year of eligibility for next season.

But according to Tillman, Bernhardt has been shooting and running in practices this week and will accompany the team to Charlottesville, Va.

“I think he, as a senior leader and a captain, feels obligated if he can get back to try to help the team,” Tillman said after the Terps’ 13-6 rout of Navy on April 6.

If the Longwood, Fla., native does play against the Blue Devils, he could have an immediate impact. A two-year starter with 32 goals and seven assists in his career, Bernhardt is effective in a number of different areas. He can run on the team’s first midfield line, play defensive midfield and offer an alternative faceoff specialist to midfielder Curtis Holmes.

HONORED TERPS

The Terps had a league-high four players on this year’s All-ACC men’s lacrosse team, which was announced yesterday.

Senior attackman Joe Cummings and sophomore goalie Niko Amato made the team for the second straight season, while junior long pole Jesse Bernhardt and junior midfielder John Haus are first-time selections.

“I think to have a league-high four guys, you know, shows just how we’ve come along this year and how guys have really been putting in hard work to put themselves in position to receive such an honor,” Cummings said.

Cummings, who was All-ACC last season as a midfielder, is the first Terps player to make the team at two different positions in consecutive seasons since Mark Douglas made it as a midfielder and attackman in 1990 and 1991, respectively.

The conference’s individual awards – Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Coach of the Year – will be announced early next week after the conclusion of the ACC Tournament on Sunday.

letourneau@umdbk.com