COLLEGE PARK — For maybe the first time in 2015, Charlie Raffa looked like his 2014 self.
The senior won 13 of 20 faceoffs and had a game-high nine ground balls to help power No. 9 Maryland to an 11-4 victory over No. 10 Princeton Saturday at Byrd Stadium.
Raffa, a second-team All-American last season who ranked second in Division I in faceoff percentage (68.6) and 11th in ground balls per game (7.6), had entered the game at just 43.8 percent (14-for-32) and with seven ground balls this season. But he went 7-for-9 in a critical third quarter in which the Terps (4-1) outscored the Tigers 6-1.
"I think a lot of it started with Charlie at the faceoff X doing a great job, he and the wings getting us multiple possessions, and the offense getting into the flow," Maryland coach John Tillman said to open his postgame news conference.
Raffa shared the credit with sophomore short-stick defensive midfielder Isaiah Davis-Allen and a pair of long-stick midfielders in freshman Matt Neufeldt and junior Mike McCarney, who helped him from their wing positions.
"Just having them on the same page with me really helped us today," Raffa said. "It just made us better than we've been in the past."
Princeton (3-1) won 19 of 34 faceoffs in a 16-15 overtime win at then-No. 12 Johns Hopkins on Feb. 28, including eight of 11 after the third quarter. But against Raffa, freshman Sam Bonafede went 5-for-12, sophomore Zach Currier 2-for-5, and sophomore long-stick midfielder Sam Gravitte 0-for-3. The Tigers did not turn to to junior Jake Froccaro, either, who returned from a two-game injury-related absence.
"He was quick on the clamp," Tigers coach Chris Bates said of Raffa. "Jake wasn't available to us there, and he had Sam's number. He's a hell of a faceoff kid. I know he hasn't as good of a year as he's had in the past, but you try to make it a 50-50 [ball], and when we did that, I thought we had some breakdowns on the wings."
Circling back to "Three Things to Watch" …
1) Beware of Zach Currier. Currier, the sophomore midfielder who was so instrumental in Princeton's win over the Blue Jays, was blanketed by the Terps. The reigning Ivy League Player of the Week did not have a single point, won just two of five faceoffs, and finished with as many turnovers (three) as ground balls (three). Sophomore defenseman Mac Pons (Boys' Latin) and Neufeldt shadowed Currier when the Tigers were on offense, and Tillman said Maryland tried to wear Currier out.
"He just does so much for them," Tillman said. "I think he got caught a little bit on defense today. It's kind of a catch-22. On our first possession, Charlie won the faceoff, and [Currier] stripped our player. He's a really, really good defender, but we thought, 'Let's make him play some defense,' and maybe he would be a bit more tired on offense."
2) Beware of penalties. Princeton had entered the game averaging almost six extra-man opportunities. But the Tigers, who had converted nine of 17 man-up situations (52.9 percent) this year, 11th best in Division I, got just two chances against the Terps, who killed both off. Tillman said he was pleased to see Maryland maintain its discipline.