Goalkeeper Danny Dolan’s save at the end of regulation and midfielder Roman Puglise’s game-winning goal in overtime papered over some of the overwhelming flaws from Maryland men’s lacrosse’s tight victory over Penn on Feb. 16.

“If you look at the stats, there’s no way we should have won,” coach John Tillman said after the game. “We got our butt kicked on the ground [and] at the X.”

Despite a three-day turnaround from that narrow victory over the Quakers, No. 3 Maryland returned to its roots in its 11-6 win over No. 16 Colgate on Tuesday night.

Tillman-led teams take pride in being successful at the faceoff X, coming away with ground balls, employing a stout defense and having good rhythm on the offensive end.

Against the Quakers on Saturday, Maryland lost the ground ball battle 29-10. With two days to prepare for Colgate after a physical game against Penn, Tillman opted to rest his players rather than push further ground-ball drills. So when the Terps edged Colgate 35-22 in that category, the difference simply came down to pride.

“Terps, that’s just what we are,” defender Curtis Corley said. “We’re hard-nosed guys, we get our nose down in there and get those ground balls.”

[Read more: No. 3 Maryland men’s lacrosse beats No. 16 Colgate, 11-6, behind lethal first half]

Multiple ground ball opportunities presented themselves through faceoff specialist Austin Henningsen’s effort at the X. While Henningsen starts the faceoff sequence, it often comes down to midfielders to secure the loose ball as the sprint in off the wing.

The shortcomings in faceoffs against Penn were clear. On several occasions, the Quakers’ faceoff specialist Kyle Gallagher won draws cleanly and rushed into the attacking zone quickly. Following Maryland’s 6-for-27 day on faceoffs Saturday, Henningsen won 14 of his 20 chances against the Raiders on Tuesday.

“Not a great day at the faceoff X on Saturday,” Tillman said. “It’s always a team thing, but I know those guys are prideful and we had confidence those guys would come back.”

[Read more: After sealing Maryland lacrosse’s win over Penn, Roman Puglise paid tribute to his friend]

Those extra possessions coming from faceoffs on Tuesday helped Maryland jump out to a 4-0 lead in the first quarter, with the team scoring four times in under five minutes. The Terps carried that output into the second, when they scored five times to take a 9-3 lead into halftime.

Attackman Jared Bernhardt’s goal in the third quarter pushed Maryland’s lead to seven for the final period. With that advantage, the Terps resisted a late run from Colgate to draw the game within five.

Despite scoring just two goals in the second half, Maryland was encouraged by the looks they created and the patience exhibited to wind down the clock.

“Yeah, really encouraged [with the rhythm],” Bernhardt said. “Once we got settled down in the second half, it really kind of helped us out on the offense.”

Maryland’s defense limited the Raiders to six goals, eight fewer than their season average entering Tuesday’s game. They also didn’t allow Colgate to pepper the cage with a bevy of shots as it had in their previous matchups against Syracuse and Binghamton, in which the Raiders had 57 total shots on goal.

With all of those factors working together for Maryland, Tillman’s group got back to the brand that they strive for and improved to 4-0 on the season.

“Our guys really put their head down in there and kind of played a little bit more Terp lacrosse,” Corley said.