After defeating No. 5 Albany, 12-11, Wednesday, the Maryland men’s lacrosse team spent 45 minutes at John Fallon Field chatting with family members and traveling fans. The Terps then began their long bus ride to College Park, where they arrived at about 1:40 a.m.
While players used the trip from New York to relax after their narrow victory, the coaching staff spent its hours on the road preparing for Sunday’s matchup at No. 11 Rutgers.
No. 3 Maryland expects the Scarlet Knights to play similarly to Albany, which could help it find success in Piscataway, New Jersey, despite a short turnaround. So, instead of complaining about playing two games in five days, coach John Tillman tried to gain a deeper understanding of Rutgers’ specific schemes.
“We got back on the road, and the kids started playing all their bad music and all the bad movies they typically play on the bus,” Tillman said. “So the coaches put their headphones on, and we just started watching film on our laptops. Just tried to get a sense of some things that Rutgers does.”
[Read more: Maryland men’s lacrosse staves off No. 5 Albany, 12-11, for a milestone victory]
Entering its showdown with Albany, Maryland had played in two one-score games. The Terps won, 12-11, against then-No. 8 Yale by making a defensive stop in the final seconds. But as home favorites versus Villanova on March 18, they suffered a 13-12 loss in overtime.
On Wednesday, the Great Danes scored with three and a half minutes remaining to trim Maryland’s lead to one. But the Terps’ tight defense prevented them from converting any of their final three shots.
Tillman said the late-game test provided a challenge he can’t simulate in practice, and he believes the midweek experience will help his team against other ranked opponents, such as Rutgers.
“You’re trying to script those things in practice, but in the games it just seems to be so different,” Tillman said. “As much as you’re trying to get ready, you don’t get that out of your scout teams.”
Midfielder Will Bonaparte played extended minutes against the Great Danes after competing through injury over the past couple of weeks. He went 2-for-4 on faceoffs, which Tillman said gave the Terps an energy boost.
Meanwhile, senior defender Mac Pons returned to the field. He missed the first nine games with a lower-body injury after starting all 20 contests last season. Though Tillman doesn’t expect him to start against the Scarlet Knights, citing the need to ease him back, he said an expanded role is something he’d consider for Pons moving forward.
With Bonaparte and Pons back in the lineup, the Terps have added depth to lean on at Rutgers. They can also apply their preparation for Albany to Sunday’s game, as Tillman said the Great Danes and Scarlet Knights play at a comparable tempo.
“You have different personnel with Rutgers and Albany, but you do have two teams stylistically that are pretty similar,” Tillman explained. “[They both] like to run and push the ball. … We felt like we would get ready for Albany, but in certain aspects, it would help us get ready for a [Rutgers] team that does get up and down.”
So, the Terps considered their trek to Albany beneficial even though the nonconference clash was a logistical hurdle.
“Going on the road and playing a really good team — I think there’s a lot of value to that,” Tillman said. “The whole game we had to fight, fight, fight. It forces you to play at a high level.”
