What to Expect from Maryland Lacrosse

May 28, 2012; Foxborough, MA, USA; Maryland Terrapins midfield Kevin Cooper (left) and attack Owen Blye (13) celebrate after a goal against the Loyola Greyhounds during the first half of the NCAA Division I Men

Men’s lacrosse has finally kicked off their regular season, outscoring UMBC and Mount Saint Mary’s 30-6 to start the year off 2-0. Freshman attacker Matt Rambo has scored seven goals in the two games, while senior Mike Chanenchuk had two goals and a career high three assists against UMBC to fuel the offense, viewed as an area of weakness for the Terps with the loss of some key upperclassmen. With a team returning goalie Nick Amato and starting defenders Michael Ehrhardt, Goran Murray and Casey Ikeda, the experienced defense has enough talent to give the freshman attack some time to develop. Fortunately it looks like they may not need much time to get it going.

There are big expectations this year for Maryland in the tough ACC, which has six of the top 10 teams in the nation (Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse, Virginia, Maryland). As it is early in the year, both opponents gave Maryland an opportunity to work out its kinks. UMBC and Mount Saint Mary’s also provided a fair amount of competition as well, despite not being considered lax powerhouses.

The Terps look to build on last year’s first round loss with an experienced defense and talented midfield and attack. Maryland, ranked sixth in the nation, will face numerous obstacles to get there, but the talent is surely there. Maryland hauled in the top class in the nation and made attack a priority, signing the top four attackers, according to insidelacrosse.com, in the nation in Matt Rambo, Tim Rotanz, Connor Cannizzaro, and Colin Heacock.

Maryland looked very good this morning, but sloppy at times and clearly still working out the knots on offense. In the end, Maryland’s wealth of talent and sharp decision-making allowed the Terps to dominate both opponents. Their next matchup will give them much more of a challenge, as they travel to second-ranked Syracuse in their first ACC game. Syracuse recruited the second best class in the country as well, so talent alone won’t give the Terrapins any distinct advantage over their opponent.