Terps Triumph in Yeatman's Return to Bend
by Jan Garrison | Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
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Maryland's Will Yeatman drives to the goal Sunday in his return to Notre Dame, where he spent his freshman and sophomore years before transferring due to off-field difficulty. Yeatman and the Terps dominated the Irish, 7-3, to advance to the NCAA quarterfinals next week in Annapolis, Md. © TD Paulius/Midwest Lacrosse Photography |
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- Maybe it was fitting that mother's intuition would kick in on this Sunday, of all days, during Notre Dame's 7-3 first-round NCAA tournament loss to Maryland.
"They have never played this bad - never," the mother's lament came from the informal ND parents' section of the Alumni Field bleachers. There was still plenty of time left, with 6:13 remaining in the second period. The Irish were down just 3-1. But it was obvious the Irish were out of sync.
And they never regained their offensive continuity for the rest of the game.
"I don't think we played very well today at the offensive end of the field. We didn't handle the ball every cleanly and it hurt us," Irish coach Kevin Corrigan said. "It was a limited possession game. You've got be conservative and smart about what you're doing offensively, and we didn't play with the discipline we needed."
Maryland's defense confounded the Irish, forcing high passes, completely neutralizing attackman Ryan Hoff, and allowing just 12 shots on goal. Of those shots, Maryland goalie Brian Phipps stopped nine.
Meanwhile, the Terrapins unlocked the key to Notre Dame goalie Scott Rodgers. Coach Dave Cottle said the "behemoth" is the best goalie they have seen on film all season. But the coaches believed the Terps might have success shooting from one area on the field.
"You can't shoot down the alleys," he said, but the coaching staff thought there might be an opening from the middle to the right. Five of the Terps' goals came from that side. Maryland's first two goals, by Jeremy Sieverts and Joe Cummings, came from that area. Those two quick scores with 11:08 left helped set the tone for day.
Attackman Dan Groot, who led the Maryland offense with two goals, said the quick start made the Terps feel "bigger, stronger, faster." The Terps won the statistics battle on ground balls, clears, and turnovers. Not by much, but enough in each area to make a big difference.
It quickly became evident that Will Yeatman, the much-herald lacrosse/football player who transferred from Notre Dame to Maryland, would not be the focus of the game.
The junior attackman, who still has several close friends on both the Notre Dame lacrosse and football teams, had two assists on the day. Rodgers stopped the lone shot he took at the 10-minute mark of the fourth quarter, when the Terps were up 7-2.
"I think they were startled," Yeatman said of Maryland's quick start against his ex-teammates. "They were on their heels a little bit." It then became a case of "keep doing what we were doing."
For Yeatman personally, it was "certainly a different week." However, he mentally worked through all the different scenarios he would face. Plus, finishing school this week helped keep his mind occupied, so it wasn't as stressful as what he thought. Still, it was "weird" when he saw the Irish practicing Saturday.
"We didn't know whether we would have Good Will, Great Will or Bad Will," Cottle said, adding that when the pairing came out, he got a text from Yeatman saying, "Here we go, baby."
Yeatman said he offered some advice to his new teammates on the Irish players, but what he could offer wasn't anything that the Maryland coaches wouldn't see on tape. Corrigan said Yeatman's knowledge of the Irish offense wouldn't have offered any secrets since it is based on reading and reacting to the defense. Notre Dame simply wasn't patient enough and didn't execute.
After going 15-0 during the regular season and winning the Great Western Lacrosse League tournament easily, falling in the first round of the NCAA tournament is a disappointment, Corrigan said, but "the NCAA tournament is all about showing up and getting it done on the day you have to get it done. And we certainly didn't do that today."
