Stingy Maryland men face Johns Hopkins in NCAA lacrosse semifinals

Considering the defensive nature of anyone associated with the Maryland lacrosse team these days, it came as no surprise when Big Ten defensive player of the year Casey Ikeda deflected the compliment when he won the award.

"It really could have gone to any number of my teammates," Ikeda, a fifth-year senior defenseman from Conestoga High, said Thursday. "It's a huge honor. But we are a great defensive unit because of the way we play together."

The seventh-seeded Terrapins (14-3) are a bit of an anomaly in today's college lacrosse, where increasingly teams are looking to move up and down the field at a breakneck pace and get the shot count up. To the contrary, Maryland is the lacrosse version of Chinese water torture, trying to slowly milk every possession, find a mistake in their opponent's defense, and win a low-scoring battle.

Maryland will try to end its 40-year drought without an NCAA title this weekend when it faces longtime rival Johns Hopkins (unseeded, 11-6) on Saturday in the semifinals at Lincoln Financial Field.

In the other semifinal Saturday, top-seeded Notre Dame (12-2) faces No. 4 seed Denver (15-2).

"They are a very difficult team to play," said Johns Hopkins coach Dave Pietramala, who guided the Blue Jays to a 15-12 victory at Maryland last month. "But they know how they want to play, they have that identity, and they will do what they have to do and what they do best. They know who they are and they know what they want to do in order to beat you."

The Terrapins are the best defensive team in the nation, allowing 6.65 goals per game. This offsets a 26th-ranked offense (10.41 per game) and a .266 shooting percentage that ranks 49th in the nation. Junior goalie Kyle Bernlohr has been impressive all season, allowing 6.57 goals per game, best in Division I, and ranking third in save percentage (.589).

The Terrapins are playing on championship weekend for the fourth time in the last five years. In what was a pleasant surprise, they used an offensive explosion last weekend to upend former Atlantic Coast Conference rival North Carolina, 14-7.

"We play against our offense every day and we know what they are capable of doing," said Ikeda, who missed his freshman season with a shoulder injury. "I think we are peaking at the right time."

The offense is paced by sophomore attack Matt Rambo, a sophomore out of La Salle who leads the team in goals (34) and points (50). Rambo was a first-team all-Big Ten selection along with Ikeda.

In their four trips to championship weekend, nine current players have been to all of them, giving the Terps an experienced roster.

"It's a good group," coach John Tillman said. "They've been through a lot of adversity together. I think that's just made us stronger."

@JmitchInquirer