The Maryland lacrosse team kept churning along like a well-oiled machine.
The Terrapins used a five-goal run in the first half to top Syracuse 13-7 on Saturday. The win propels Maryland to the Final Four.
This is the third consecutive season that Maryland has reached the national semifinals.
Attackman Matt Rambo led the charge with four goals and two assists. In doing so, he became the first Terp to record 60 points in a season since Joe Walters did it back in 2006.
After midfielder Tim Barber opening the scoring at the 11:52 mark in the opening quarter, Maryland’s offense began to find its stride like they often do.
The Terps scored five consecutive goals, including a pair from former Syracuse attackman Dylan Maltz. After Barber’s goal, Maryland outscored Syracuse 7-2 during the rest of the first half.
Maltz ended up recording a hat trick in the first half and really was able to burn his former team in a big way.
In the second half, it became a game where every time Syracuse would score, Maryland would have an answer.
With 11:55 left in the game, midfielder Pat Young nearly fell down, but regained his composure and was able to rip a shot past goalie Evan Malloy. It was Young’s third goal of the afternoon and he became the third player to record a hat trick for the Terps.
Young’s tally made it a 10-6 game and he ultimately ended up with four goals on the afternoon.
With the Orange cutting the deficit to 10-7 in the fourth quarter courtesy of a Nate Solomon goal, midfielder Connor Kelly set a beautiful pick for Rambo. That allowed Rambo to make his way towards the front of the cage where he beat Malloy to make it an 11-7 contest.
Just moments later, midfielder Sergio Salcido committed a slashing penalty and Maryland didn’t miss their chance to capitalize. The Terps put together a possession of precise passing that ended with midfielder Bryan Cole finding Connor Kelly down low for the easy goal.
The goal came at the 5:45 mark of the fourth quarter and extended Maryland’s lead to 12-7.
One of the biggest reasons for Maryland’s success was the play of goalie Kyle Bernlohr in the cage. Bernlohr made several crucial saves and ended up stopping 15 shots on the afternoon.
Next: Terps face tough test in Syracuse
Maryland will be heading to Philadelphia for Memorial Day Weekend and will face the winner of Brown/Navy next Saturday.