COLLEGE PARK — A double-digit number never looked so good to the Maryland men's lacrosse team as it did Tuesday night.
An offense that had stuttered, stalled and stumbled its way to 14 goals in its first two games rediscovered its scoring touch as the No. 10 Terps pulled out an 11-7 victory over No. 11 Penn at Byrd Stadium.
With the win, Maryland improved to 2-1. With the output, the offense dislodged itself from a group of 15 Division I teams that has yet to score 10 goals in a game this season.
"It was very important to really move the ball around and share the ball," sophomore attackman Dylan Maltz said. "I think the chemistry within our offense is becoming really strong. We're looking good."
Prior to Tuesday night, the Terps' 14 goals was the program's lowest production in the first two games of a season since 1927 when that squad had scored just five times in its first two games. The offense had entered the week tied for 57th out of 69 teams with 7.0 goals per game.
Sophomore attackman Matt Rambo led all scorers Tuesday with five points on three goals and two assists. Maltz, a Syracuse transfer, doubled his production from the first two games with four points on two goals and two assists, and senior midfielder Bryan Cole had one goal and two assists after posting just one assist in his first two games.
When Cole found Maltz all alone on the left crease with 6.4 seconds left in the third quarter, Maryland had scored its elusive 10th goal of the game. Senior midfielder Joe LoCascio added the 11th with 3:13 left in regulation.
One sign of the offense's improvement was the seven assists recorded against the Quakers (2-1). The Terps had accumulated just six assists in their first two games.
Coach John Tillman credited offensive coordinator J.L. Reppert with emphasizing a plan to move the ball.
"The ball just died in sticks on Saturday," Tillman said, referring to a 10-6 loss to then-No. 14 Yale. "It was one guy dodging and then the defense just settled in and we didn't make a move. And tonight, we made the defense move a little bit more and that opened up opportunities as they got in and got out. That's the type of team we need to be. We're not going to be a 20-goal team, but we can be a pretty opportunistic and efficient team."
The Terps' Cole, Rambo (with an assist from Cole) and LoCascio scored the game's first three goals. The Quakers scored the next two goals before both sides exchanged goals to end the first quarter.
Both teams scored a goal in the second period, but Maryland distanced itself after halftime when it scored four times in a 6:14 span to take a commanding 9-4 advantage with 7:13 remaining.
The offense also got a boost from the play of Jon Garino Jr. After losing 9-of-10 faceoffs in the loss at Yale, the junior won 14-of-22 draws against five different Penn specialists and collected a game-high 10 ground balls.
"It was nice to bounce back from last week," said Garino, who filled in for senior Charlie Raffa, whose arm was in a sling. "I just tried my best. I got good wing play. So it was a good day."