The Terp men’s lacrosse team has already played on two days or less rest three times this season.

The No. 9 Terps have responded well, winning all three games, two of which were bounce-back games after losses.

And the flurry of early season action is no accident, according to coach Dave Cottle. He said the schedule was designed to benefit his young team.

“We had to teach our guys how to play first and be able to adjust on the fly,” Cottle said. “Now we’re getting into the preparation phase a little bit.”

The Terps are finished with mid-week games, and they have at least six days between games for the remainder of the regular season.

But that doesn’t mean they’ll get a break. The Terps (5-2) are about to hit the part of their schedule that sees them play top-10 teams in four consecutive weekends, starting Saturday at No. 5 North Carolina.

Cottle said his team needs the time to prepare. He stressed that playing teams that are so evenly matched makes preparing for each game supremely important.

After Sunday afternoon’s home win against Air Force, the coaches spent part of the evening breaking down film on North Carolina. While the players got Monday off from playing after a pair of weekend games, they spent time that day watching film as well.

Not exactly Academy Award-winning viewing but nearly as much of a reward for the Terps at this point in the season.

“We played so many games on short rest, we look forward to having the luxury of a full week to prepare,” Cottle said.

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