When Shawn Nadelen met members of the Towson men’s lacrosse team Friday morning about an hour after he had learned that Saturday’s home game against Hofstra had been postponed by coronavirus issues within the latter’s program, the coach was prepared to break the bad news to the players.
Turns out some players had already caught wind of the situation thanks to some friends among the then-No. 20 Pride.
“When we got to the room, the guys seemed to have a bit of an idea because when I told them, it wasn’t exactly a huge shock,” Nadelen said. “They were disappointed because you prepare all week for an opportunity to compete against another team and then don’t have a chance to put it all together. But it didn’t take long for us to shift gears and still get on the field on Friday after the news and have a good practice and be ready for a good practice on Saturday.”
Locally, the Tigers are just one of a few teams already impacted by COVID-19. The Johns Hopkins women had to push back their season opener against Maryland from Feb. 14 to last Friday due to a positive case among the Blue Jays.
The Navy men and women have not played since Feb. 27 as the academy has been placed under a restriction of movement. And the UMBC men pulled out of last Saturday’s road game against Binghamton due to coronavirus protocols.
Towson’s game against Hofstra has been rescheduled for April 13 at noon, but Nadelen said Saturday’s game reminded him of the flexibility the program must have this spring.
“For all of the people in this COVID world right now, you have to imagine and understand that these things are going to happen and be willing to adapt and move forward from that and do it quickly,” he said. “So I thought our guys did a good job not dwelling on the fact that we weren’t playing another opponent. We still got an opportunity to get on the field as a team and get better.”
Nadelen said the team simulated a game on Saturday in lieu of that game, mixing and matching different personnel to give coaches a better understanding of strengths and weaknesses.
Will the unscheduled bye help the Tigers (2-4, 0-1 Colonial Athletic Association) when they clash with No. 18 Delaware (5-1, 2-0) on Saturday at noon? Nadelen is just as curious anyone else to discover the answer.
“We were using it as something we could control in regards to a gamelike setting,” he said. “We were able to work on some things that we needed to. I think you always learn probably a little bit more about yourself when you get to play another opponent when they throw some wrinkles your way and you see how you adjust to them and how you play against them. So I guess that’s the thing that we didn’t get a chance to work on by not having a team to play against, but we’ll see what it looks like. The guys have shifted gears, and we’re two days into a new week and starting to focus on Delaware.”
Second-half Terps
In each of their last three wins, the No. 3 Maryland men (4-0, 4-0 Big Ten) have turned tight halftime affairs into runaway outcomes. The team outscored then-No. 13 Penn State 8-3 in the second half to cruise to a 13-7 victory Feb. 26, Johns Hopkins 11-3 in the last two quarters to enjoy an 18-10 result March 6, and then-No. 4 Rutgers 10-3 in the final 30 minutes to waltz to a 19-12 rout Saturday.
Senior defenseman Nick Grill, a transfer from Marquette, credited defensive coordinator Jesse Bernhardt with making minor tweaks while emphasizing the defense’s basic strategies.
“I think when we start talking about the second half, we understand the things that have worked and haven’t worked as well,” he said. “I think Coach Bernhardt put it best during the game against Rutgers. We’ve just got to continually play our style of defense, making sure that we’re doing what we want to do and really dictating the tempo at that point. So we do make slight adjustments here and there and we do get together to talk as a group an understand that if we’re playing our style of defense, we’re going to get stops.”
Pearre’s production
Blair Pearre has wasted little time making a quick impression for the No. 16 Tigers (5-2). In 13 career games, the sophomore midfielder has scored two or more goals 12 times and registered a hat trick seven times.
In Saturday’s 17-14 win against Georgetown, the Pikesville resident and McDonogh graduate scored a career-high five goals and added three draw controls, two ground balls, two caused turnovers and one assist. Pearre leads the offense in goals (20) and points (23), is tied for first in ground balls (12), and ranks second in draw controls (21).
“She knows how to finish her shots,” coach Sonia LaMonica said recently. “She just goes so hard. So I’m not surprised. She’s a competitor. She’s going to compete until the fat lady sings. We know what we’re going to get with Blair. She goes super hard, and when you go hard, you make things happen.”
Notes
Three Baltimore area players swept the Big South women’s weekly awards again. For the second week in a row, senior attacker Anny Hormes, a Fallston resident and John Carroll graduate, earned the Offensive Player of the Week honor after compiling three goals, two assists and three draw controls in High Point’s 19-9 loss at No. 8 Duke. Redshirt freshman defender Rebekah Taylor, a Forest Hill resident and Fallston graduate, was named the Defensive Player of the Week after registering three caused turnovers and two ground balls in Campbell’s 15-5 victory over Radford. And redshirt freshman attacker Julianna Sanchez, an Annapolis resident and St. Mary’s graduate, was the Freshman of the Week after racking up four goals and seven draw controls for Campbell. … With six draw controls in No. 10 Maryland’s 9-8 overtime win at Johns Hopkins on Friday, redshirt senior defender Lizzie Colson tied Karri Ellen-Johnson (2008-12) for third in career draw controls with 254. Colson, a Manchester resident and Manchester Valley graduate, is only the fourth Terps player to reach the 250 mark. … Junior defender Sarah Cooper, a Lutherville resident and Notre Dame Prep graduate, leads the No. 2 Syracuse women in both ground balls (13) and caused turnovers (10).