The Maryland men’s lacrosse team led No. 8 Yale, 12-11, with four minutes and 19 seconds remaining Saturday afternoon before inclement weather postponed the final moments.
After a nearby lightning strike, officials delayed the game for 34 minutes, forcing both squads to return to their locker rooms. When the teams came back to the field, Yale struck the post with a shot but failed to score.
With 37 ticks left, a second delay stalled action for about an hour and a half. And again, No. 1 Maryland stifled Yale following the restart, holding on for a 12-11 win.
“That was one of the stranger games I’ve ever been a part of,” Tillman said. “We knew the weather could be a factor, and it was one of the few times the weather guys were right.”
In the locker room during the two delays, attackman Colin Heacock said the team tried not to let the unusual stoppage deter its rhythm.
“We just tried to stay loose and keep moving around,” Heacock said. “It’s tough … but everyone was engaged, so that was a good thing.”
Heacock led Maryland with five points, recording three goals and two assists. Attackman Matt Rambo, meanwhile, registered two scores and one dish.
Midfielder Jared Bernhardt, who entered the contest with five goals, added two more to continue his impressive freshman campaign.
For the first time this season, Maryland didn’t score the opening goal. After losing the initial faceoff, the defense allowed midfielder Eric Scott to score from far out on the right side.
The Terps’ offense roared back and held a 5-2 advantage after the first frame. As the horn sounded to end the period, coach John Tillman leapt onto the field and delivered a dramatic fist pump in satisfaction. Multiple players on the sideline had similar reactions.
After defender Tim Muller scored his first career goal, Maryland used its eighth man-up conversion of the season – and fourth by Bernhardt – to take a 2-1 advantage. Then, Rambo scored twice in less than two minutes to extend the Terps’ lead.
Muller joked when he runs down the field to join the offense, he expects to be rewarded with a pass, so he praised midfielder Connor Kelly for finding him on his score.
About four minutes before intermission, Heacock completed his first-half hat trick with an acrobatic leaping shot through two Yale defenders. With 21 seconds remaining, Bernhardt found the back of the net to put Maryland up, 8-4, entering the break.
The Terps, who have dominated third quarters this year, pounced for two third-frame goals in eight seconds to pull away from the Bulldogs. After long pole Nick Brozowski converted an overhead shot, prompting defensive midfielder Isaiah Davis-Allen to meet him mid-air for a chest bump, faceoff specialist Austin Henningsen won the ensuing draw and scored.
Yale closed the deficit to three later in the period, but Henningsen responded with his second goal of the contest.
Still, the Bulldogs (1-1) pushed forward. They scored with seven seconds left in the third quarter to make it 12-10, and closed to within one with a fourth-quarter strike.
Their comeback fell short, however, as the Terps (4-0) withstood the two weather delays and blanked Yale for the final nine minutes to earn a victory over one of three teams that defeated them last year.
Tillman was unhappy his team allowed Yale to make the game tight.
“We’ve got to handle the lead a little bit better,” Tillman said. “But it’s early in the season and for us it’s about trying to find ways to improve. If you can win, it’s a bonus.”
So, while Maryland left room for improvement in the win, the coach was satisfied with the effort.
“I give our guys a lot of credit,” Tillman said. “We didn’t play our best game or our cleanest game, and we had to handle some adversity.”
