This was a big win for a lot of reasons. Coming out after a unexpected loss this team regrouped and quite frankly dominated a ND that was just not as talented across the board. Lacrosse rankings are typically all over the map this early. this team came out motivated with a feel early that the terps were not going to lose this one.
The big four.
#1 Jared Bernhardt - A (senior
2g, 2a
#12 Logan Wisnauskis - A (redshirt junior)
5g, 0a
#16 Anthony Demaio - M (redshirt junior)
1g, 0a
#2 Bubba Fairman - M (junior)
0g, 0a
Jared had the first two goals where he got one on one coverage and just took advantage. Wis had a couple of really nice finishes and was a real difference maker that we’ve become accustom to. I think one of the things l really like about Bubba Fairman and Demaio is the way they are team first guys and don’t have to fill the box score up to enjoy the team success. With a lot of the defense attention stuck on Bernhardt and Wisnauskas they have done a great job helping the two freshmen into the starting lineup. Demaio also had an incredible no look goal
The two young pups
#37 Danny Maltz - A (freshman)
1g, 3a
#41 Jack Brennan - M (freshman)
1g, 0a
Maltz is going to be a Star. He had the pass of the game to Wisnauskas for a layup. He’s got really quick hands and his passing has gotten better each week. Brennan doesn’t pass much but he has one of the hardest shots on the team and is very accurate. He buried one with some serious heat on it.
D Fence
#8 Matt Rahill - D (junior)
#43 Brett Makar - D (sophomore)
#54 Nick Grill - D (senior)
One of the first major changes was Matt Rahill and John Geppert switched LSM and close D roles. I love Rahill at LSM but think the move is more effective with him at D. I thought the defense was very active. They had a few breakdowns early in the first quarter. But I thought Makar was dominant, one of his best performances as a terp.
LSM
#20 John Geppert sophomore
#17 Justin Sherrer (freshman)
Geppert played one of his best games essentially shadowing their best player and did a great job. Clearing was excellent on the day. Excellent play on the wings again, but these two really excelled on the defensive end. They didn’t do much in the box score but their impact was felt.
SSDM
#8 M Roman Puglise - Jr
#39 M Alex Smith - Jr
#57 Jake Higgins - Jr
The guys were awesome in the clearing game and getting good positioning on the face off. Puglise had a great game. Alex Smith had a costly turnover which led to a ND layup goal and he got ran over for another goal in the first half.
Jake Higgins the transfer from Cleveland State. Played with a short stick and returned to SSDM, this week, he was the third option and played scrappy in the minutes he had.
Goalie
#35 Logan McNaney (freshman)
This guy was a five star recruit #1 goalie in hs lacrosse and might have had the best UA high school all American game of all time. So he had high expectations. He started slow allowing a couple easy ones but made a few adjustments and I’ll be interested if he’s the guy moving forward. He did enough to earn another start I hope. Pretty good performance for his first start.
Face-offs.
Shockey was a beast and he took every faceoff. I’ll have more on him in the player of the game portion. The new wrinkle today was adding sophomore Kyle Long on the wings to help pick up GB’s, Long is very fast with some of the best stick skills on the team. I loved what we did today on the faceoffs.
The 2nd Midfield!!!!
#23 - Kyle Long M - sophomore
2g, 0a
#27 - Jake Smith M - sophomore
1g, 0a
#44 - Russell Masci - M - senior
1g, 1a
A weakness in the past seasons. This second unit has a chance to be a major plus for a long term postseason run this season. They have seemed to find some chemistry and it’s been awesome to get this kind of production out of the 2nd unit. Kyle Long, small and quick has looked to shoot more this season, and looks just a step quicker than most people on the field. Russell Masci in years past, strictly would run over people and that was it. He’s added a more complete game. And one of my new favorites to the lineup is Jake Smith. Smith was not a heavily recruited kid but he has shown incredible vision and a laser shot through 5 games this season. He might be the surprise of the year. Really like his future.
Player of the game:
#3 Justin Shockey Jr. f/o
We doubled their shots, Notre Dame simply could not possess the ball. Shockey was winning the faceoffs cleanly and it seemed we always had a guy in the right spot. One of his best games of his career and we needed it. He’s a tough kid and won 18 of 26 faceoffs.
Overall
I can’t remember dominating a top 5 team like that since the championship season. Our main areas of concern this season have been the goal play, face offs, and the 3rd defender. We showed improvement in every category mentioned in today’s game and that’s all you can ask for. Go terps!
The big four.
#1 Jared Bernhardt - A (senior
2g, 2a
#12 Logan Wisnauskis - A (redshirt junior)
5g, 0a
#16 Anthony Demaio - M (redshirt junior)
1g, 0a
#2 Bubba Fairman - M (junior)
0g, 0a
Jared had the first two goals where he got one on one coverage and just took advantage. Wis had a couple of really nice finishes and was a real difference maker that we’ve become accustom to. I think one of the things l really like about Bubba Fairman and Demaio is the way they are team first guys and don’t have to fill the box score up to enjoy the team success. With a lot of the defense attention stuck on Bernhardt and Wisnauskas they have done a great job helping the two freshmen into the starting lineup. Demaio also had an incredible no look goal
The two young pups
#37 Danny Maltz - A (freshman)
1g, 3a
#41 Jack Brennan - M (freshman)
1g, 0a
Maltz is going to be a Star. He had the pass of the game to Wisnauskas for a layup. He’s got really quick hands and his passing has gotten better each week. Brennan doesn’t pass much but he has one of the hardest shots on the team and is very accurate. He buried one with some serious heat on it.
D Fence
#8 Matt Rahill - D (junior)
#43 Brett Makar - D (sophomore)
#54 Nick Grill - D (senior)
One of the first major changes was Matt Rahill and John Geppert switched LSM and close D roles. I love Rahill at LSM but think the move is more effective with him at D. I thought the defense was very active. They had a few breakdowns early in the first quarter. But I thought Makar was dominant, one of his best performances as a terp.
LSM
#20 John Geppert sophomore
#17 Justin Sherrer (freshman)
Geppert played one of his best games essentially shadowing their best player and did a great job. Clearing was excellent on the day. Excellent play on the wings again, but these two really excelled on the defensive end. They didn’t do much in the box score but their impact was felt.
SSDM
#8 M Roman Puglise - Jr
#39 M Alex Smith - Jr
#57 Jake Higgins - Jr
The guys were awesome in the clearing game and getting good positioning on the face off. Puglise had a great game. Alex Smith had a costly turnover which led to a ND layup goal and he got ran over for another goal in the first half.
Jake Higgins the transfer from Cleveland State. Played with a short stick and returned to SSDM, this week, he was the third option and played scrappy in the minutes he had.
Goalie
#35 Logan McNaney (freshman)
This guy was a five star recruit #1 goalie in hs lacrosse and might have had the best UA high school all American game of all time. So he had high expectations. He started slow allowing a couple easy ones but made a few adjustments and I’ll be interested if he’s the guy moving forward. He did enough to earn another start I hope. Pretty good performance for his first start.
Face-offs.
Shockey was a beast and he took every faceoff. I’ll have more on him in the player of the game portion. The new wrinkle today was adding sophomore Kyle Long on the wings to help pick up GB’s, Long is very fast with some of the best stick skills on the team. I loved what we did today on the faceoffs.
The 2nd Midfield!!!!
#23 - Kyle Long M - sophomore
2g, 0a
#27 - Jake Smith M - sophomore
1g, 0a
#44 - Russell Masci - M - senior
1g, 1a
A weakness in the past seasons. This second unit has a chance to be a major plus for a long term postseason run this season. They have seemed to find some chemistry and it’s been awesome to get this kind of production out of the 2nd unit. Kyle Long, small and quick has looked to shoot more this season, and looks just a step quicker than most people on the field. Russell Masci in years past, strictly would run over people and that was it. He’s added a more complete game. And one of my new favorites to the lineup is Jake Smith. Smith was not a heavily recruited kid but he has shown incredible vision and a laser shot through 5 games this season. He might be the surprise of the year. Really like his future.
Player of the game:
#3 Justin Shockey Jr. f/o
We doubled their shots, Notre Dame simply could not possess the ball. Shockey was winning the faceoffs cleanly and it seemed we always had a guy in the right spot. One of his best games of his career and we needed it. He’s a tough kid and won 18 of 26 faceoffs.
Overall
I can’t remember dominating a top 5 team like that since the championship season. Our main areas of concern this season have been the goal play, face offs, and the 3rd defender. We showed improvement in every category mentioned in today’s game and that’s all you can ask for. Go terps!
