The Maryland men’s lacrosse team poured in 12 goals through three quarters Saturday against No. 8 Yale, more than doubling its output from an 8-5 loss to the Bulldogs last season.
In the final 20 minutes of the contest, however, the Terps didn’t score. The futile stretch allowed Yale to net the last three goals of the game, prompting a nervous conclusion.
No. 1 Maryland escaped with a 12-11 win — its fourth straight to begin the campaign — but coach John Tillman bemoaned the inconsistency from his normally reliable attack. Still, he credited a group of unheralded offensive players for providing a spark when his starting attackmen faltered.
“We did get goals from non-traditional places,” Tillman said. “We really tried to emphasize trying to score goals in different ways … That was huge for us.”
Attackman Colin Heacock tied a career high with five points, but his fellow offensive stalwarts failed to reach their standard production.
Matt Rambo and Dylan Maltz, starting attackmen who entered the contest averaging a combined 5.6 goals per game, registered three scores against Yale. None of those finishes came after the 11-minute mark in the third quarter.
Without the duo at full force, the squad relied on other players. Defender Tim Muller scored his first career goal, faceoff specialist Austin Henningsen recorded his first ever two-goal performance and long pole Nick Brozowski added a finish, helping the squad reach double-digit scores for the fourth time this season.
After Yale netted first in the opening quarter, Muller equalized with a powerful shot from the right side. He celebrated by embracing Heacock, who was stationed next to him in front of the goal.
“I saw it hit the net and I was just pumped,” Muller said. “I was screaming at Colin.”
Though Muller enjoyed the strike, he emphasized forward ventures would be rare from him in the future. As a defensive leader, he said it’s important to stay back and “strap it up” to prevent opponents from scoring.
However, another one of the Terps’ contributors against Yale could continue to make an attacking impact.
Henningsen overcame first-half struggles to score twice in the third quarter. He now has five points in the past two games after totaling just two points last season.
The faceoff specialist kept Maryland afloat in the second half against the Bulldogs, scoring the team’s only two goals in the last 26 minutes on a pair of unassisted strikes from draws.
“You looked at [Henningsen] struggling early — I think we lost the first four [faceoffs],” Tillman said. “But in the third quarter, not only did we go 9-for-11 [on draws], but then Austin gets two goals … He did a really good job.”
While Maryland stalled in the fourth quarter against Yale’s pressure defense, Heacock said the players weren’t surprised with the Bulldogs’ intensity. After all, they managed 12 scores without finding the back of the net in the final frame.
But Tillman, who’s stressed early-season adjustments, said it would be imperative to improve end-of-game situations.
“These are experiences that we can build upon,” Tillman said. “If you can do that when you win games, it’s great.”
Three times in his postgame press conference, Tillman told reporters he was proud of his players for fighting through an uneven performance to claim a win. But the praise didn’t mean he was satisfied with Maryland’s overall display.
“I want to enjoy tonight,” Tillman said after the win. “But we really need to get better.”
