The Maryland lacrosse team was tested early on Tuesday.
The Terrapins erased an early 2-0 deficit and beat Penn 13-8 in a hard-fought road win. Attackman Matt Rambo and midfielder Colin Heacock each had three goals and an assist to lead the way for Maryland.
Maryland scored 10 goals in the first half to gain control of the contest.
Penn got the scoring started early on with goals from Austin Kreinz and Simon Mathias in the first 1:35 of the game. Both of the Quaker goals were scored within 10 seconds of one another to give Penn a 2-0 lead.
However, it seemed to be an early wake-up call for the Terps.
Maryland finished the first quarter by outscoring Penn 6-1 over the final 10:48. Rambo opened the scoring for Maryland with an unassisted tally with 10:48 left in the first quarter.
Heacock, Connor Kelly, Dylan Maltz, Rambo (two), and Pat Young all registered goals for the Terps in the quarter. Heacock and Kelly both scored a goal in the final 1:55 of the first quarter to increase Maryland’s advantage.
After the Quakers scored a pair of goals to start off the second quarter, midfielder Henry West scored an unassisted goal to give the Terps a 7-5 lead with 6:24 left in the first half. It was West’s first goal since the Princeton game on March 12 and only his second of the entire season.
Heacock and Maltz followed with goals of their own to give Maryland a four-goal cushion with 2:49 remaining in the first half. The Terps took a 10-6 lead into halftime after midfielder Bryan Cole scored with just six seconds left in the half.
The second half was all about defense for Maryland.
After a offensively-charged opening half, the Terps only allowed two goals the rest of the way. Both of Penn’s second half goals came in the final 7:55 of the game.
Maryland forced four Penn turnovers and owned the edge in ground balls by a 14-7 margin. Goalie Kyle Bernlohr also was very strong in net as he recorded a season-high 10 saves.
It also didn’t hurt that Austin Henningsen was phenomenal at the “X.” As a team, Maryland won 18-of-25 face-offs and Henningsen was 15-of-20.
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After a solid effort against Penn, Maryland will travel to Michigan as Big Ten play begins.