Sports

Maryland men’s lacrosse focused on beating Duke in NCAA tournament semifinals

by: Alex Flum

Posted: May 26, 2021 / 05:28 PM EDT / Updated: May 28, 2021 / 12:11 AM EDT

COLLEGE PARK, Md. (WDVM) – The dance continues for the Maryland men’s lacrosse team and the Terps are now just two wins away from a national championship.

Thanks to an overtime victory over Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana on Sunday, No. 3 seed Maryland will take on No. 2 seed Duke in the NCAA semifinals on Saturday at 2:30 p.m, in East Hartford, Connecticut.

“We’re a very confident group and we understand each others strengths very well,” Maryland senior midfielder Alex Smith said. “And what one guy lacks in kind of one place, I think other guys pick it up. So I think that we play off each other’s strengths very well. And we’re a confident group but I don’t think we’re an overconfident group.”

John Tillman’s squad is a perfect 14-0 and they will look to continue that run, not getting too high or low, and staying focused on Duke.

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‘Pack of Hungry Wolves’: Maryland Defense Faces Toughest Challenge Yet in Clash With Duke

Friday May 28th, 2021 6:45am



(Photo by Rachel Pincus/NCAA/Notre Dame Athletics)

Aside from Jared Bernhardt’s unstoppable athleticism, Maryland’s turnaround on the defensive side of the ball this season has been one of the chief reasons for their sixth semifinal appearance in the last seven NCAA Tournaments. ... After giving up 12.5 goals per game in their truncated 2020 season (ranked 46th in Division I), the Terps have cut that down to 10 in 2021 (tied-11th). In two more games, Duke has allowed the same amount of goals per game.

Both defenses are tasked with limiting superstar attackmen in Maryland’s Bernhardt and Duke’s Michael Sowers. Both are tasked in making sure their surrounding casts don’t cause irreparable damage.

While Duke brings the Schmeisser award-winning JT Giles-Harris, second-team IL Media All-American goalie Mike Adler and third-team All-American LSM Tyler Carpenter to the battle, the Terps have some defensive studs of their own.

A pair of second-teamers in Brett Makar and Nick Grill, along with third-team SSDM Roman Puglise and honorable mention goalie Logan McNaney have helped Maryland play the defense necessary to be one of the Final Four teams remaining. That core will be critical in avoiding the same outcome the Blue Devils dealt the last time these two programs met in the semifinals in 2018.

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