With the final 30 seconds ticking off the clock during the second quarter of the Terrapins men’s lacrosse team’s game Saturday against Yale, attackman Dylan Maltz held the ball behind the net.
While he showed no signs of urgency, the Terps coaches yelled from the sideline. The shot clock on the Terps’ possession was set to run out before the game clock expired, but Maltz appeared unaware.
The junior failed to heed the message before the Terps’ time on attack ended, and Yale took over. After a quick transition to offense, Bulldogs attackman Ben Reeves laced a shot into the net with six seconds left to tie the game at 3-3.
No. 7 Yale carried that momentum into the second half, out-scoring the No. 4 Terps, 5-2, to earn an 8-5 victory in Reese Stadium in New Haven, Connecticut.
“I don’t think it really had a big effect for us, per se, but I do think it was a big lift for them,” coach John Tillman said. “We’ve got to be able to kind of play through that.”
Tillman wasn’t sure where the communication broke down. On the windy day in New Haven, Connecticut, with the field lined with piles of dirt-filled, shoveled-off snow, it was often difficult to hear coaches from the sidelines and the referees’ quick signals.
Shortly before the 90-second possession ended, attackman Matt Rambo had the ball checked out of his stick. With possession up for grabs, Tillman said the Terps on the field might have thought shot clock restarted once the team re-secured the ball.
While the Terps didn’t want to let up a last-second goal, they entered halftime content to have held Yale’s offense to three scores after the unit poured on 17 points in its season opener.
Plus, the Terps had held the Bulldogs scoreless in the 18 minutes prior to Reeves’ point.
“At halftime, we even mentioned ‘Hey, it’s 3-3, so we’re playing good defense,'” Tillman said. “But if I’m a team, and I can get a goal with [six] seconds left, you go to the locker room with a little bit more, you know, enthusiasm, and a little bit more maybe confidence.”
And Yale stormed out of the locker room with a newfound energy.
Bulldogs attackman/midfielder Michael Bonacci gave his team its first lead of the afternoon about a minute into the third quarter when he received a feed from Reeves and cranked an off-balance shot past goalkeeper Kyle Bernlohr (seven saves).
The Terps began to unravel shortly thereafter.
Attackman Tim Rotanz drew an unnecessary roughness penalty when he appeared to make head-to-head contact with Yale midfielder Tyler Warner as Warner received a pass on the clear. Warner laid face down on the field before trotting off the field with trainers.
About six minutes after the Terps weathered Rotanz’ absence, defender Tim Muller drew a minute-long slashing foul that left his squad shorthanded again.
While the Terps withstood the absences, Yale’s advantages denied the Terps possessions to dig out of their hole.
“We just tried to stay positive, but obviously their defense played well,” said midfielder Colin Heacock, who led the Terps with two goals and one assist.
In a six-minute stretch spanning the end of the third quarter and the start of the fourth, Yale piled on three more scores. Then Reeves, last season’s Ivy League Rookie of the Year, punctuated his team’s 6-0 scoring run with less than four minutes to play when he slashed his second score into an empty net.
Heacock and Rambo managed scores 13 seconds apart late in the game to give the Terps their first points since the start of the second quarter, but their late-half efforts weren’t enough.
“We’ve got to be able to kind of play through that,” Tillman said. “Certainly wasn’t obviously a make or break play, but you like making those plays and you try to avoid giving up goals at the end of the period.”
