Owen Blye

Owen Blye figured he’d be shouldering a heavy offensive load before the Terrapins men’s lacrosse season began. The attackman was easily the team’s leading returning scorer after notching 40 points last season, and the departure of All-American attackman Joe Cummings left Blye poised to take over as the offense’s focal point.

But that hasn’t happened. Thanks to the emergence of attackmen Kevin Cooper and Jay Carlson, who combined to start just one game last season, it hasn’t had to, either.

Cooper leads the team with 17 goals and Carlson is second with 16, helping to fill Cummings’ void and letting Blye slide into a different role.

“I try to be a guy who gets everyone on the same page as a communicator and make sure we execute our game plan each week,” Blye said Tuesday. “I’ll put that on my shoulders.”

Blye’s presence has helped the Terps rank third nationally with 13.1 goals per game. His numbers haven’t improved from last season — his 2.2 points per game average is the same mark he posted in 2012 — but the fifth-year senior has accepted his role as a “quarterback” who runs the offense, putting his teammates in a position to tally goals and assists.

Last year, Blye led the squad with 20 assists, but this year, he’s notched just seven, while Cooper leads the Terps with 14. Blye often possesses the ball behind the net, waiting for the offense to get set. He’ll then dodge his man and draw defenders, creating openings for his teammates.

If Blye can’t beat his man, he’ll give it up to Cooper. So when coach John Tillman needs an attackman to make an unselfish play, he knows he has options.

“We’re very comfortable with both of those guys initiating the offense,” Tillman said. “We’re really not biased toward having one or the other of them doing it.”

100th POINTS

Though Blye’s overall numbers haven’t risen this season, he’s now one goal or assist away from notching his 100th career point. His teammate, midfielder John Haus, sits two points away from reaching the milestone.

No current Terps are among the 38 players in program history who have scored 100 career points, but Haus and Blye are likely to change that soon. It could come in the same game or even on the same play, Haus said.

The pair could even accomplish the feat against rival Johns Hopkins, a team Haus’ father coached from 1999 to 2000.

“It would definitely be cool,” Haus said. “Especially with the Hopkins game, it would be pretty cool if we could do that together.”

Both players said they’d rather win Saturday’s game against the No. 15 Blue Jays than notch their own 100th point. But it would still be quite an achievement.

Attackmen typically post the gaudiest offensive numbers, but Haus has scored all of his 98 as a midfielder. Blye, meanwhile, started his college career playing midfield and is on the brink of becoming the 39th Terp to reach the 100-point mark thanks to his tendency to facilitate rather than score.

And the duo does more than just pile up stats.

“They take just as much pride playing defense, riding hard, or getting what we call ‘the hockey assist,’” Tillman said. “That’s why you are happy for them, because they have that attitude.”

OPPONENT’S APPROACH

Johns Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala can’t wait for Saturday’s contest. His team gets to compete in one of the sport’s most intense rivalries and has a shot at knocking off the nation’s top-ranked team.

Still, the 13th-year coach isn’t letting himself or his players turn their attention to Saturday just yet. They have work to do before game day.

“The focus now is on each day,” Pietramala said. “It has been what we need to do on this day to prepare to play against the No. 1 team in the country.”

Pietramala wants his players especially focused this week because they have a lot of scouting to cover. All six of the Terps’ starters at midfield or attack have tallied at least 17 points this season, making them a hassle to prepare for.

“It is a challenge when it is a team that can share the ball and you got guys who can shoot it,” Pietramala said. “You’ve got to be on point. Whatever direction you chose to go as regards to how to defend [the Terps], you have to do it very well.”

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