Faceoff specialist Charlie Raffa pushes the ball upfield during the Terps’ 11-4 win over Princeton at Byrd Stadium on March 7, 2015.

The Terrapins men’s lacrosse team’s lead had climbed to three goals, but Charlie Raffa wasn’t ready to slow down. 

There was 5:36 left in the third period of the No. 8 Terps’ 11-4 win over Princeton on Saturday afternoon, and senior attackman Jay Carlson had just scored an extra-man goal to put the Terps up 6-3. The Tigers hadn’t scored in about four minutes, and the Terps were beginning to gain momentum.

Raffa, a senior faceoff specialist, hunkered down at the X, won possession and sprinted downfield before feeding midfielder Joe LoCascio.

LoCascio then passed to Carlson, who was on the right side of the cage. Carlson spun right to elude his defender, and with his knees on the ground, he ripped a shot into the top-right corner of the net. The sequence epitomized the third period of the contest, during which the Terps rode Raffa’s 7-for-9 quarter at the faceoff X to a game-defining 5-0 run.

The Terps defense turned in another dominant performance, while the offense scored double-digit goals for the third consecutive game. But for coach John Tillman, Raffa’s performance was imperative in the victory.

“[Defender] Casey [Ikeda] will be the first one to tell you, [the Terps defenders] were pretty darn rested in the second half,” Tillman said. “A lot of that had to do with [Raffa].”

Raffa’s coaches and teammates frequently praise him, but they aren’t the only ones.

“He’s the best out there,” Navy coach Rick Sowell said after the Terps beat the Midshipmen 8-1 on Feb. 14 in the season opener.

Raffa turned in a subpar performance against Navy, though, going 4-for-11 in the faceoff X, beginning a string of poor showings. Plus, injuries kept him out of the Terps’ 11-7 win against Penn on Feb. 24.

When he returned to action later that week, Raffa went 6-for-14 in a 12-3 victory over Drexel. But Saturday, he resembled his 2014 form, going 13-for-20 while scooping up nine ground balls to move into fourth all-time (245) on the program list. 

Tillman hopes the Syosset, New York, native’s strong showing against Princeton means his early-season struggles are behind him, as he has been instrumental to the Terps’ success during his time in College Park.  

“We worked a lot with [wing player] Matt Neufeldt and [midfielder] Isaiah [Davis-Allen] and those guys,” Raffa said. “Having them on the same page with me really helped us today and made us better than we have been in the past.”

BERNLOHR ROLLS

The Terps defense has cemented its reputation as a potent unit through its first five games with a nation-leading 5.00 goals-against average. Much of the success can be traced back to the play of goalkeeper Kyle Bernlohr.

The junior has allowed double-digit goals once while compiling the best save percentage (.696) in the country. On Saturday, he registered 11 saves against four goals.

“I don’t think Kyle is satisfied right now,” Tillman said. “He realizes there are some aspects that he can get better. But I do like his leadership skills right now; his clearing is starting to get better.”

Bernlohr and the Terps will look to slow down another steady offense Saturday when they head to Villanova to challenge a Wildcats squad averaging 12.4 goals per game. 

“He’s been very humble about this whole thing so far,” Tillman said. “He’s trying to make sure that he’s one of the guys who the younger players can look to.”

IKEDA EARNS HONOR

Ikeda, a senior, earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors after helping slow Princeton on Saturday. The co-captain scooped up one ground ball and forced one turnover while helping the Terps stymie a previously potent Princeton attack.

Princeton came into the game averaging 14.67 goals, but Ikeda and the defense held the Tigers to four goals. Ikeda spent significant time marking attackman Mike MacDonald, who entered the contest with a team-high 10 goals but didn’t score on three shots against the Terps.