Maryland handles Penn State, advances to Big Ten mens lacrosse final
BALTIMORE — Maryland Coach John Tillman entered Thursday night's Big Ten semifinal against Penn State with a record of 61-4 when his team scored at least 10 goals, and that is precisely how many the Terrapins had by the time the first half ended at Homewood Field.
Shortly after Maryland hit double digits on the scoreboard and took a seven-goal lead with 4 minutes 36 seconds remaining until halftime, a quartet of Terrapins players coordinated a dramatic chest-bump in front of the net, getting a jumpstart in celebrating a 16-9 win that sent them to their first berth in the Big Ten tournament title game.
The top-ranked Terrapins (13-2) will meet Rutgers, which defeated host Johns Hopkins on Thursday night, but that will only come after they fully decompress from what transpired against the Nittany Lions. Playing at a furious pace, Maryland took a 6-0 lead within the first eight minutes, playing up to their billing as a national title contender.
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Matt Rambo, Colin Heacock and Connor Kelly each scored three goals for Maryland, which matched a school record with its 12th straight win. The Terps are poised to earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament should they win the conference title Saturday.
“I thought we came out with a lot of energy, a lot of emotion,” Tillman said. “We didn’t want to lose that edge.”
Tillman wasn’t pleased with how his team warmed up for the semifinal, noting that his players looked sloppy and careless with their fundamentals. But Thursday’s contest still unfolded much differently than the regular-season meeting between the two schools, when Maryland rallied and held on for a 11-10 overtime victory at State College, Pa.
Penn State looked dejected early, calling a timeout with 7:04 left in the first quarter after Maryland took a 4-0 lead. It was built on two goals from Rambo and one from Kelly and Pat Young (two goals). Then Heacock rifled in his 33rd goal of the season off an assist from Rambo to make it 5-0. The rout continued on the ensuing possession, when Rambo fed Dylan Maltz for another score.
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“I looked up at the scoreboard at one point, and it was 6-0. We had two possessions,” Penn State Coach Jeff Tambroni said. “And you’re not going to win a lot of lacrosse games, certainly not in the Big Ten, certainly not against Maryland.”
Even after Penn State ripped off two consecutive goals near the end of the first quarter, Maryland never looked threatened. It extended the lead to 10-3 after scoring two goals 15 seconds apart from Kelly and Bryce Young. It marked the third time this season that Maryland, which entered the contest averaging 10.6 goals per game, hit double digits in scoring in the first half.
“The biggest thing we focused on all week was just urgency and organization,” Kelly said. “We have a bunch of talented guys. You just have to play it out.”
Penn State’s Nick Amonte made it 10-6 on an extra-man opportunity after Rambo was penalized for slashing midway, and Maryland went down two men after Greg Danseglio was called for slashing on the ensuing possession. Penn State’s Mike Sutton capitalized, cutting the deficit to three with 7:31 left in the quarter.
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But Maryland responded with another burst, with Heacock completing his hat trick to make it 11-7. Sophomore Lucas Gradinger (two goals) pushed the lead to five on the following possession. With just under four minutes remaining, Young scored again to make it 13-7, and Cole found Kelly for another goal with 34 seconds left in the frame to cap the run.
“It was kind of a game of runs, getting up six-nothing, and then all of the sudden, everything someone scored it was two, three four in a row,” Tillman said. “So our guys being able to weather the storm was big for us.”
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