No. 3 Maryland improved to 25-1 against Rutgers thanks to an 11-8 victory on April 16 in College Park. Both the Scarlet Knights and Terps are making their first appearance in the Big Ten tournament final.
Rutgers (11-4), the No. 2 seed in this year's tournament, outlasted No. 3 seed Johns Hopkins, 14-12, in Thursday night's semifinal. Although the defense surrendered its third-highest number of goals this season, Kris Alleyne was instrumental in the win. The senior goalkeeper made a game-high 14 saves and now has 536 career stops, moving into fifth place on the program's all-time list in that department.
Maryland (13-2), the top seed in the tourney, thrashed No. 4 seed Penn State, 16-9, in the other semifinal on Thursday. The offensive display was powered by the junior attack of Matt Rambo (three goals and two assists), Colin Heacock (three goals and one assist) and Dylan Maltz (one goal and one assist). That same trio burned the Scarlet Knights by combining for 10 goals and two assists.
Here are a few factors that could play a role in the outcome at Homewood Field in Baltimore on Saturday at 6 p.m.
1) Ground balls. In the regular-season meeting, Maryland won 15 of 23 faceoffs and pounced on 32 ground balls to Rutgers' 19. But both teams struggled on faceoffs Thursday night. The Scarlet Knights won just 12 of 30 draws, and the Terps went just 12-for-29. Understandably, Rutgers lost the ground-ball battle 30-26, but Maryland was on the positive side at 26-23. Still, coach John Tillman was not that ecstatic about the Terps' nose for loose balls against Penn State.
"There were a lot of loose ones where we just didn't use great technique or they outhustled us at times," he said. "So we have to be careful. Obviously, we have one day to prepare for either of those opponents, but it will definitely be something to focus on and talk about and hopefully do a better job. We certainly have the capability, and our kids have done a good job all year. They're prideful. So we've just got to talk about it a little bit and remind them maybe of some things we can do to help ourselves."
2) Transition. Rutgers has found a sixth gear this spring, but was slowed by Maryland in the regulad season and did not score a goal on a fast break or in an unsettled situation. The Scarlet Knights rediscovered their legs against Johns Hopkins, scoring four times in transition and once off a faceoff win. Rutgers coach Brian Brecht said the key has been relying on a Rope unit of long-stick midfielders Zack Sikora and Kyle Pless and short-stick defensive midfielders Christian Mazzone, Christian Scarpello, Zackary Franckowiak and Austin Divitcos to provide a spark.
"So you have some guys that have really locked in on the defensive end and made that a priority first, but then to have the offensive prowess and understanding on that side of the field, it's playing to the strength of your players," Brecht said. "We have a dynamic attack group and a very strong Rope unit. Kris is a senior in the goal. With the outlet passes he can generate when he makes saves, it allows us to maybe do some things that are not conventional. Even if teams prepare for a week or a couple days, it's hard to replicate what we've been doing for the last seven months."
3) Penalties. Maryland had opened a 6-0 advantage against Penn State before Rambo was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct. That opened the door for the Nittany Lions to score three straight goals. Although the Terps withstood the comeback, Tillman knows the team can't afford to be that generous against Rutgers and must stay out of the penalty box.
"It didn't hurt us significantly in terms of losing the game, but it could have," Tillman said of Rambo's infraction. "We'll go back and talk about it [Friday]. We're not going to dwell on it, but it could down the road because we're in a position now where it's pretty much one and done."