The Terrapins men’s lacrosse team had a quick turnaround after its loss to No. 1 Notre Dame on Saturday — a walk-through Sunday, a cross-country flight to Philadelphia on Monday and a game against Drexel on Tuesday.
But despite their hectic schedule, tumble in the rankings and below-.500 record, the team’s veterans made their message clear: Stay poised. Stay relaxed. It’s going to come.
The Terps entered their clash with the Dragons averaging 4.5 goals per game in their past two outings. The Terps couldn’t solve the stiff opposing defenses.
But their patience paid off. Four Terps contributed at least two goals as the No. 11 Terps surpassed double-digit scoring for the first time since Feb. 20, downing Drexel, 12-8, on Tuesday at Vidas Field.
“All in all, I believe in this group,” coach John Tillman said. “We have the potential, but we really have not been in sync, and we’re just going to have to keep working and playing our way into it.”
While the seniors preached calmness, Tillman focused on a number: 10 goals. Entering their clash with the Dragons (1-4), the Terps (2-2) were 51-4 when scoring at least 10 times since he took the reins in College Park prior to the 2011 season.
Tillman referenced that on a conference call Monday when referring to his team’s scoring struggles against the nation’s top two defenses in the past two weeks.
He wanted the Terps to make it 52-4. And they did.
Midfielder Colin Heacock, who started his second consecutive game at attackman, powered that production with four goals. The junior turned it on after the break, scoring all four after halftime, with three in the final 15 minutes.
Attackman Matt Rambo, who grew up about a half-hour outside of Philadelphia, added three scores, while attackman Tim Rotanz and midfielder Pat Young contributed two goals apiece.
The latter three Terps helped the team build a 4-2 lead after the opening frame, only to watch that gap dwindle. The Terps couldn’t generate a goal for the final 19 minutes, 53 seconds before halftime, leaving the field with a one-goal advantage for intermission.
The Dragons then tied the game 5-5 midway through the third quarter. With one second left on a Terps penalty, Drexel attackman Robert Frazee netted one of his four goals on the day — only the second man-down score the Terps, ranked second nationally in shorthanded efficiency entering the game, have surrendered in 2016.
But the Terps roared back, finishing with four scores in each of the last two periods to outlast the Dragons, who had allowed an average of 14.25 goals per game in their first four outings.
Faceoff specialist Austin Henningsen went 12-for-22 in the faceoff X, including 6-for-9 in the first half. In watching film, Tillman noticed the Dragons had struggled at the X, but Drexel faceoff specialist Nabil Akl secured 12 possessions, too.
“Faceoffs were great in the first half,” Tillman said. “In the second half, we didn’t do quite as good a job.”
But Henningsen got help from his wing players. Midfielder Isaiah Davis-Allen finished with five ground balls, while defender Greg Danseglio fielded three.
The possessions helped Heacock notch a hat trick in less than an eight-minute stretch to close the game. The offensive patience paid off as the veterans sealed the win.
“Our offense is starting to click there toward the end,” Heacock said. “It was just something [we’d] been working on.”
