The Maryland men’s lacrosse team has experienced turnover at the faceoff X this season.
Faceoff specialist Austin Henningsen started the season at midfield, and his .623 winning percentage in the X ranks 11th in the country, the second-highest mark for any freshman. In the fourth quarter of a last-minute win against Michigan on April 2, though, the coaching staff used defender Curtis Corley for the duels against the Wolverines based on the matchups they saw.
Henningsen returned to the X the next weekend against Penn State, but after suffering an injury in the first half of the April 10 clash, he hasn’t returned to the field. Instead, midfielder Will Bonaparte took over in the second half in State College, Pennsylvania, and started the past two games.
And after Bonaparte ran off limping after each of the first four faceoffs during Sunday night’s bout against Ohio State, faceoff specialist Andrew Walsh resumed duties in the X. In the win against the Buckeyes, Walsh finished 6-for-15 as the latest faceoff player to see playing time on short notice.
“A real, just big, thing for us was Andrew Walsh,” head coach John Tillman said. “The numbers aren’t great, and they don’t really reflect the impact…That was a big part of the game.”
Tillman commended Walsh’s hustle throughout the game, an effort he said was also present in Walsh’s two fourth-quarter possession wins during a come-from-behind victory against the Buckeyes last year.
But he may not have gotten his chance if not for Bonaparte’s injury.
Moments after the referee blew his whistle and Ohio State won the opening duel, the Ridgefield, Connecticut, native trotted to the sideline.
Bonaparte lay face down next to the bench, holding his left hamstring while the Terps trainer massaged the muscle. Bonaparte stood up for a quick conversation moments later before doing some practice squats, lifting his leg up and down to test the range of motion and jogging along the bench area.
Bonaparte returned to the field after attackman Matt Rambo opened scoring two-and-a-half-minutes into the bout. The sophomore won that possession after referees penalized the Ohio State coaches with a procedure call, but again he limped off the field.
In his fourth go at the X, Bonaparte couldn’t keep pace with Buckeyes midfielder Jake Withers (11-for-19) as the ball skirted away. He crumpled when he reached the sideline, grimacing on his hands and knees while leaning his head against the ground.
After having his leg wrapped and propped up on the bench, Bonaparte walked to the locker room during an Ohio State timeout with three minutes left in the second quarter. He finished the outing 2-for-4, while Walsh went 3-for-7 in the first half. Ohio State finished the game with an 11-8 advantage in the X.
“We weren’t really pressured or anything,” Rambo said. “We just had to play our game.”
On the faceoff after midfielder Bryan Cole knotted the game at five, referees docked Walsh for a cross-check, forcing the Terps to play a man-down for one minute. Maryland prevailed shorthanded, though, transitioning to the other end. There, Cole gave the team a lead it didn’t relinquish.
And on the ensuing duel, Walsh responded with a type of tenacity that caught Tillman’s attention.
As Walsh and Withers tangled for the ball at midfield, it skidded toward the Terps’ attacking third. Walsh darted toward it and was able to push it to attackman Dylan Maltz on the other end of the 30-yard line.
The ball eventually found Rambo, who finished what Walsh started by scoring a man-up goal to give the Terps a two-goal advantage.
“Walsh stepped up and had a big game for us,” midfielder Isaiah Davis-Allen said.
