Maryland men’s lacrosse entered a clash with Delaware averaging its lowest goals a game through five contests over the past five seasons. The Terps’ offense had spurts of excellence, but struggled to find rhythm consistently.
The unit dominated on Saturday as No. 1 Maryland tenaciously attacked the interior of a Blue Hens’ defense that fluctuated between man-to-man and zone.
Many of the Terps’ goals came on open looks near the crease en route to a season-high 14 goals — an encouraging sign for a newly-constructed offense.
“Trying to get a sense of early on, like, who should be playing with who, what they’re good at, has been a little bit of a challenge,” coach John Tillman said. “We’ve kind of settled in with some groups now … during the week we’re able to get a sense of what they feel good with because we’ll definitely throw some different things at the guys.”
Maryland put a newfound emphasis on strategic screening on-and-off the ball.
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The Terps oftentimes picked Delaware’s defenders from behind, allowing for cuts toward the cage that led to easy scores.
The Blue Hens’ switch between man and zone didn’t work as attackers used elusive moves to create space one-on-one. Delaware struggled to find a balance between rotating defenders versus staying in designated lanes.
Senior midfielder Zach Whittier, who finished with a career-high five points, dashed toward the cage and drew two defenders before passing to senior attacker Matthew Keegan for a wide-open shot to start the game’s scoring. Sophomore midfielder Elijah Stobaugh notched Maryland’s next goal when he sprinted past a defender and found a short angle down the side.
The scores came from different angles of the field, which the Terps continued to do as the game progressed.
Senior attacker Eric Spanos’ second of a career-high four assists came when he received the ball at the X and aggressively pushed to the side of the crease. He drew two defenders and found Whittier uncovered for an easy goal midway through the second quarter.
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“[Spanos] obviously draws a lot of attention when he’s dodging,” Whittier said. “Just finding spots and spaces where he can find some of us. He can pass just as well as he can score, he’s been doing a good job.”
Seven Terps scored as the Blue Hens focused on stopping the stars, especially fifth-year Daniel Kelly, who entered the day with multiple goals in every game this season. Delaware short-sticked the attacker, looking to incentivize Maryland to force him the ball and take the offense out of rhythm.
The Terps were prepared for Kelly to be short-sticked, though, as Princeton attempted the same strategy last season.
Kelly was involved in paving the way for goals through the strategic off-ball movement and screening, both emphasized as plans for the game through the week.
“If you’re not evolving and growing and giving some different looks, I think you get predictable,” Tillman said. “Defensive coordinators are so good that you have to be able to evolve and add some little wrinkles each week.”
Maryland recorded a season-low eight turnovers despite playing with a largely new gameplan. The top team in the nation proved Saturday it can implement new offensive strategies — it reached the national championship game last year doing so.
