I know that not everyone is happy with the way the season ended, but looking back this team was lucky it made the tournament in the first place.
The Terps started the season 5-1, but it was a very deceptive 5 wins because of the fact that 3 of those wins were in overtime. That was followed by 2 loses which made their record 5-3. At this point, if the overtime had gone differently, they could have been 2-6 and we would have had reason to cry.
What went wrong?
1. Dante Trader decides not to play. In reality, this was a big setback. On the field Dante was a presence, no team was able to push him around, and midway in 2023 he seemed to be getting back his offensive game. Remember that he was a 2nd team All American.
2. Injuries. Players such as McNaney, Malever and Coffman were coming off down time and never seemed to get their A game back. Additionally, Owen Murphy was constantly nicked and never seemed to be 100%.
3. Offensive Coordinators. We had had 3 new coordinators in the last 3 years in Benson, Bernhardt and Phipps. Here's hoping Coach Phipps stays for a while so the attacking unit can see some continuity. Coach Phipps is also reportedly an excellent recruiter.
4. We have to develop more dodgers on attack, so that teams cannot lock down on Erksta. I am hoping incoming freshman Spencer Ford, John Gardiner and John Draley provide some help here.
5. Note to Coach Tillman please use the freshman
6. Note to Damon Evans. With the influx of BIG10 TV contract and Under Armour contract please build a dedicated stadium for men's soccer and lacrosse. This would provide a real home court advantage, something lacrosse does not have playing in a football venue.
7. In regard to the transfer portal and the 7 players coming in, the only one I personally have high hopes for is A.J. Hernandez a defenseman from Navy. You cannot go wrong with a Boys Latin player.
Finally, the 2 grandsons and I have started our summer your. We went to Maryland and the Naval Academy last week. Next week we will look at Penn, Drexel and Lehigh. And finally, before summer is over, we will hit Cornell, RIT and maybe Yale.
Notice there is no Carolina stop. Not a big fan of either coach, especially UNC.
Boys have also been invited to a 4 star camp, but our road trips may stop them from attending.