Maryland men’s lacrosse’s 2023 season has been a roller coaster ride filled with injuries, disappointment, new faces and some top tier performances. Yet the Terps enter the postseason with a solid resume to make the NCAA Tournament including a victory over then-No. 1 Virginia in overtime.
The No. 3-seed Terps (8-4, 3-2 B1G) close out a busy day at SECU Stadium when they host No. 6-seed Rutgers (8-5, 1-4 B1G) Saturday night. The winner will face No. 2-seed Johns Hopkins in the Big Ten semifinals on Thursday.
Last weekend continued Maryland’s inconsistent season, as it had a chance to keep “The Rivalry” trophy in College Park for another year but suffered too many mistakes. Johns Hopkins came out on top with a 12-11 win and claimed a first round bye in the Big Ten tournament, while the Terps were forced to play this weekend. A win would have given Maryland the No. 1-seed and a first round bye.
Instead the Terps find themselves playing in the quarterfinals against the Scarlet Knights, a rematch of a Maryland 11-8 victory in Piscataway a couple weekends ago. The win was the Terps’ most complete game of the season as they scored the game’s first five goals and registered 23 of their 30 shots on-goal, a major turnaround from one of their biggest weaknesses throughout the season.
“For us to try to play our best 60 minutes is really our goal right now,” coach John Tillman said. “… We’re going to value every day because [Brett] Makar said it yesterday, ‘Holy cow when you play Hopkins you realize the end of the season is here and you don’t have much time left.’ And so that can be a very good motivator as well.”
Even though Maryland featured new faces taking on new roles, especially on the offensive end, it still believes it’s in a good position with the arrival of the postseason.
“[That message] definitely set the tone the other day just with the regular season being over,” graduate student defender Brett Makar said. “Now getting into the playoffs you are kind of in this homestretch now, so definitely got to put more emphasis on focusing on the details and doing as best as we can to prep.”
Rutgers went 4-1 against Big Ten foes and made the Final Four last season, but struggled in conference play this year, going 1-4. Yet the Scarlet Knights should not be counted out, as they’re a veteran-led group with 21 seniors and are fighting to keep their season alive.
“You have to be prepared for anything when a team’s backs are against the wall,” Tillman said. “They could change personnel, they could change schemes, they’re going to play really hard because it’s probably do or die.”
Rutgers’ leading point-scorer, Ross Scott, had a big game against the Terps. The senior attacker finished the outing with five points on one goal and four assists. The only other offensive starter besides Scott to start in every game this year for the Scarlet Knights is midfielder Shane Knobloch. The junior is a balanced weapon, scoring 18 goals and recording 17 assists, earning himself second team All-Big Ten honors. Knobloch scored the overtime game-winner in Rutgers’ only conference win of the season against Michigan.
“They got some really good pieces,” Makar said. “I think we definitely gave them some looks they didn’t take advantage of so they’re definitely going to be excited to play us and it’s going to be a battle tomorrow night.”
