Pons feels no pain in his return

Instead of redshirting after injury, senior wanted to finish with his teammates

The first practice for the Maryland men’s lacrosse team before its game against Albany in April was a highly anticipated one considering what was at stake between the two Top 5 teams. But that session was even more nerve-racking for defenseman Mac Pons, who was making his season debut on a surgically repaired right knee.

“I think the first practice I participated in, I was definitely a little nervous going into it because it was my first contact practice,” the senior recalled. “But the first move I made, it didn’t hurt at all. After that, I was thinking, ‘Wow, that felt good. I think I’m ready to go.’”

After missing nine contests, Pons, a Bel Air resident and Boys’ Latin graduate, has gradually worked his way back into the defensive rotation for the top-seeded Terps (13-3), who will meet the No. 8 seed Great Danes (15-2) again in an NCAA Division I tournament quarterfinal at Delaware Stadium in Newark, Del., on Sunday at 2:30 p.m.

A starter in 2015 and 2016, Pons has not regained that status this spring, but that does not diminish his importance in the eyes of his teammates and coaches.

Asked what Pons brings to Maryland, senior defenseman Tim Muller replied, “Just a lot of leadership . ... This is his fourth year playing. He’s got a lot of experience and definitely has a lot of leadership qualities that we can use.”

Said coach John Tillman: “For the next guy you bring in, that fourth defenseman you can rotate in and has been a four-year guy, it’s been great . ... He brings so much to us with his leadership and his communication skills.”

Pons was expected to join Muller, short-stick defensive midfielders Isaiah Davis-Allen and Nick Manis (Severn), and long-stick midfielder Matt Neufeldt to solidify the defense. But his season was delayed when he injured his right knee in early December.

Pons said he underwent surgery that month and sat down with members of the university’s athletic training staff, who advised him that he could play but could miss the first half of the 2017 campaign. Pons said that plan, rather than sitting out and playing in 2018, suited him just fine.

“I think the biggest factor for me in deciding not to redshirt was the guys I came in with and just competing with them,” Pons said. “We’re a close-knit group. So it was important for me to go out with the guys I came in with.”

So Pons began rehabilitating his knee and was cleared to run in late March.

Muller, junior Bryce Young and sophomore Curtis Corley have started all 16 games on close defense. Pons, who has been the first defenseman off the bench, said he has no intention of disrupting their chemistry for the sake of a label as a starter.

“My role is coming off the bench and providing some energy and some minutes for the guys who are a little tired,” he said.

Maryland has a chance to advance to its fourth consecutive final four and sixth in the last seven years, but must get past Albany, which lost to Maryland 12-11 in the regular season. Pons said he is willing to do whatever it takes to help the Terps get to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

“I’m just thankful to be able to practice and the ability to be able to play in games is just awesome,” he said.