Terps use delays, outlast challenge
Pair of weather stoppages embraced by UM players
COLLEGE PARK — Maryland’s lacrosse game against Yale lasted more than four hours Saturday, but the top-ranked Terps men weren’t complaining. In fact, coach John Tillman used nearly two hours in rain and lightning delays to his advantage as his team hung on for a 12-11 win over No. 8 Yale before a crowd of nearly 3,500 at Maryland Stadium.
Maryland (4-0) had a six-goal lead early in the third quarter, but the Bulldogs outscored the Terps 5-1 in the last nine minutes of the period to narrow the lead to 12-10. Midfielder Eric Scott, who finished with five goals, scored with 9:22 left in the game to take it to 12-11. The Bulldogs (1-1) had the momentum as Maryland’s offense committed several turnovers and took only two shots in the fourth quarter.
But with 4:19 left, officials cleared the field for 34 minutes because of lightning. They did it again for another 1 hour, 23 minutes with 37 seconds remaining in the game. The Terps loved the delay. Before the first one was announced to both teams, Tillman already had his players sprinting to the locker room.
“[The officials] basically said, ‘Get off the field,’ ” Tillman said about the first delay. “They said, ‘It’s a lightning delay, get your [butts] inside,’ so you’re worried about your guys and you just get inside.
“I thought it was great for us because we wanted to catch our breath and it gave us a chance to look at a lot of the scenarios before coming back out. The weather was good for us because our captains kept everybody relaxed and we were able to manage the situations at the end.”
Once the game resumed, the Terps were able to run 28 seconds off before they were hit with a shot-clock violation. Yale was able to get off one shot in the final nine seconds, but the Terps knocked down a pass intended for Scott in front of the goal as time expired.
After the game, the Terps celebrated, but they know they have a lot to work on in the coming weeks. Attackman Colin Heacock had three goals and fellow attackman Matt Rambo had two, but the offense disappeared after the opening minutes of the third period as Maryland was held scoreless in the fourth quarter.
Maryland goalie Dan Morris, who finished with 11 saves, made some crucial stops late in the game. If he didn’t play well, the Terps might have lost. Maryland also got a break because the Bulldogs’ top player, attackman Ben Reeves, didn’t play because of a right hamstring injury.
Regardless, Yale showed great poise in the second half by staying with its deliberate offense and catching Maryland defenders reacting slowly coming off picks.
“It was one of the strangest games I’ve ever been part of,” Tillman said. “It wasn’t one of our cleanest games; we certainly didn’t play our best. We had to handle some adversity and some tough situations. Give Yale credit. They tightened some things up on defense and we didn’t handle the ball well in the fourth quarter. But it’s early in the season and we can learn from this.”
Maryland jumped out to a 5-2 lead at the end of the first period thanks to two goals from Rambo. Rambo’s second goal came with 4:05 left in the quarter to put Maryland ahead 4-2, and was followed by Heacock’s first goal of the game with 2:25 left in the period.
Yale pulled within 5-3 on attackman Jeff Cimbalista’s low bounce shot with 13:01 left in the second quarter before Heacock took over the game for six minutes. He scored on a 20-yard hard, high shot with 10:03 left and then ran defenseman Jerry O’Connor ragged with two spin moves before dropping in a short shot with 4:17 remaining as Maryland went ahead, 7-3. Both teams scored in the remaining time as the Terps went into the half leading 8-4.
“All week, our defensive scout teams gives us a great look and we knew they were going to push out, they were going to pressure us,” Heacock said. “My offensive teammates were moving the ball well and we were in the right spots at the right time.”
Maryland seemed on the verge of blowing out the Bulldogs midway through the third quarter. Midfielder Austin Henningsen followed a goal from Terps defender Nick Brozowski with another one with 10:08 left in the third quarter to put Maryland ahead 11-5.
But Yale went on its own three-goal run, started by attackman Jackson Morrill and capped by an extra-man goal from attackman Jack Tigh with 5:21 left in the quarter. Henningsen broke Yale’s streak with a goal with 5:08 left in the quarter. Yale 6 Maryland 4 Goals: Y—Scott 5, Morrill 2, Alessi, Cimbalista, Mackie, Tigh; M—Heacock 3, Bernhardt 2, Henningsen 2, Rambo 2, Brozowski, Maltz, Muller. Assists: Y—Sessa 3. Tigh 2, Cotler, Scott; M—Chisolm 2, Connor 2, Heacock 2, Rambo, Rotanz. Saves: Y—Huffard 10; M—Morris 11.