#3 Maryland 9-4 (3-2) @ #2 John's Hopkins 11-4 (4-1) When: Thursday, May 4th, 3:30PM Where: John's Hopkins, Homewood Field TV: Big Ten Network The Terps finished the regular season with a hard fought 12-11 loss to John's Hopkins in SECU Stadium. After a 14-11 win over Rutgers in the Quarterfinal game o the Big Ten tournament, Maryland gets its long-awaited matchup again Johns Hopkins in the semifinals, this time at John's Hopkins at Homewood Field. In their matchup during the regular season, neither team ever held a led greater than two. Expect more of the same this Thursday with it being a rematch, and rematches in lacrosse tend to be even more low scoring then the first game. The Terps defense has been dealing with injuries with Ajax Zappitello's health for the remainder of the postseason run in question after missing the game against Rutgers, as well as John Geppert not finishing the Rutgers game due to injury as well. Freshman Will Schaller stepped up for Zappitello and led the team in caused turnovers last week. With Geppert out, the Terps moved Nick Redd from short stick defensive midfielder to a long stick midfielder. If both Geppert and Zappitello can not go on Thursday, I would expect a few wrinkles from last weeks game to sure up the defense and get them ready for Hopkins' high powered offense. On offense for the Terps, Braden Erska and Daniel Maltz both wet off for four goals against Hopkins in the first meeting. Last week against Rutgers, Maltz got a second straight hat trick while Erksa went for a goal and six assists giving him seven total points on the day. Against Rutgers, the Terps offense showed flashes of things they had not shown all season. They were moving off the ball a lot better and their passing was a lot better as well. If they want to pull off the upset over Hopkins, they will need to mainly do two things. First thing they need to do is continue their high movement off the ball. Movement off the ball can cause defenders to wear down and get caught ball watching. When a defender ball watches their man can easily slip away and get open for an easy catch and shoot opportunity. The Terps also need to simply keep riding the hot hand on offense. The offense has been improving since Erksa was inserted into the starting attack. He might be a freshman but his IQ on the field makes him seem like an experienced vet. Erksa and Maltz should be the two focal points of the offensive attack and if they move the ball well, they both should get some easy looks at goal. Against Hopkins, Luke Wierman started off winning four face-offs in a row. But once Hopkins switch their face off takers and put Tyler Dunn out there, Dunn was able to limit Wierman's production and held Wierman to below 50% on the day which rarely happens often. Look for Hopkins to go back to Dunn to start the game right away and limit Wierman's capabilities from the face-off to narrow down the extra possessions he wins for the Terps. Prediction: I expect this week's game to be a lot like the first one. Both teams are fighting for a top seed in the national tournament and want bragging rights in the rivalry heading into next season. Both defenses will be looking to cause chaos for both offenses. Look for fast break opportunities being a rarity with both teams valuing possessions in what should be a tight game. I think the Terps will get their revenge this week and pull off the upset at Homewood, 10-9. Related Links
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