Make no bones about it–this one really hurts. After a miraculous game and victory over Johns Hopkins on Saturday, I never saw this kind of a game coming. It was almost a carbon copy of the NCAA Championship loss to Loyola. The shot selection was just not there and it seemed everything was fired high into the stick of the goalie. 3 pipes and a couple of close in misses didn’t help but at 8-3 in the the 3rd period, you kind of knew it was over.
Defense–All I can say is the defense played great. After a surge of 3 great shots by Wesley Berg, Denver was basically to 5 goals the rest of the way by the Terps. Kyle Bernlohr made acrobatic save after save to keep Maryland in the game. Matt Dunn physically shut down Connor Cannizzaro who only scored once, and was barely a factor in the game. If you would have told me that Denver in reality would only score 8 goals, I would have thought victory was a must.
Face offs—A great battle that was virtually a draw. What a super career for Charlie Raffa, who fought and scrapped the entire season. Baptiste, a freshman, will continue to be a force for Denver the next 3 years. Thanks to Jay Carlson, Joe Locasio, Casey Ikeda and every Senior for all that you have done for Maryland.
Offense—Furman scored 5 goals against Denver. Providence scored 9. I am not expert enough to know exactly what went wrong but this was not the Maryland offense that had played so great against Carolina and Johns Hopkins. Matt Rambo scored twice and had 1 assist. Colin Heacock scored early. Heacock will certainly play a major role in the offense the next 2 years.
I am literally at a loss for words for this game but I will tell you this. Maryland is and has always been a major force in Lacrosse. This absence of a championship will do nothing to deter that. Great players all over the country yearn to be a Terp. Once again Coach Tillman has a top 5 recruiting class. There is no doubt he will keep Maryland a winner. No one took this loss harder then Coach Tillman. But I assure he will be back on the recruiting trail probably tomorrow searching for those guys who can finally put Maryland over the top. Men’s lacrosse has a special place in Terrapin nation. For whatever reason, the title has eluded all of the great coaches Maryland has had since 1975.
The Terps will remain a hard core working class lacrosse squad. If any college thinks this loss breaks the resolve of Maryland to get over the hump, be ready to be painfully defeated.
“Great victory can follow a shocking defeat if there is positive persistence in the pursuance. Never say never, keep the hope alive”—Rossenero
freddy from boca
who is rossenero
· 11/12/2019