The Maryland men’s lacrosse team knew it needed to slow down Navy’s 2016 second-leading scorer, attackman Jack Ray, to win its season-opener.

So, coach John Tillman asked freshman midfielder Russell Masci to impersonate the prolific scorer in practice. The job, which required teammates to hit him as if he were a member of the Midshipmen, took a toll.

As defender Curtis Corley prepared to use his body to unsettle Ray, a 6-foot-6, 261-pound behemoth, he repeatedly crushed Masci, who weighs just 205 pounds.By the end of the week, Masci was beaten, bruised and exhausted. But his physical sacrifice helped Corley blank Ray in Saturday’s 15-12 win.

“Poor [Masci] just got beat to a pulp over and over and over again,” Tillman said with a laugh. “He gave us a great look. You just don’t have guys like that on your roster very often.”As a sophomore last season, Ray tallied 26 goals and 12 assists. Tillman said his production, along with imposing size, made him a primary focus for the Terps.

Corley was assigned to neutralize him because he’s “pound-for-pound our strongest guy,” according to Tillman.

Although Ray registered seven shots against Maryland, he failed to record a point. Navy coach Rick Sowell felt the attackman was “a little off” throughout the game as he battled Corley’s dogged defense.

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With the score tied at four late in the second quarter, Corley used his physicality to make an important play.

Ray received the ball on the right wing with an angle toward the goal. But as he tried to make a move to the net, Corley pushed him off his path, forcing a difficult pass that long pole Matt Neufeldt intercepted.

Then, Neufeldt sprinted down the field, cut inside a defender and shot. His first effort was blocked, but a follow-up attempt beat Navy goalkeeper Ryan Kern to give the Terps a lead.

“I was a little surprised,” Sowell said. “He’s been playing so well … I don’t suspect Jack is going to go [without a point] too many times throughout his career.”

Maryland didn’t have time to dwell on the defensive success. Less than an hour after topping the Midshipmen, Tillman turned his attention to Tuesday’s game at St. Joseph’s.

While the coach allowed his players Saturday afternoon to relax, he said he and his staff would be up late that night, devising a strategy to shut down the Hawks, who scored at least 15 goals six times last year.

“That is not going to be an easy game,” Tillman said. “I want the guys to enjoy [the win] with their families and enjoy this because they’ve worked so hard. But [Sunday] we’ve got to turn the page.”

As Tillman looked ahead he made sure to recognize Masci, who didn’t make an appearance against Navy, for his role in Maryland’s first win because the Terps will need similar efforts from their scout players in the future.

“[Masci] was an unsung hero,” Tillman said. “[He had] a guy like Curtis beating [him] up every single day. He looked like a mess after a couple of practices … It won’t get seen by a lot of people, but that meant a lot to us.”