ARTICLE FROM TODD CARTON:
The Maryland Terrapins and Ohio State Buckeyes men’s lacrosse teams took to the turf in Jesse Owens Stadium in the final of the Big Ten Tournament and delivered a game fully worthy of naming a champion. In the end, the trophy will return to College Park for a second consecutive year as the Terps made the last big play in a game filled with big plays and held on to a 10-9 win.
When most of the headlines and stories are written the focus will rightfully be on the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, Connor Kelly, who backed up his four goal semifinal outburst with and even more authoritative five goals in the title game. In fact, when Kelly scored all three of Maryland’s first period goals, it extended to seven the string of seven consecutive scores for the junior midfielder spanning the two tournament games. However, there was much more to this game than Connor Kelly. Let’s take a look.
After a Kelly goal opened the scoring just under three minutes into the game, the home standing Buckeyes responded with three straight goals on three shots making it look as though Terrapins goalie Dan Morris was going to be in for a long night. They built a 3-1 advantage and the two goal edge proved to be the largest lead for either team. Morris finished the quarter without a save but once he settled in beginning early in the second with a save on a long shot by Ohio State freshman sensation Tre Leclaire, the Buckeyes found his net minding considerably more difficult to penetrate as the junior from Texas would notch eight saves on Ohio State’s final 14 shots.
With Morris more settled, Maryland responded from this haymaker with three consecutive scores of their own starting with two more from Kelly before Tim Rotanz tickled the twine with 9:41 to play in the first half becoming the first Terp to score – other than Kelly – since the first half of the semifinal against Penn State.
Throughout the first half and into the fourth quarter it looked as though Jake Withers, the conference Specialist of the Year, was going to be as thoroughly dominating as he had been when the team’s met in Columbus in late April. He controlled seven of the 10 first half face offs and held a 10-5 edge into the fourth quarter. However, in a bold move, Maryland coach John Tillman elected to move long poles Bryce Young and Matt Neufeldt to the wings and leave Isaiah Davis-Allen somewhat exposed in the defensive third. The move paid off as Maryland face off specialist Austin Henningsen began to nullify Withers and the Terps controlled five of the game’s final eight draws. The move also paid off in a goal by Young that came just 11 seconds after Leclaire had scored to put the Buckeyes ahead for the first time since their three goal first quarter outburst.
The focal point of Maryland’s offense is senior attacker Matt Rambo. At the end of Friday’s game, it looked as though his string of 52 consecutive games with a point had ended but a later review awarded him an assist on Kelly’s first goal of the second half thus keeping the streak alive. In the final, Rambo wasted no time registering an assist on Kelly’s first score of the night. He scored his only goal of the weekend and put the Terps up 8-7 when he came of a Tim Rotanz pick with 9:28 to play in the game. He finished the night with a goal and two assists but perhaps his two biggest plays came in an unexpected area – ground balls.
The first came with 7:35 to play when a Rotanz shot caromed of the stick of Ohio State goalie Tom Carey. Rambo was checked to the turf in his race to the sideline but somehow managed to save the ground ball. The added possession led to Kelly’s fifth and final goal – one that put the Terps up 9-8. Then on a wild sequence that began with a save by Carey of a Rambo shot from three yards out. This was followed by Maryland freshman Jared Bernhardt running down Ben Randall and causing a turnover with a brilliant diving trail check just after Randall had successfully cleared the ball into the offensive third. An errant pass by Rotanz on the clear squirted between two Buckeyes and Rambo simply out fought Ohio State long pole Matt Borges for the crucial ground ball pickup. Maryland was able to then run out the clock thanks in large part to Ohio State freshman Jeff Henrick who continued to play after losing his glove fighting through a Kelly pick. The foul gave the Terps an extra man opportunity with 1:04 to play and, since a timer can’t be called when the teams are not both at full strength, effective sealed the win by allowing Maryland to run out the clock.
And to those who might have thought the Terps weren’t dealt a blow with absence of Colin Heacock in the first matchup, it’s worth noting that although the senior had only one assist and one goal, that goal was a highlight reel finish with 3:27 to play that proved to be the game winner.
Maryland and Ohio State have played eight quarters plus a short overtime in 2017 and the collective 20-20 score of the games is a sight that even the least sharp-eyed can see shows the balance between the two squads. It’s likely that with this win Maryland will enter the NCAA Tournament as the top overall seed for the second consecutive year. It will come as no surprise if they see the Buckeyes again on championship weekend – possibly for the biggest trophy. Should that come to pass, I’d expect another game worthy of determining a champion.
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