Maryland Defeats Brown 15 – 14 In Overtime, Will Meet North Carolina For The Crown
PHILADELPHIA, PA. 5/28/2016 – The Maryland Terrapins will return to the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Tournament championship game. The Terps earned the return trip by defeating the Brown Bears in a 15 – 14 overtime tussle in front of 33,137 at the Linc. Midfielder Colin Heacock scored at the 2:41 mark of overtime with Matt Rambo getting the assist on a shot at the top of the crease.
“I made a skip pass and Colin was wide open in the middle and he finished it,” Rambo said.
Maryland is looking for its first men’s championship since 1975. The school was in the final in 2011, 2012, and 2015, but could not capture the crown. Last year Denver defeated Maryland in the final by a 10 – 5 score. This year the opponent will be the Tar Heels of North Carolina who defeated Loyola Maryland earlier in the day.
For the seniors it will be a chance to get a championship, a special feeling especially for a local player, Rambo, who is from La Salle High School.
“It is a dream come true being from Philly,” said Rambo. “For me, I grew up down the street. To make the final four and be in the championship game again, it’s a dream come true.”
They are here, but it wasn’t easy.
The contest had five ties. The Terps took a 9 – 8 lead into halftime. In the third quarter the lead stretched to 12 – 8 as the Maryland defense kept the Brown offense off the scoreboard for 21:34. The drought ended when Bailey Tills scored unassisted with 23 seconds left in the third quarter. It was one of four goals in the day for Tills. The Bears stayed in contention by being resilient, a team trademark.
“At Brown University it’s forget the scoreboard, next play,” said Bears Coach Lars Tiffany. “That’s a nice thing to say as a coach. It sounds good, but they have to believe it. The men of Brown lacrosse absolutely believe it. Next play, here we go.”
Brown erased a four goal deficit, and tied the game at 14 with 1:49 to play when Brendan Caputo scored off an Bailey Tills assist. The Bears held the Terps off the board for the last nine and a half minutes of regulation.
“That game could have gone either way,” said Maryland Coach John Tillman. “I give Brown a lot of credit for being down four goals and coming back and tying the game and almost winning it. It’s a shame that either team had to lose. I was proud of our guys. It wasn’t a work of art, but late in the game the leadership of our players was positive.”
Heacock scored three goals for the Terps along with Dylan Maltz. Rambo had a goal and 5 assists.
Maryland outshot Brown 42 – 29, but had a difficult time solving Bears goalie Jack Kelly who made 14 saves.
The Terps and the Tar Heels met last year in the quarterfinal round with Maryland taking a 14 – 7 decision.
The men’s and women’s lacrosse finals feature North Carolina and Maryland contests.
Written By: Glenn Papazian
Contact: Glenn@PhillyCollegeSports.com
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