PHILADELPHIA — Among the many keys to Monday's NCAA Division I tournament final between No. 4 seed Denver and No. 6 seed Maryland at Lincoln Financial Field here at 1 p.m., a significant one may involve the game's first play.
The Pioneers (16-2) are anchored by freshman Trevor Baptiste, who leads the country with a 68.6 faceoff percentage and ranks fourth with 136 ground balls.
Senior Charlie Raffa's numbers (58.9 percent and 45 ground balls) are not quite as sparkling as Baptiste's, but he is the primary weapon for the Terps (15-3) at the X and someone who Denver coach Bill Tierney is not taking lightly.
"We're talking about an 18-year-old freshman who is sometimes afraid of his own shadow, and he's got to go out there against the best of the best, a guy who has brought them there," Tierney said Sunday morning. "But it is an intriguing matchup against one of the best on the country. … It's the battle within the battle, and it's going to be an exciting game starting right with that."
Raffa, who has battled injuries all season, began watching film of the 5-foot-10, 215-pound Baptiste on Sunday and called him "awesome."
"He doesn't really have many flaws," the 6-foot-1, 195-pound Raffa said. "So it's really important to stress our wing coordination and just having Neuf [freshman long-stick midfielder Matt Neufeldt] and [sophomore short-stick defensive midfielder] Isaiah Davis-Allen who have been great all year, progressing all year, just to be on the same page as them so that when the ball does come out, they're in the right spots to get it."
Tierney said opponents have tried to slow Baptiste with some extracurricular contact, but he expects Raffa to play it straight against Baptiste.
"For the first time in a long time, we'll see a guy try to face off against Trevor instead of grabbing, holding, pulling him down and all of that other stuff that's been going on," Tierney said. "So we're excited about that. We're not excited about the possible outcome with Charlie Raffa, but it's going to be a lacrosse game tomorrow. It's not going to be a push-and-pull, tackle and all of that other stuff."
Raffa expressed a similar sentiment, noting that the clutching mucks up the faceoff aspect of the game. But he also emphasized that he does not intend to make it a one-on-one show.
"It will definitely be awesome just to try to see who is better on the clamp and stuff like that, but we try to make it that three-on-three," he said. "If I do get the clamp, I know that Isaiah and Neuf are going to be in spots where I can put it to them so that we can get the offense the ball as quick as possible. I just know that if I don't win the clamp at all, they'll be there."