There seemed to be 2 Terp teams I watched, followed and lived and died with this year. One was great at the X, great on defense, innovative on offense, and of #1 calibre. The other was still great at the X, solid defensively , but sluggish, somewhat confused on offense, and just clearly not ready to win it all. It’s obvious which team showed up today on the highest stage of lacrosse.
Today was a major disappointment for the team, the coaching staff, and Terrapin nation. But 6 hours after the fact after a calming down period, getting to the final four again was a great accomplishment for Coach Tillman and the squad. Picked to finish last in the ACC, the Terps 100% reversed the skeptics by actually winning the ACC regular season title.
No regrets for the tremendous emotional investment in this squad. I was privileged to watch this band of Seniors mature into All American quality talent on and off the field. Niko was a stellar goalie and team leader for this squad. Mike Chanenchuk grabbed this offense and produced by being a totally unselfish leader, Michael Erhardt developed into college’s premiere LSM under the tutelage of last year’s LSM Jesse Bernhardt. Brian Cooper excelled at the short stick defender position and was the heart and spirit of the squad with his emotional play.
The future is bright for the Terps. Let us not forget, the 4 horsemen –Rambo, Cannizzaro, Heacock, and Rotanz were asked to do a lot, but they were just freshmen. Joe Locasio and Henry West have become prime offensive forces with their wicked laser shots. Goran Murray, Casek Ikeda, Mat Dunn, Mac Pons all return on defense. And much to the chagrin of the rest of college lacrosse, the greatest X man ever to play at Maryland, Charlie Raffa returns for his senior season next year. Not much else to else to say but as I told told Coach Tillman 13-4 is something to be really proud of.
But……40 years and counting
John Porter
Do not know why you and orther Terp fans were surprised! The first half of the year they played great. The second half of the season they limped into the tournament.
· 11/12/2019