Now that Matt Rambo has returned for Maryland and scored two goals with one assist in the No. 7 Terps' 8-1 victory at Navy on Saturday, the question becomes whether the sophomore attackman will regain his starting status for Saturday's game at No. 14 Yale.
Coach John Tillman did not offer much insight into that decision during his weekly conference call Tuesday morning.
"It's possible," Tillman said. "I thought he was really rusty. The other kids had the benefit of two scrimmages. Matt did not. There was a lot going through his mind. I didn't tell him that he was playing until Saturday. So I think mentally, it was a challenging week for him. I think the last three months have been pretty tough on him."
Rambo had previously been suspended for his role in an Oct. 22 incident in College Park.
Junior Bryan Cole, who played in 17 games last season as a midfielder, started in Rambo's place Saturday, taking one shot and finishing with one assist. Cole's spot in the midfield was filled by junior Dave Goodwin, who did not take a shot, committed one turnover, and caused another.
Tillman said returning Rambo to the starting attack with senior Jay Carlson and sophomore Dylan Maltz could necessitate moving Cole back to the midfield and bumping Goodwin down to the second line.
"I think right now, that's certainly a possibility," Tillman said. "We're kind of going back to scratch, and we always kind of do that after a game. Certainly we're scrutinizing a lot more just because we only scored eight goals. When you don't get the total that you want, you're looking back and asking, 'Are we playing the right guys? Are we playing certain guys too much? What combinations, the schemes?'"
It appears that Maryland (1-0) won't have the services of Tim Rotanz for some time. The sophomore attackman is dealing with a head injury that requires patience, Tillman said.
"We've got to be careful with that," he said. "That one is very ambiguous. It's something that he's been dealing with since the summer, and we're just trying to get a sense of what's going on, and we've been really patient, and we're going to continue to do so."
At least the Terps have a timetable for Nick Manis. The junior short-stick defensive midfielder is battling a foot injury that will keep him on the sideline for at least a couple months.
"Candidly, I don't see him being back for a while, maybe toward the end of the season," Tillman said.
Tillman said senior Mike Bender (a converted long-stick midfielder), freshman Adam DiMillo, and senior Bobby Gribbin have joined sophomore Isaiah Davis-Allen as the team's top two short-stick defensive midfielders.