When the final horn sounded in the season’s final lacrosse game, the scoreboard read Maryland 9 – Ohio State 6. How long had it been since Maryland won the final game of the NCAA lacrosse season? Here are some clues:
44 cents.
858
$4,105
$39,300
These are respectively the cost of a gallon of gas, the Dow Jones Industrial Average, the cost of a new Ford Mustang and the average price of a new house.
Maryland 9 – Ohio State 6.
Thanks to the combined effort of head coach John Tillman and his team of Kevin Conry, J.L. Reppert and Kevin Mattes and the combined effort of all 50 players who comprise the team, Maryland once again sits atop the college lacrosse world.
Merriam-Webster defines a team as “A number of persons associated together in work or activity.” While this is sufficient to capture a certain concept, it seems deficient in capturing the work, the heart and the determination that separates an ordinary team from a championship team. For that, perhaps we can look to some of the traits proposed by CEO Magazine.
Every athletic team begins every season with a purpose – winning a championship. For the Maryland men’s lacrosse team, the purpose burned with a passion borne of two consecutive years of falling crushingly, agonizingly short of achieving that purpose. Could the team put those losses behind them and reclaim their focus.
The trio of senior attackmen – Dylan Maltz, Matt Rambo and Colin Heacock dubbed Run DMC – combined for more than 40 percent of the Terps goals and more than half of the team’s assists over the season. Their production was slightly below that in the two games on championship weekend. But the added pressure on #1 and #2 opened the field for Maltz and the middies who responded as a Championship team does. Rotanz, Kelly, DeMillo, and Maltz combined for 15 goals for the weekend. Don’t forget #1 and #2 combined for 6 ground balls on Monday. This Championship squad plays totally unselfish lacrosse. MOTIVATE THE WHOLE TEAM NOT JUST THE STARS
Sunday’s championship game in particular was a chance for players who hadn’t had leading roles all season to take their turn in the spotlight most notably Adam DiMillo and Jon Garino, Jr. Dimillo, who was part of an often maligned second midfield, and who had scored only three times all season, scored the first and fourth goals in a 4-0 Terrapins run that began in the first period with Maryland trailing 2-1 and ended in the second with the Terps holding a 5-2 edge – the same three goal margin they held at game’s end.
As for Garino, the senior came off the bench after fellow faceoff specialist Austin Henningsen struggled in his matchup with Ohio State’s Jake Withers who is one of the top four faceoff men in the country. As he had done several times earlier in the season, Garino responded with a dominating performance. Sunday he won 10 of fourteen draws including two critical faceoffs late in the fourth quarter that helped stem any hope of an Ohio State comeback.
Hearing Coach Tillman call out for his captains as he held the trophy after the game and telling them, “This belongs to you,” and seeing him in a long post game embrace with Matt Rambo, the senior star who added a goal and an assist to his record as Maryland’s all-time points and goals leader, speaks to the culture of family that Tillman creates. No one out works him as a coach and that work ethic also creates a culture that leads by example and reaches his seniors, his captains and ultimately his entire team.
In truth, the only people who know what transpires in the huddles are the people in the huddles. What those of us watching from a distance can see is a coach who remains an island of calm regardless of the storm swirling around him. His team reflects with their ability to remain calm in the face of adversity. And it showed up in Monday’s game.
Maryland held an 8-3 lead with 10:36 to play in the fourth period. By the time the clock had ticked down to 2:25 to play, Ohio State had cut the lead to 8-6. Ohio State won the faceoff and the spirit of every Terps fan began to wither at least a bit. But goalie Dan Morris made his 11th and final save of the day on a low burner by freshman phenom Tre Leclaire and when Ohio State goalie Tom Carey came out of goal to chase the ball, the Terps’ Tim Rotanz calmly skimmed a one hopper into the net from just inside midfield to seal the victory.
The growth of Tillman’s players both on and off the field speaks to his mentorship. The freshman Rambo scored 30 goals and had six assists. The senior Rambo scored 43 goals but finished with 46 assists. Short stick defensive midfielder Isaiah Davis-Allen transformed from a player who didn’t start a single game as a freshman to a first team All-American as a senior.
Davis-Allen, who, in the title game, occasionally found himself in a one on one matchup with Leclaire and who, together with his running mate Tim Muller (the Championship’s Most Outstanding Player) held him to just a single goal on four shots, also won the Senior CLASS Award that recognizes the NCAA Division 1 athlete who has notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition.
A cynic might look at the 42 year span between Maryland championships and wonder where is the success? Even before claiming the title, the achievements of this team and this senior class have been unmatched in this era. Before Monday’s win, they had complied a record of 60-10. They had three conference titles, two conference tournament championships and this was their fourth consecutive Final Four and their third straight title game. By any measure, that’s a lot of success and Monday’s championship was simply the jewel in the crown.
In some ways, the back to back championship losses could be said to have created their own “feel it moments.” But as part of the culture, as part of the mentoring that improves in field performance but also teaches that life is bigger than lacrosse, the team helped their coach cope with the emotions surrounding the death of his mother less than a month ago and in much the same way that the coach had helped Davis-Allen cope with a similar loss before he had ever donned a Maryland uniform.
But the feel it moments go beyond that. They stretch to the program’s relationship with Team IMPACT that dates to the arrival of then five year old Fionn Crimmins in October 2015. Fionn, who has acute lymphoblastic leukemia has played an integral part in the development of this team’s culture and success.
Today, the long wait ended. For all the players who donned a Maryland uniform between 1976 and 2017, for all the coaches, assistant coaches and support staff who poured their hearts and souls into one championship chase after another only to fall short, for all the fans who watched and supported and hoped and wept, let their heartbreak be healed. This Maryland team carries the mantle of a champion but they are also so much more.
No comments have been posted yet, be the first!
Post a comment by filling out the form below.
