Last year’s senior-laden Terrapins men’s lacrosse team loved to talk about the program’s history. Coming off back-to-back seasons in which they lost in the NCAA championship, the Terps’ seven senior contributors openly discussed their intention to win the program’s first title since 1975.

The Terps, though, wilted after a blistering start. They lost three of their last five games and suffered a blowout in the first round of the NCAA tournament to Cornell.

But this year’s Terps have an entirely different dynamic, one that has served them well. The team relies on freshmen to play key minutes, and that youth combined with a few senior leaders creates a makeup that appears more equipped to handle the pressures of a 38-year championship drought than last year’s veterans.

Starting attackmen Connor Cannizzaro and Matt Rambo, both freshmen, provide an infusion of youth the Terps didn’t have last season. They don’t have the experience of playing in title games and haven’t been here long enough to feel the weight of the program’s history.

Instead, the youngsters, part of Inside Lacrosse’s top-ranked recruiting class, play without much hesitation.

Their naivety and enthusiasm would have benefited last season’s Terps, who didn’t start a single freshman and lost control of a once-promising campaign as the postseason neared.

Saturday’s 8-7 victory over Cornell in an NCAA tournament first-round rematch showed how the composition of this Terps roster can lead to success.

After a paltry first half left the Terps trailing 5-1 at the break, Cannizzaro and Rambo turned the game around. The rookies scored five of the Terps’ seven goals in the second half and led a comeback that sent the team into a quarterfinal matchup with Bryant this Saturday.

Think the two freshmen were worried about nearly four decades of disappointment when they were slicing to the net and ripping powerful shots past Big Red goalkeeper Christian Knight? Probably not.

And with three years left in College Park, Cannizzaro and Rambo definitely weren’t tense because their college careers were on the line. The seniors on last year’s team, however, appeared to press too much after they fell behind Cornell in the NCAA tournament, and they never recovered.

Of course, senior leadership is valuable. In attackman Mike Chanenchuk, long pole Michael Ehrhardt and goalkeeper Niko Amato, the Terps have that.

Chanenchuk especially helped clinch the Terps’ spot in the quarterfinals with his clutch play. The attackman scooped up a key ground ball with the clock dwindling to allow coach John Tillman to take a timeout.

Moments later, Chanenchuk netted the game-winner on a quick shot from the left of the goal with two seconds left in the contest.

Clearly, the Terps have proven leaders they can turn to when the game is on the line. But they also have a group of fearless freshmen who can jolt an instant comeback when things seem bleak.

And that might just be the right mix to alter the history of a program that’s still searching for its first NCAA championship since Gerald Ford was the United States’ president.