Midfielder Joe LoCascio winds up for a shot at the UMBC goal during the Terps’ 14-3 victory over UMBC on Feb 15, 2014 at Byrd Stadium
Though the Terrapins men’s lacrosse team allowed only three goals in a 13-goal rout of Mount St. Mary’s in its season opener two weekends ago, coach John Tillman was genuinely concerned about the group’s defensive performance.
Tillman said the Mountaineers created too many opportunities inside — something he attributed to the Terps’ weak on-ball pressure and lackadaisical rotations. So this past week in practice, Tillman keyed on his defense, preparing a more aggressive scheme for the game against UMBC.
The Terps went on to dominate the Retrievers, 14-3, on Saturday afternoon behind attackman Matt Rambo’s second hat trick in as many games. While Tillman’s squad surrendered the same number of goals as they did against the Mountaineers, the fourth-year coach saw vast improvement from the most experienced unit of his team.
“The players deserve all the credit,” Tillman said. “They had a great week of preparation.”
Tillman said he and his coaching staff learned from the matchup with UMBC two years ago, when the Terps surrendered five unanswered fourth-quarter goals in a one-goal loss in Catonsville. The Retrievers slowed down the game using extended possessions, which helped keep the ball away from the Terps’ talented offensive players.
Tillman expected a similar approach from the Retrievers in Saturday’s rematch, and his defensive scheme focused on preventing those long possessions. He extended his defense, demanding intense and persistent pressure that forced the ball out of the Retrievers’ sticks. The tactic worked, creating a faster pace that allowed the Terps to build a six-goal lead before halftime.
“We definitely were more aggressive,” Tillman said. “That was certainly something we wanted to try to do. We felt like we sat back a little too much and we were pretty predictable last time. So keeping them off balance, we thought, would help us.”
Goalkeeper Niko Amato also noticed the drastic defensive improvements from the net. The preseason All-America second team selection, who made eight saves in Saturday’s victory, was impressed by how his unit not only talked, but also listened for the full 60 minutes against the Retrievers.
The improved communication helped several young Terps perform well on the defensive end. Amato said teams like UMBC would attack the Terps’ young short-stick defensive midfielders — namely sophomore Nick Manis and freshman John Belz — to produce goal-scoring opportunities.
Saturday, though, the group rose to the occasion.
“Our short sticks won some matchups,” Amato said. “That’s something we need from them.”
After winning those matchups, the Terps midfielders and defenders did a tremendous job securing loose balls and starting fast breaks. The Terps won the ground-ball battle, 40-17 — an advantage Tillman said was fitting given how hard his team worked.
“[Our] guys just did a great job of getting it off the ground and getting it up and out and trying to push some tempo,” Tillman said. “It was something we focused on this week.”
Practicing outside every day this past week gave the team an opportunity to be fully prepared for the matchup despite a snowstorm that hit College Park Wednesday night into Thursday, forcing the university to cancel two days of classes. University facilities workers were able to clear the field, though, allowing the Terps to train without missing any practice time.
“Those guys were getting up at 3 in the morning,” Tillman said. “They were pushing snow. And every day, when it looked bad, somehow the field was clear. That really helped us. I think we might have gotten out a little bit more than they did.”
The strong defensive performance comes at a crucial time in the Terps’ campaign. The team will travel to Syracuse on Saturday for the first regular-season road game of the year, and then Duke visits Byrd Stadium on March 1.
Defender Mike Ehrhardt made it clear there is still a long way to go before the Terps are where they want to be defensively. But Saturday, the Terps proved their aggressive defense can be stifling.
“The coaches put in a great game plan and we executed it great,” Ehrhardt said. “It was just a great outing from the whole defense.”
