With the aid of Henry Dodge, Jonah Carrier striving for consistency for Maryland lacrosse

Franklin Zessis
4 minutes ago
3 min read

Henry Dodge looked like a key acquisition for No. 2 Maryland men’s lacrosse heading into the season.

The Vermont transfer was brought in to bolster a faceoff group that ranked fourth out of six Big Ten teams last season. Dodge has been as advertised through the first two games, winning nearly 70 percent of his draws and ranking third-best in the NCAA.

But his impact has gone beyond the field. While aiding at the X position for the Terps, he has spent time during practice helping and teaching fellow faceoff specialists such as Jonah Carrier.

“We knew he had really strong ability at the X,” coach John Tillman said. “What I've been most impressed with Henry is … Henry has taken on a leadership role in that right away.”

Dodge’s leadership skills are best seen in Carrier. The sophomore was Maryland’s primary faceoff specialist last season and has worked in tandem with Dodge through the first two games.

The rotation is something Tillman wanted going into the season, due to the position’s physicality and the faceoff violation rules.

When Dodge first arrived at Maryland, he immediately took on leadership responsibilities by serving as a reference for the younger faceoff specialists. The reason is that when Dodge was a freshman at Vermont, he had a senior who served as both a reference and an example for him, something he wanted to continue for Maryland’s younger faceoff specialists.

“Henry's been great with just about everything, training, how you train technique, [and the] mindset within the game,” Tillman said. “Just some different moves that he utilizes, things that maybe that Jonah can take with him as well.”

One of those moves has been clamps on initial faceoffs. Carrier stated that most faceoff specialists like to bring their left hand up off the initial faceoff. But Dodge has shown him a technique that allows Carrier’s left hand to stay down on the ground, making a counter from the opponent less likely and allowing for easier exits.

“I had a problem last year with this, where I didn't keep my left hand low in the Cornell game,” Carrier said. “There was a clip where the kid was able to win the faceoff against me, and we harped on it a lot this year.”

In Maryland’s season opener against Loyola, the adjustment provided immediate results. The New York native won 75 percent of his draws — his highest rate since May 18, 2025, when Carrier also won nine of 12 draws against Georgetown^.

But Carrier also stressed that the improvements have come from a change in practice. He added that when he was done with his positional work last season, he would watch the offense and defense play.

But with Dodge’s addition to the faceoff unit, the group continues to take faceoffs even after their work is completed.

“I've probably taken about 200 more faceoffs per practice than I did last year,” Carrier said.

But Careeir struggled in Maryland’s prior game against then-No. 2 Syracuse. He won just one of five faceoffs and did not play the entire second half. Carrier noted that his struggles stemmed from losing the initial clamp and being unable to get to a counter position.

Maryland’s next contest against No. 12 Princeton will allow Carrier to showcase any adjustments, as the Tigers have secured just under 42 percent of their faceoffs this season.

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