College lacrosse is a free-flowing game that may feature a few set pieces, but for the most part, it’s all about making adjustments on the fly.
And no number of practice situations could have prepared the Maryland men’s lacrosse team for the 2020 season.
After starting 5-1 with victories over top-10 foes Notre Dame and Penn, the Terps and the rest of college athletics saw its spring season sideswiped by the COVID-19 pandemic. And it took a while for that reality to sink in.
“You realize ‘OK, this is going to be a while, this is going to be reality for a while,'” head coach John Tillman said. “So then you start thinking about — alright — What do we need to do to take care of our kids? What are we going to do about them academically?”
Tillman’s focus turned from game-preparation to counseling and managing the rest of the semester, which suddenly turned online.
“Making sure they’re safe and trying to make sure we create some structure and guidance for them,” Tillman said.
Since Tillman was hired in 2011, the Terps have been largely successful. They appeared in seven Final Four in nine years after reaching the national semifinals three times the previous dozen seasons.
Five straight Final Fours from 2014 to 2018 included the 2017 National Championship, the program’s first since 1975. This year’s team was looking to get back to the championship game when the season was suspended, attempting to bookend their college experience that saw the Terps win it all when they were freshmen.
But they won’t get that opportunity.
“They’re going to be faced with many challenges. I think this is a prime example of that,” Tillman said. “Knowing that although the end obviously wasn’t they wanted, as freshmen they were part of something that we hadn’t been able to do in 42 years.”
The NCAA has given spring sports athletes an additional year of eligibility, which means some players on the roster may be returning.
“We have one guy coming back and maybe two. And that’s it for us,” Tillman said. “We had a smaller senior class. I think depending on where you are, what school you are, and what your breakdown is of your senior class. Everybody’s got a different situation — some guys have jobs waiting for them.”
Definitely coming back is senior Nick Grill, who transferred last offseason from Marquette. The defenseman notched eight ground balls in six games before the season was canceled.
Jared Bernhardt, though, has transferred to play Division II football at Ferris State (he was recruited to Navy as an option quarterback before committing to lacrosse at Maryland).
Bernhardt had 20 goals this past spring after tallying 51 as a junior (he had 20 as a freshman on the National Championship team) and had a shot at breaking the program’s record of 155 goals set by Matt Rambo in 2017.
But on the bright side, Bernhardt is the team’s lone scorer in this year’s top nine departing.
Leading scorer Logan Wisnauskas (24 goals and 12 assists) will be back for his senior year, just like faceoff specialist Justin Shockey (62%).
Sophomores Joshua Coffman and John Geppert (12 ground balls apiece) return to anchor the defense, while sophomore Chris Brandau (four starts) and freshman Logan McNaney split time in the net this past spring.
Nonetheless, while the loss of the class of 2020 won’t be felt in a tangible way, it made its mark in College Park.
“And that team just like every team every year here was pretty special. It doesn’t take winning a championship to be special in my eyes,” Tillman said.
And having that championship season makes their time as Terps all the more special.
“For that group to accomplish what they did and so many Maryland fans just rejoicing in that and tears in their eyes or crying or celebrating or whatever that may be,” Tillman said. “To have been on the field in that moment, it’s something they can never take away from those young people.”
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