In previous seasons, the Maryland men’s lacrosse team lacked focus during spring break. Without the structure of classes to guide players, coach John Tillman said the Terps sometimes finished their weeks off from school looking “kind of flat.”

So, he didn’t know what to expect from his squad in practice after suffering an upset loss to Villanova on March 18.

But with the guidance of its veterans, No. 10 Maryland demonstrated a level of training intensity absent from prior spring breaks, leading to a crisp offensive showing and a 15-7 win at No. 14 North Carolina on Saturday.

“Having last week go the way it went, it was an opportunity for us to get back to basics and try to have a good week of practice,” Tillman said. “It felt like the guys utilized spring break pretty well.”

[Read more: Maryland men’s lacrosse defeats North Carolina, 15-7, to snap a two-game losing streak]

Maryland entered its matchup with North Carolina mired in an attacking malaise. After scoring 50 goals in its first three contests, the offense faltered entering the tilt with the Tar Heels.

Starting with a 12-11 victory Feb. 25 over Yale, when they failed to score in the fourth quarter, the Terps struggled to find the back of the net at critical junctures. They notched a season-low four goals in a loss at Notre Dame, and Villanova limited them to seven goals through three quarters at home.

But following a strong week of practice, Maryland regained its rhythm against North Carolina, scoring nine goals before intermission to power a comfortable win. In particular, the squad displayed improved passing and decision-making in the midfield, an area of concern during its two-game skid.

Starting midfielders Connor Kelly, Tim Rotanz and Jared Bernhardt produced their best showing of the season, contributing a combined 12 points. Kelly, who has recorded at least three points in his past four meetings with the Tar Heels, led with a pair of goals and three assists.

Tillman said “it’s a big help” when Maryland’s first midfield line plays as well as it did on Saturday because it forces opponents to account for scoring options beyond senior attackmen Matt Rambo, Colin Heacock and Dylan Maltz.

The Terps’ second midfield unit also capitalized. Ben Chisolm and Louis Dubick chipped in assists, marking the first time since Feb. 25 the group produced more than one point.

“We got good minutes out of that second midfield,” Tillman said. “A lot of times when they were out there, they might not have gotten the point, but they actually created some good opportunities. That’s the way we want to play.”

To convert those chances, however, the Terps needed to better their shooting accuracy from the loss to Villanova. Against the Wildcats, they placed just 19 of 47 shots on target.

In the win over North Carolina, 19 of Maryland’s 27 shots were on goal. Starting Tar Heels goalkeeper Brian Balkam saved just one while conceding 11 goals, and he was benched in the second half with the Terps ahead, 11-3.

The clinical showing stemmed from a productive week of training, when Tillman emphasized attacking tempo and drilled fundamental offensive skills.

“We got better shots this week and obviously did a better job of canning them against a really good goalie,” Tillman said. “We certainly shot the ball a whole lot better than a week ago.”