They don’t talk about it often, but the Maryland men’s lacrosse players haven’t forgotten the sting of losing the 2015 national championship game.
While someone might bring it up before a practice as inspiration for the day’s work, the memory is motivation enough to dive deeper into film sessions, to arrive early and stay late at practice and to not skimp on their weight-lifting sessions.
“Whether guys are on the scout team [or] starting lineup,” goalkeeper Kyle Bernlohr said, “there’s a greater sense of personal responsibility.”
With that approach, Maryland has followed a 1-2 start with 15 consecutive victories. A 16th-straight would put the Terps in position to avenge last year’s defeat — plus the program’s seven championship losses since 1975 — and claim a national crown for the first time in 41 years.
First, the top-seeded Terps must prevail over No. 5-seed Brown in the NCAA tournament semifinals Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia at Lincoln Financial Field.
“Just knocking on the door so many times, we’re just sick of being at the final four instead of taking it home,” Bernlohr said. “We’ve been there so many times, but for whatever reason, just can’t get it done.”
In trying to earn a fourth championship appearance in coach John Tillman’s six years at the helm of the program, the Terps will battle the nation’s best offense.
Brown operates at a fast pace. They try to capitalize on transition opportunities with their “open” and “chaotic” nature, Bears coach Lars Tiffany said, to keep opposing defenses unsettled. In turn, the unit averages 16.44 goals a game, almost three scores better than the country’s second-ranked attack.
The Terps haven’t faced a unit with similar tactics this season. Tillman said Rutgers, who the Terps beat in the regular season and for the Big Ten Tournament crown, plays with a touch of the Bears’ style, “but not the full package.
“It is a unique animal,” Tillman added.
Brown, however, could be without its top attackman Saturday. Dylan Molloy, who leads the country with 6.71 points per game, about two more than the next-closest player, reportedly suffered a broken foot late in the Bears’ 17-8, first-round victory against Johns Hopkins.
He missed the Bears’ 11-10 win against Navy in the quarterfinals, and Tiffany said on a conference call Tuesday morning it’s “highly unlikely” Molloy suits up against the Terps, as the junior was still on crutches at that point in the week.
The uncertainty around the Bears’ offensive focal point has forced Tillman and his staff to organize three game plans — one for the Bears’ attack without Molloy, one if Molloy plays limited time and one if Molloy is at full strength.
“Dylan Molloy, I would probably argue, is the best guy we’ve seen on film all year, but they played a really good Navy team last week and won without him,” Tillman said. “They have no weaknesses.”
Tiffany, meanwhile, believes the Terps have their own version of Molloy in attackman Matt Rambo, who has posted 30 combined points in the last six games. The difference between the two juniors’ production, the 10th-year Brown coach said, is the Terps’ restrained approach on offense.
“They don’t just recklessly run up and down the field like we do,” Tiffany said. “They have that mentality at times on offense when they’re just going to be patient, methodical and they just wait for you to make mistakes.”
The Terps’ patience isn’t limited to finding scoring opportunities.
At the beginning of fall practices, midfielder Bryan Cole couldn’t shake the Terps’ championship loss from his mind. He’s been working all season with the hopes of returning to that point.
Defender Matt Dunn still remembers the euphoria of last year’s 12-11 win over Johns Hopkins in the final four when Bernlohr deflected the Blue Jays’ last look off the end of his stick to allow the Terps to run off the final seconds. In the last minutes of the championship two days later, Dunn’s stomach sank as he realized the Terps couldn’t mount a comeback.
With a win Saturday, the Terps will be back.
“It’s definitely a source of motivation knowing that we worked hard last year and didn’t get to achieve our goal,” Dunn said. “Now we have another chance to.”
