The month of May tends to be the time when College Park shuts down for the summer, as students make their way home after a long semester of work. For Maryland’s men’s and women’s lacrosse teams, it’s just the start of another chapter.
The two teams have each made their mark in the NCAA tournament and will continue playing this weekend in the Final Four in Philadelphia. The women’s team posted a 19-1 record on the season and attained the No. 1 overall seed heading into this year’s tournament. This year will mark their seventh consecutive Final Four appearance, with championships last year and in 2010.
The Terrapins will go head-to-head on Friday with recent rival Syracuse, who they handled earlier in the season, 10-7. Even with the midseason victory, there still is a looming sense of apprehension for the Terrapins. Syracuse enters the game with a chip-on-its-shoulder mentality, having lost all four meetings with Maryland in tournament history — not to mention one being last year’s title game.
Maryland junior Taylor Cummings, who has 58 goals and 31 assists, and freshman Megan Whittle, who has scored 64 goals, lead the offense. Brooke Griffin and Kristen Lemon each had four goals for Maryland in a 17-5 romp over Northwestern in the quarterfinals, while Whittle and Kelly McPartland each scored four goals in a 19-8 victory over UMass in the second round.
As for the men, they enter their fourth Final Four in the past five years, though they have not won a national championship since 1975. Maryland (14-3) was matched in the opening round with Yale, which won, 10-6, in February. Still, Maryland managed to escape Yale, 8-7. Maryland wasted no time getting familiar with North Carolina in their quarterfinal match-up, trouncing the Tar Heels, 14-7.
Offensive balance was evident in the victory for the Terrapins, as it had been all season. Sophomore attacker Matt Rambo led the team with 34 goals on the season, and has remained consistent throughout the tournament. With seven different players on Maryland reaching double digits in goals, they are given a multitude of options on the field. Junior midfielder Bryan Cole has a team-high 21 assists and scored a team-high four goals in the victory over North Carolina.
As Maryland marches through its competition to the Final Four, it will be met first by Johns Hopkins, which has won nine national championships, on Saturday. The Blue Jays have been credited with their quick style of play this season, and Maryland received a glimpse of this about a month ago after being handed a 15-12 loss in College Park.
“Hopkins-Maryland is something that is based on tradition, great teams and really talented players,” coach John Tillman told reporters earlier this week. “It’s part of the fabric of college lacrosse and it always will be.”
Tillman took the reigns of the program in 2010, and has more than enough confidence in his team heading into Saturday’s game.
“I think one of the biggest things that has gotten us here has been terrific enthusiasm of our scout team all year. Guys like Ryan Lehman, Tyler Brooke and Zach Wholley … have done such a great job in practice putting us in a better position to win,” Tillman said.
Duke plays North Carolina in the other women’s semifinal, while Notre Dame plays Denver in the men’s bracket. If both teams are to finish as champions — the women’s final is on Sunday, while the men’s is on Monday — it will mark the second time in history, after Princeton in 1994, that a program’s men’s and women’s teams have won championships in the same year.
• Andrew Walsh can be reached at awalsh@washingtontimes.com.
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