With a 10-7 win against Penn on Monday, the Terrapin men’s lacrosse team started its season with a five-game winning streak for the first time since 2004. But the lackluster victory against the unranked Quakers was not the dominant statement the No. 6 Terps hoped to make.
“The disappointing thing for us is we had a bunch of opportunities and we just didn’t take advantage,” said coach Dave Cottle.
The Terps outshot Penn 33-20, but only 30 percent of those found the back of the net, resulting in a disappointing showing in which the Terps never fully took control. The effort resembled their 12-8 win against Towson just two days earlier, in which the Terps held the lead throughout but could not put the winless Tigers away.
Still, the team’s trio of junior attackman, Grant Catalino, Travis Reed and Ryan Young, together contributed six goals and seven assists while giving up just three turnovers in Monday’s game at Ludwig Field, much better than their performance on Saturday.
Against Towson at Byrd Stadium, the entire starting lineup scored just two goals, Catalino didn’t have a shot, and the Terps had to rely on second team midfield to produce half of the goals. Facing Penn, Catalino trumped the starters’ combined production against the Tigers by himself, with two goals and four assists.
The game started with an explosion of production by the attack, which scored the Terps’ first four goals. Catalino served his first assist to Reed, who slipped a low shot by Penn goalie Chris Casey. Then Catalino scored one of his own on an extra-man opportunity. And after Towson’s first goal, Catalino set up back-to-back goals by Young off two Catalino assists, putting the Terps firmly in the lead.
But by controlling possession and shifting the pace from the up-tempo style of the Terps, the Quakers worked their way back into the game. They kept cutting the Terps’ advantage to an uncomfortable one-goal margin, never giving the Terps a chance to relax.
Finally, with less than 10 minutes remaining and the score at 8-7, the Terps’ attack grabbed momentum for long enough to put the game out of reach. Young cut past his defender to send an assist to midfielder John Haus. The Terps took next face-off, and 13 seconds later Catalino whipped in the final goal from 10 yards out. Penn never answered.
“This early in the season, you just find a way to get by, said Catalino said. “And you hope that when May comes, your team is put together and you’re playing your best lacrosse.”
Yet the team still has issues it must resolve if it wants to continue its winning streak. While the attack stepped up, the first midfield unit, which includes Will Yeatman, Jake Bernhardt, and Adam Sear, struggled again, notching just one goal and one assist following an 0-for-5 shooting performance against Towson.
Coming into the season, the team faced a void of experience at midfield, resulting in a system of three rotating units. But with Yeatman playing more time at attack, his natural position, and the strength of the second team on Saturday, Cottle said he was unsure of how the midfield would evolve.
“We’ve got a dilemma on our first midfield,” Cottle said after Saturday’s game, adding they will likely experiment with the lineup and explore their options. One could be attackman Joe Cummings, who he wants to see out on the field more.
Still, no matter how they played in these last two wins, the Terps will take them.
“We’re happy we won,” Cottle said. “We got five wins. They can’t take that from us.”
Kate Yanchulis is the Terrapin men’s lacrosse team beat writer for The Diamondback . She can be reached at kyanchulisdbk@gmail.com.