Ahead of Saturday’s tilt with No. 14 North Carolina, one of the Maryland men’s lacrosse team’s most impressive streaks was in danger.
The Terps hadn’t lost three straight games since 2009, but after dropping contests to Notre Dame and Villanova, they needed a road victory over the Tar Heels in a 2016 national championship rematch to extend their run.
Despite committing three unnecessary roughness penalties in the first half, No. 10 Maryland pulled away from North Carolina, 15-7, to earn its first victory in a month.
“Our older players did a really good job of leading us and getting us back to who we were,” said coach John Tillman. “That led into today. I thought we came out with good energy and really played with a lot of tempo.”
Maryland leaned on attackman Colin Heacock and midfielder Connor Kelly, two players with a history of offensive success against North Carolina.
Kelly, who posted 13 points in his previous three meetings with the Tar Heels, recorded five points Saturday. Heacock, who scored 10 times in the Terps’ past three bouts with their former ACC rivals, notched two goals.
“It’s funny how it’s worked out,” Tillman said. “The way we like to play is to … have every single guy work … We never try to have one guy be the guy.”
Kelly and Heacock’s five first period points helped Maryland control the early action, an improvement from last weekend’s defeat to unranked Villanova. In the upset loss, the Terps fell behind, 6-1, in the first quarter. But against North Carolina, they finished the first frame with a 6-2 lead.
As the Terps expanded their advantage, however, the game became more physical. After attackman Dylan Maltz notched his first goal of the contest, giving the Terps a 2-1 lead, North Carolina defender Ryan Macri delivered a late hit that sent him to the ground.
Macri received a flag for unnecessary roughness, and moments later, Tillman told his players, “Don’t respond to anything [North Carolina does].” Instead, Maryland received two more unnecessary roughness penalties before intermission.
“There’s a rivalry there,” Tillman said. “But I would prefer if our guys just let the play do the talking.”
Still, the Terps entered the break up, 9-3, giving them an edge they maintained through the second half.
Following a series of quick passes in the offensive zone early in the third quarter, midfielder Tim Rotanz registered his second goal of the game through the legs of North Carolina goalkeeper Brian Balkam. Then, Rambo scored twice in a one-minute span to notch his 200th career point.
With a 13-4 lead heading into the final frame, the Terps (5-2) conceded twice to the Tar Heels (5-4) in three minutes.
But Maltz’s third goal of the game helped seal the victory. After the score, the attackman pointed to Kelly and recognized him for his third dish.
“[Kelly] does such a good job of putting himself in good spots and being dangerous with the ball,” Tillman said. “But if they give him too much attention, he’ll share it.”
