No. 2 Maryland men’s lacrosse vs. Richmond preview

Maryland males’s lacrosse is again and enters the 2023 season with a goal on its again.

After finishing an ideal 18-0 season on their technique to a nationwide championship, the Terps are ranked No. 2 nationally and anticipated to stay among the many nation’s finest.

Following up its historic 2022 season will likely be a problem, although, as Maryland misplaced a number of key items throughout the offseason.

“I don’t assume we must always anticipate this group to be proper the place the final 12 months’s crew began off,” head coach John Tillman mentioned. “Even final 12 months at the moment we had been nonetheless a piece in progress with some new guys, and I felt like we bought higher because the 12 months went on. So, I’m excited to see the place these guys go.”

The Terps are in search of their thirtieth straight season-opener win on Saturday in opposition to Richmond. The sport will start at 1 p.m. and be streamed on Huge Ten Plus. Learn the complete season preview right here. DraftKings Sportsbook pins the Terps as 7.5-goal favorites.

Richmond Spiders (0-0, 0-0 Atlantic 10)

2021 document: 11-5 (4-1 SoCon)

Head coach Dan Chemotti enters his tenth 12 months on the helm of Richmond’s lacrosse program and has achieved great success. As the primary and solely head coach in program historical past, Chemotti has guided the Spiders to 4 NCAA Event appearances (2014, 2018, 2019, 2022) and three Southern Convention Event titles (2018, 2019, 2022). Chemotti may have a brand new problem this season, although, as Richmond strikes into the Atlantic 10 Convention for the 2023 season. The Spiders had been picked to win the inaugural Atlantic 10 males’s lacrosse season.

Gamers to observe

Dalton Younger, senior attacker, No. 21 – With the departure of attackman Ryan Lanchbury, Younger will assume the function of the Spiders’ offensive focus. He was considered one of three Spiders named to the first-ever Atlantic 10 Preseason All-Convention Staff. In 2022, Younger tallied 39 targets, 23 assists and 28 floor balls, which all ranked high 5 on the crew.

Lance Madonna, junior midfielder, No. 2 – Madonna began in all 15 of his appearances as a sophomore and was a key piece to a top-15 scoring offense. He was fifth on the crew in targets (25) and fourth in assists final season (12). Madonna was additionally one of many three Spiders chosen to the preseason all-conference crew.

Jake Saunders, graduate defender, No. 45 – Saunders was the ultimate Spider to make the preseason all-conference crew and is probably the crew’s finest defender. Final season, Saunders precipitated a team-high 23 turnovers and scooped up 33 floor balls, which was fourth on the crew.

Energy

Protection. Whereas Richmond did lose two members of its backline throughout the offseason, it has quite a lot of skilled gamers who can step up. Redshirt sophomore defender Braden McClure and senior defender Jake Kapp every obtained substantial enjoying time final 12 months, scooping 42 floor balls and inflicting 22 turnovers. Pairing McClure and Kapp with Saunders may result in a really robust protection.

Weak spot

Offensive expertise. Just like Maryland, the Spiders misplaced 4 of their high six goal-scorers from final season. Sophomore attackman Max Merklinger is predicted to obtain an even bigger function this 12 months after scoring eight targets as a freshman, however Richmond doesn’t have many different attackers with expertise.

Three issues to observe

1. What’s going to Maryland’s offense appear to be? Maybe the most important query mark the Terps face this 12 months is their offense. The offseason introduced a number of modifications to Maryland’s roster and training employees. The Terps misplaced 5 of their high six goal-scorers from final season and employed former star midfielder Jake Bernhardt to be the crew’s offensive coordinator. Maryland all the time has a prolific offense, however it should undoubtedly look very completely different in 2023.

“Stylistically we modify and we’ll all the time change to type of go well with the gamers now we have,” Tillman mentioned. “And I feel Jake’s carried out a extremely good job with that.”

2. How a lot will we see of Dante Dealer Jr.? Whereas midfielder Dante Dealer Jr. is listed as a sophomore, it’s his first 12 months enjoying lacrosse at Maryland. Dealer spent his freshman 12 months specializing in his soccer profession, however has since determined to select up his stick once more. Though Dealer is just not skilled on the faculty stage, he’s an incredible athlete and prime candidate for a beginning spot within the midfield.

“I feel with Dante my largest concern is … defending Dante from himself,” Tillman mentioned. “Once you’re younger and also you’re an alpha male, you understand, generally you’ll be able to push a bit of too arduous. And that’s the place I feel now we have to be actually useful with him.”

3. Can Richmond sustain? Maryland barely outlasted the Spiders of their earlier two conferences in 2019 and 2020, because the Terps gained each by only one. Nevertheless, this isn’t the identical Richmond crew that made it to the nationwide event final 12 months. The Spiders misplaced six of their starters and lack skilled transfers. Whereas Maryland misplaced some gamers as properly, the Terps nonetheless have probably the greatest coaches within the recreation and an inflow of proficient newcomers.