PHILADELPHIA — Maryland earned a return trip the NCAA men’s lacrosse championship game. But it wasn’t easy.
Colin Heacock scored 1:19 into overtime and the top-seeded Terrapins staved off an inspired rally from No. 5 Brown for a 15-14 victory before a semifinal crowd of 33,137.
In a see-saw battle that had the feel of a championship game rather than a semifinal, Maryland (17-2) managed to build a 14-10 advantage, only to see the Bears go on a four-goal run in the fourth quarter to draw even. The Terrapins started fast taking a 4-1 advantage early, only to watch the high-scoring Bears (16-3) score six of the next seven goals to take a 7-5 lead. Larken Kemp’s goal with 6:57 remaining in the half put Brown up 8-7, but that would prove to be the Bears’ last lead.
Brown would not score again until only 23 seconds remained in the third quarter, but senior goalie Jack Kelly made seven of his 14 saves in the third period to keep the Bears in it.
Brendan Caputo’s second goal of the game with 1:49 left in regulation knotted the game at 14. But Maryland senior defenseman Matt Dunn secured the ground ball on the overtime face-off. After working the ball behind the goal, Rambo found Heacock on the crease. He faked and fired a low shot past Kelly for the game winner.
“I just caught the skip pass and looked to the middle and Colin was wide open,” Rabmo said. “He finished it.”
In the end it was Maryland’s balance that carried the day. Twelve different Terrapins recorded at least a point, led by Rambo’s six on a goal and five assists. Heacock finished with three goals and an assist, and Dylan Maltz also notched a hat trick.
“We realized pretty quickly that that’s what we needed to do,” said Terrapins coach John Tillman. “Matt and Colin are great players, but you can’t win with just one or two guys. We knew we’d need that balance.”
“How fun was that?” said Brown coach Lars Tiffany in a surprisingly upbeat media conference following the loss. “We knew it was going to end one way or the other this weekend, but this is a great group of men. I feel like a proud father right now.”
Dylan Molloy, the favorite for the Tewaaraton Award and the nation’s leading scorer, helped spark the Bears’ rally with his second goal of the game in the fourth quarter despite playing with a broken bone in his foot. Bailey Tills, Molloy’s replacement on the attack unit, had a solid game as well with four goals and an assist.
“Dylan Molloy is the toughest guy I know who’s ever put on a lacrosse helmet,” Tiffany said. “For him to do what he did today with a broken foot is phenomenal.”
The Terrapins earned a date with North Carolina in Monday’s final (1 p.m. ET, ESPN2). Coincidentally, the same two schools square off Sunday in Chester, Pa., for the women’s title.
