John Tillman hasn’t made any excuses for his Terrapins men’s lacrosse team this season.
Whether it was falling at UMBC in early March or going unseeded in the upcoming NCAA Tournament, the second-year coach has held his squad accountable. He has been candid about the Terps’ shortcomings while remaining positive about their chances to make a deep postseason run.
But when the subject turns to senior midfielder Jake Bernhardt – who hasn’t played a game since suffering a shoulder injury during a preseason scrimmage against Loyola (Md.) – even Tillman admits the Terps haven’t exactly been at full strength this year.
“I look and go like, ‘Man, right now, down the stretch, to have a fresh set of legs go in there, I’d be pumped,’ ” Tillman said last Tuesday, just a day before the team officially announced that Bernhardt is taking a medical hardship and will return to College Park next season. “It would be great because he’d help us in so many different ways.”
When healthy, Bernhardt can run on the team’s first midfield line, play defensive midfield and offer an alternative faceoff specialist to midfielder Curtis Holmes. The senior captain, a two-year starter with 32 goals and seven assists in his career, is also the team’s best option on the faceoff wing.
But as much as Bernhardt’s presence could have helped the Terps down the stretch this season, redshirting should ultimately prove the most sensible move for both parties. Tillman’s squad will now be able to use the Longwood, Fla., native in roughly 15 games, instead of just a handful at the end of this year.
Bernhardt will also have the opportunity to share his final season with his younger brother Jesse, a junior long pole who leads the Terps in groundballs (53) and caused turnovers (29).
“It’s unfortunate for him that this was his senior year and he kind of lost that with the guys that he came in with and stuff,” Jesse Bernhardt said. “But it’s nice to have him back [next year].”
Part of the reason for the delayed announcement was financial. With a limited number of scholarships available for next year’s roster, Tillman had to shuffle scholarship money to help make Jake Bernhardt’s return possible.
In the end, though, Tillman let Bernhardt make the decision to come back. He will take a fifth year and graduate with his brother next spring.
“We just got so far into the season, and I just didn’t want this to be my senior season and only play one or two games and then I move on,” Bernhardt said. “I want to have the whole season, and that was basically the main factor that played in the whole thing.”
Of course, Bernhardt isn’t ready to completely shift his focus to next season just yet. He’s participated at practice in recent weeks even though he’s still recovering from a Feb. 8 shoulder surgery, and he has done his best to contribute any way he knows how – traveling to all road games, motivating his teammates and advising the younger players.
“I’m happy for these guys and they’ve played awesome so far,” Bernhardt said. “But we all know we’ve still got a couple more games until Memorial Day.”
With a first-round game at No. 7 seed Lehigh on Sunday and a potential rematch with No. 2 seed Johns Hopkins the following weekend, the Terps’ road back to the national title game will be a difficult one – with or without their senior captain.
Still, Tillman understands that having a healthy Bernhardt on the field would likely make those matchups a little less daunting.
“We joked about it at the staff meeting today,” Tillman said. “We’re like, ‘Man, it’d be nice to have Jake inserted right now. Fresh and ready to roll.'”
letourneau@umdbk.com
