Photo courtesy Quinnipiac Athletics
By: Morey Hershgordon
Quinnipiac’s historic 2016 men’s lacrosse season has come to an end.
On Sunday afternoon, top-seeded Maryland wore down a stout Quinnipiac defense in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to cruise to a 13-6 victory at Capital One Field in College Park, Md.
“They’re a good team. We knew coming in that we’d have quite a (challenge),” Quinnipiac head coach Erik Fekete said. “We made some mistakes along the way and they exploited every one. They’re the number one team in the country for a reason.”
The Terrapins exuded poise from the start. They won all twelve, first-half faceoffs. However, their halftime lead, 7-3, was not an accurate representation of the complete dominance throughout the first 30 minutes. The advantage in faceoffs, (12-for-12), groundballs (18-7) and shots (20-13) was masked by seven turnovers.
“Austin Henningsen and the wing guys were terrific to go 12-for-12 in the first half,” Maryland head coach John Tillman said. “It just allowed us so many possessions that candidly we wish we did a little better job of.”
Quinnipiac’s defense and goaltending was sharp, forcing miscommunication and tough shots. Ryan Lawler led a unit that forced three caused turnovers and Jack Brust made four saves.
The Bobcats won three straight faceoffs, and Foster Cuomo tallied a goal, ending a 16:09 scoring drought, to cut Maryland’s lead to 7-4 with 11:03 in the third quarter. The first four minutes, Brust said, felt like past games in which the Bobcats relied on quick starts.
“We told the guys this was a fast group,” Tillman admitted. “I think you have to give Coach Fekete and that program a lot of credit. They were really hot coming in. That’s a really good team, they don’t beat themselves. They’re built to last.”
Five unanswered Maryland goals to finish the quarter, highlighted by Matt Rambo’s tally as time expired, put the game out of reach.
“That was really big because (Quinnipiac) got the first one,” Tillman said. “I thought the guys really settled in. Being a little bit (smarter) with our opportunities, making sure that we made the next pass, and then just putting the ball in good spots. We had to do a good job of shot location to keep (Brust) off balance.”
Matt Rambo led Maryland with five points on three goals and two assists. His teammates Henry West and Bryan Cole also had hat tricks. For Quinnipiac, its dynamic offense was extremely limited, as Anthony Carchietta was the only Bobcat to record more than one goal. Senior Connor Meth had the lone assist.
Will Vitelli won six out of nine faceoffs in the second half, significantly better than the first. Despite the scoreboard, Quinnipiac outscored Maryland 2-1 in the fourth quarter. These small, yet important progressions were a microcosm of the season at large.
“We talked all season about the steps you have to take to progress your programs culture,” Fekete said. “The first one is getting into the tournament. Everyone is vying for that and wants to win. Winning a tournament game is stage two for you and we’re fortunate we could do both in the same year. There are a lot of teams that have gotten in and haven’t won that first game. I think that gave us a lot of confidence.”
Looking forward, the post game locker room discussion Sunday, was parallel to that after the 2015 MAAC Championship loss.
“Last year in the Marist loss at the MAAC Championship we made that run and we came up short after being down nine in the first half. And in that (locker room) we decided we were never letting this happen again. (We said), ‘We’re getting back to the MAAC Championship and we’re going to win it.’ The sentiment in that room, now, is that this is where we need to get back to. This is where we belong.”
And on the long bus ride back to Hamden, the seniors will have plenty of time to reflect on their historic season.
“As seniors and captains we set out on a mission, at the beginning of the year, and we accomplished it,” Ryan Keenan said. “We won a championship and made it to the NCAA Tournament, something this program’s never done.”
