Picking up a long pole for the first time in his career, midfielder Dean Hart had to adjust to a stick three feet longer than he was used to.

Both Hart and his teammates enjoyed watching as the junior learned to manipulate his new toy last week. It was a bit of an odd experience for all parties.

“I was laughing at first, but I got used to it,” Hart said. “[Brian] Farrell probably said the most junk to me.”

But new stick or not, everyone on defense is carrying a little extra weight right now for the Terrapin men’s lacrosse team. Hart’s move to long pole was part of several positional shifts that took place because the Terps are without Farrell, an Inside Lacrosse pre-season All-American, for now.

The injured defender spent last Thursday night in the hospital, where he had two liters of fluid drained from his lungs. He was hurt after taking a hit to the chest on Feb. 14 against Air Force.

After missing a week of practice, Farrell gutted out the Terps’ 13-10 home-opening loss to then-No. 8 Georgetown the following weekend. But when he experienced shortness of breath in practice early last week, coach Dave Cottle had the training staff re-evaluate him.

Replacing Farrell on defense has required a team effort. And the flexibility of this bunch was on display in an 11-8 win against then-No. 12 Duke on Saturday.

After Farrell started the first three games, sophomore Brett Schmidt took his spot at long stick midfield. He may lack the same physical stature, but Schmidt held his own Saturday.

“Compared to the other defenders, I’m not nearly as big, so I think I just bring a different look to the defense,” Schmidt said. “I’m subbing in for Farrell right now who’s – what? – 6-foot-4. And I’m a 6-footer. I’m not gonna say my weight, but I’m not heavy.”

Saturday, that different look was exactly what Cottle was looking for.

Schmidt was able to use his speed to pester Duke’s Ned Crotty. The attackman finished with two goals and three assists, but one of each stat was collected with under two minutes to go and the game no longer in doubt.

In the third quarter, Schmidt also provided a highlight when he leveled Max Quinzani at the goal line extended as the Duke attackman tried to tiptoe around the cage.

“Our plan was to give him work when we played some really quick guys because we felt like we weren’t apt to cover quick guys,” Cottle said. “So we started about two weeks ago, trying to get Brett ready for that move eventually. On Thursday, we found out something was wrong [with Farrell], so Brett made the move. And I can’t tell you how hard he played, how tough he played and how good a player he played.”

Though he did not know Schmidt’s name, Crotty praised the defender’s ability to turn him into the Terps’ double team. But he maintained that the real trouble was finishing shots because the Blue Devils were able to anticipate and pass out of the double, resulting in good looks at the cage.

With Schmidt down low, junior Dan Halayko moved up to assume the top long pole spot.

Halayko was active on defense, scooping three ground balls and accounting for two of the Terps’ four caused turnovers. Several times he seemed to provide just enough deterrence, making Blue Devils midfielders pull back a shot they had wanted.

Also running at long pole was Hart. He finished without much to show on the stat sheet, but his willingness to change roles was emblematic of the Terps’ make-it-work mentality.

“I talked to everyone, you know, any tips I can get, I’ll take,” Hart said. “And I’ve lived with Farrell for three years, so he’s kinda helping me out.”

This communal approach in games and practices is something the Terps will need to continue if Farrell requires a significant amount of recovery time. The Terps will be without him again this Saturday at Towson.

But the performance Saturday goes a long way toward boosting the confidence of this unit. One week after some mighty struggles against the Hoyas, the Terps said they were more trusting and communicative.

“We were undisciplined [against] Georgetown. We did a lot of things we don’t usually do,” Schmidt said. “But [against] Duke, we just had a hard week of practice on the defensive end and we just played disciplined defense and we helped each other. I think that’s why we came out with the W.”

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