Maryland has used a lot of freshmen so far this season as injuries have taken their toll on the Terps men?s lacrosse team.
But, as Maryland works to get back to the Final Four for a third straight year, it needs contributions from its upper classmen to keep the team?s chemistry strong with teams like Navy, Johns Hopkins and defending champion Virginia still on the schedule.
That was the case Saturday as senior attack Michael Phipps and senior midfielder Chris Feifs scored two goals each and junior attack Max Ritz had two goals and an assist in No. 11 Maryland?s 11-7 win against the University of Maryland-Baltimore County at Byrd Stadium.
“I think we?re further along than we were two weeks ago, but we still have a long way to go,” Maryland coach Dave Cottle said. “When you win a game, you?ve got to enjoy it because wins are hard to come by. This was a win that we needed. It helps us get to where we want to be, but now we have to keep getting better.”
Maryland (5-2) has now won three straight after losing to back-to-back home games against No. 7 Georgetown and No. 4 Duke, respectively. The Terps host Mount St. Mary?s at 3 p.m. Tuesday.
“We knew this was going to be a big win for us,” Phipps said. “There?s a lot of parity in lacrosse now and you can?t just show up and expect to win. We knew UMBC would be a tough team and that a win here would help us position ourselves for the NCAA tournament.”
UMBC (3-3) continued its up-and-down season expected of a team with22 freshmen on its roster. The Retrievers next play this coming Saturday at 1 p.m. when they host Ohio State at UMBC Stadium.
Despite its youth, UMBC coach Don Zimmerman pointed to the veterans on his team for not playing up to their potential against Maryland.
This was especially true in the second quarter when the Terps out shot the Retrievers, 12-4, won the groundball battle, 10-2, and converted two of three extra-man opportunities. Maryland led 7-2 at halftime and 11-3 after three quarters after going on a 9-2 run.
“We have yet to put together a full 60 minutes of lacrosse,” Zimmerman said. “It?s a shame that we can?t put together the same, emotion and energy and fight that we showed in the last six or seven minutes of the game. This team need to take a long hard look at themselves at who they are and what they want to be.”
MARYLAND/UMBC NOTES
» Sophomore midfielder Jeremy Sieverts led the Terps with a team-high three goals against UMBC.
» Junior midfielder Terry Kimener had three goals and an assist and sophomore midfielder Alex Hopmann had two goals and an assist for UMBC against Maryland.
» UMBC made the game seem closer than it really was by outscoring Maryland, 4-0, and out shooting the Terps, 15-3, in the fourth quarter.
