Midfielder Bryan Cole walks off the field after the Terps’ 10-5 loss to Denver in the NCAA title game at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia on May 25, 2015.

PHILADELPHIA — Standing in front of his field-level seat at Lincoln Financial Field during halftime of the NCAA final Monday afternoon, former Terrapins men’s lacrosse goalkeeper Gary Niels felt hopeful.

Coach John Tilliman’s squad was trailing Denver by two, but Niels, clad in a red Terps polo with “National Champions 1975” emblazoned on his left arm, believed they could summon the magic to rally and capture the program’s first national title since he was manning the cage.

“I asked [athletic director] Kevin Anderson if there’s any chance he can get me on the field [if the Terps win],” Niels said.

GALLERY: Maryland falls to Denver in NCAA title game

When the final buzzer sounded nearly 30 minutes later, none of the Terps turned their heads to watch as the Pioneers lifted the national championship hardware for the first time in program history. Instead, the Terps sulked while walking past the lacrosse sticks the Denver players hurled toward the sky.

Playing on the sport’s grandest stage for the third time in five years, the No. 6-seed Terps surrendered the game’s first two goals and couldn’t muster enough firepower against No. 4-seed Denver to snap a 40-year championship drought, and fell 10-5 before an announced 24,215.

“Yeah, we wanted to close it out with a couple of wins,” midfielder Bryan Cole said. “But that didn’t happen.”

The Terps are now 0-8 in national title games since winning the championship in 1975. And Tillman is 0-3 with the Terps in the finals.

For much of the past few seasons, the Terps have relied on faceoff specialist Charlie Raffa to dominate at the X and gain possession. Monday, though, Raffa had his hands full against a freshman.

Denver faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste entered the game with a nation best .686 faceoff percentage, and he didn’t disappoint against Raffa, going 10-for-19.

Baptiste won the first draw and the Pioneers quickly worked ball around to star attackman Wesley Berg, who scored zipped a right-handed shot past goalkeeper Kyle Bernlohr 40 seconds into regulation. Berg scored two more of his game-high five goals in the quarter en route to earning tournament Most Outstanding Player honors.

“We played with a lot of speed and confidence off the beginning,” Berg said. “When you do that, I just slipped into the right area and I was open backside, and I was fortunate to score the first couple and get us rolling.”

Former Terps midfielder Connor Cannizzaro putting the finishing touches on the Pioneers’ 4-1 first-quarter advantage with a goal off a 360 spin at the edge of the crease.

Attackman Matt Rambo, a Glenside, Pennsylvania, native cut the deficit to two early in the second period, but the Terps were never able to develop momentum with Baptiste at the X.

Denver’s increased possessions wore down Bernlohr, and the Terps’ top-ranked defense. Bernlohr, who finished with 10 stops, made a number of crucial saves in the second half, but on the other side of the ball, the Terps offense struggled to find holes against the Pioneers.

“We didn’t necessarily have a group that we could get the ball and immediately had some dynamic, really fast guy that could put pressure on the other team,” Tillman said. “We certainly like our attackmen. … But if you put poles on those guys you are comfortable.”

Rambo scored again with 5:55 left in the third to trim the lead to four, and the Terps got a number of good looks at goal in the final period — midfielder Bobby Gribbin hit the post, and attackman Jay Carlson’s shot was stopped from point-blank range. By the time Carlson finally broke through with 32 seconds left, the 10-5 deficit was too much to overcome.

“We’ve all been so anxious to give up our crown,” Niels said at halftime. “[A championship] would mean a heck of a lot to us.”

After the game, defender Matt Dunn, midfielder Bryan Cole and Tillman answered reporters’ questions with frowns on their faces. In the hallway, Denver players hollered and shouted in celebration.

Dunn and Cole later retreated to the locker room while the fifth-year coach remained answering questions about the Terps’ eighth straight loss in the championship. Outside the pressroom, the Pioneers’ shouts amplified.

“We know how much it would mean to our school, our state, our alums, and I’m determined to just bust our hump to try to get it for them,” Tillman said. “I’ve got to go back to work.”