WASHINGTON — Graduation weekend has come and gone on the campuses of the University of Maryland and Johns Hopkins University, but for a handful of student-athletes, there is still work to be done. The Terrapins and Blue Jays lacrosse teams are set to square off Saturday in Philadelphia in the National Semifinal at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia.
This will be Maryland’s 23rd Final Four, and the fourth in the Terrapins’ last five seasons. But they haven’t gotten over that final hurdle, to win a National Championship, since 1975.
That was 40 years ago. Furthermore, this year marks the 20th anniversary of Maryland’s stunning victory over then top-seeded Hopkins at this very same stage, the National Semifinal.
As if that wasn’t enough of a sign of the planets aligning, these two teams have already met this season, with Hopkins coming into College Park and snapping Maryland’s 11-game winning streak with a 15-12 victory. That means this weekend has the trifecta of sports storylines built in: history, tradition and retribution.
Of course, it’s also the National Semifinal game. Senior midfielder Charlie Raffa doesn’t need any more motivation than that.
The faceoff specialist, who has battled injuries throughout his college career, is healthy now and has one last shot to lead his team to a title.
“It’s pretty cool to get to play Hopkins, but we’re looking more at this as a semifinal game we have to win,” he said Thursday before the team boarded the bus to Philadelphia.
Raffa has been there for Maryland’s recent runs, a bevy of success, but always falling just shy of the ultimate prize. Rather than absorb that history — and the school’s history — as added pressure, he uses the experience and support as fuel.
“We have the experience, so I think that’s definitely helpful,” he said. “There’s so much alumni who are in touch with us at all the time, trying to help us out. Those guys having our back is huge.”
Head coach John Tillman has enjoyed unprecedented success in his first five years at the helm, but is also still looking for that coveted championship. The fact that a rival like Hopkins stands in the way makes no difference to him.
“You have a lot of rivalry games you play over the course of the year, and each have their added significance,” Tillman said. “When you get to the Final Four, you’re going to play typically a pretty traditionally strong program, and really that’s what we have. If it wasn’t Hopkins, it was Syracuse.”
To that end, Hopkins upended the second-seeded Orange, 16-15, after previously crushing seventh-seeded Virginia, 19-7. Given what the Blue Jays did to the Terps a few weeks back, that doesn’t surprise Tillman.
“We knew going in they were a really good team, and obviously they proved it that night,” he said. “We need to do better. Certainly the faceoffs are going to be important, the groundballs.”
Raffa won 12-of-20 faceoffs the last time the two matched up, and may need to do even better to lead the charge Saturday.
On their own trip to the Final Four, the Terrapins escaped an 8-7 rematch against one of the only other teams that had beaten them this year in Yale, then upset third-seeded North Carolina in a huge, 14-7 victory. The winner of this matchup will take on the winner of Notre Dame and Denver on Monday. But it will also carry the torch for perhaps the most lacrosse-crazed state in the union.
Maryland will also be represented by their women’s team in the Final Four, but there will be no in-state rivalry on the way to the top-seeded Terrapins trying to defend their national title. Hopkins and Loyola — as well as other locals James Madison and Virginia — have all been eliminated already.
“Being part of Championship Weekend is special for a lot of reasons,” Tillman said. “To get Maryland there is a source of pride for us. For lacrosse, this is as good as it gets. It’s our state sport.”
Regardless of which team gets that chance, getting to play on the national stage (all games will be televised on ESPN2) is what these players work for all season, and Tillman intends to get the most out of the experience.
“We want them to have fun and enjoy every last second,” says Tillman. “We’re either going to have two or four more days together, and that’s it.”
