About the only way the first 10 minutes of the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament game between the Maryland Terrapins and the Yale Bulldogs could not have gone much better for Maryland would have been if an early Terps shot or two had found the net rather than the post.
The first bit of apparent good news for Maryland came when Charlie Raffa took the field for the opening faceoff. However, that faceoff, as well as three of the four in the period went to Yale. What Raffa did after losing the faceoff was nearly as effective when he checked the ball away from Jonathan Reese and the Terps gained possession.
Heading toward the closed end of Capital One Field at Byrd Stadium, Matt Rambo would take Maryland’s first shot but Bulldogs goalie Eric Natale made his first save of the game. Terrapins goalie Kyle Bernlohr was just as effective on the other end picking up the first of his five saves for the quarter one of which would come on a shot from point blank range.
Joe LoCascio got Maryland on the board first with a low to high bullet with 12:22 to play in the quarter. Bernlohr continued hot saving the first four shots he faced. That allowed the Terps to overcome three turnovers in the period and it allowed LoCascio to come off a pick and get isolated on a short stick defender. The senior split tw slidingg defenders, got to his left hand and put found the net inside the far post.
Freshman Jason Alessi finally got a shot past Bernlohr. It came from about 15 yards and, though he had his hands free in space, is probably one Bernlohr will think he should have stopped.
The period would end with Maryland up 2-1 and having an extra man opportunity (EMO) on a one minute slashing penalty called just before the quarter’s end
Second Quarter
The Terps would take quick advantage. Matt Rambo found Colin Heacock who used a hitch step to let a Yale defender run by and create a better angle. Natale had no chance and Maryland led 3-1. The Terps wouldn’t score again in the period as they began forcing shots taking 21 for the half and being somewhat stifled by Natale’s seven saves.
Meanwhile, Yale began to find its footing and gained some confidence. Alessi scored a second on a relatively unchallenged dodge down the right alley and the Bulldogs picked up the equalizer with just 14 seconds to play in the half. A minute earlier, Henry West had forced a shot from a difficult angle that harmlessly landed in the side of the net.
Yale worked the clock down and Eric Scott circled right to left behind the goal emerging to Bernlohr’s right. Michael Keasey drifted wide of an inattentive Maryland defense. Scott’s skip pass found Keasey in open space from 10 yards. After seeing the Terps control the pace of play and dominate everywhere but the faceoff dot where the Elis won five of seven, Yale had to be happy to carry the momentum of that last goal and a three all tie into halftime.
Third Quarter
Yale won the opening faceoff but Maryland’s defense in the form of Matt Neufeldt forced an early turnover. On the Terps possession it fell to a very patient and determined assault by Maryland’s leading assist man Bryan Cole to nudge the Terps back in front with a shot from just outside the right crease.
An unforced turnover, Maryland’s fourth of the game, led to a goal by COlin Flaherty and, after Raffa’s third faceoff violation of the game, Yale held the ball for a mere 1:46 before Ben Reeves scored to put the visitors up for the first time.
The Terps finally won a faceoff but after LoCascio sent a shot wide, Jay Carlson was whistled for an interference foul giving the ball back to Yale. The Buldogs again capitalized again on a skip pass from Scott to Flaherty and the Elis ended the period with a 6-4 lead.
Fourth Quarter
Although Maryland opened the period with possession due to an offside call on Yale at the end of the third, the Buldogs got on the board first on yet another sloppy Maryland turnover. Yale generated a fast break opportunity and Conrad Oberbeck, whom the Terps had stifled to this point got on the board to put the Bulldogs up by three with 14:16 to play.
The next faceoff belonged to Maryland as Matt Neufeldt picked up the ground ball and the next goal belonged to Cole who took the feed from Jay Carlson shredded the net finding his second slice of cabbage for the day.
After a Yale shot hit the post, Kyle Berhlohr picked off a pass. Matt Rambo spotted LoCascio in the middle of Yale’s defense and suddenly Maryland’s offense which had stagnated with players standing around and the ball sticking in one player’s for the better part of two full quarters, began to move the ball crisply. LoCascio took two steps and fired completing his hat trick and pulling the Terps within one with seven and a half minutes to play.
Raffa cleanly won the faceoff and the Terps needed just 46 seconds to get the equalizer. It came from Rambo and was Maryland’s only unassisted goal of the quarter. It was a dodge Terps fans have seen often throughout the season with the sophomore circling from behind the net and getting inside his defender.
Henry West scored what proved to be the game winner with 5:07 to play. Once again, good ball movement generated the opportunity. It started with a low cross field pass from Cole. West took the low pass and went low to low with a quick release that beat Natale.
The game’s final five minutes played at a hectic, chaotic and confusing pace to fans and officials. Notre Dame committed a slashing penalty just before West’s score that carried over to the next possession. Neufeldt won his second ground ball on a faceoff in the quarter but Natale made the save on Rambo’s high burner as the one minute EMO wound down.
Bernlohr made his eighth save of the game on Oberbeck’s eighth shot of the game. And things got a little crazy. Maryland got it’s clear thanks to a very questionable interference call on Yale and head coach John Tillman called timeout with just over two minutes to play. Yale came out aggressively and the Terps turned the ball over. Then things got really crazy.
First, the officials put up a shot clock warning on Yale with just a bit over a minute to play. Oberbeck’s shot hit the post and Bernlohr looked to have beaten Yale to the sideline cover. The official closest to the play signaled Maryland ball and most of the crowd of 1,729 erupted. Apparently, an official farther from the play saw things differently and his overrule gave the Bulldogs possession and the ability to call a timeout to set up a last play.
Then things got even crazier. The Elis began working the ball around and got the ball to Keasey. Keasey had his hands free and his shot from the right hit the upper left joint of the pipe and crossbar. It took a crazy bounce apparently behind Bernlohr and took a peculiar bounce. In the ensuing scrum, the ball came back into the crease and Maryland’s goalie covered the ball and the Terps ran out the clock completing the comeback 8-7 win.
But things remained a little crazy. Ultra slow motion replays showed that Keasey’s shot may have caromed into the goal behind Bernlohr rather than staying out of the goal. Some viewers are convinced of that.
Regardless, the game enters the record book as an 8-7 Maryland win. The Terps will move on to a quarterfinals match-up with the winner of Sunday’s game between North Carolina and Colgate.
We’ll have more analysis and post game reaction in a later story. For now, Terps fans, take a breath and enjoy the win.
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