No. 3 Maryland men’s lacrosse is playing with a renewed appreciation and a heightened sense of camaraderie

(Photograph Courtesy of Maryland Athletics.)

Graduate attackman Griffin Brown rifled a shot top shelf on the man-up opportunity past Johns Hopkins goalie Josh Kirson notching his 100th career goal on Sabbatum.

Immediately after, Brown's teammates mobbed him including senior attackman Logan Wisnauskas who lifted him in the air equally the other Terps offensive players swarmed around to embrace him.

The excitement from the sideline was only as palpable with a sea of Terps' jumping upwardly and down and pumping their fists in the air. That celebration represents a microcosm of how Maryland has historic each of its 51 goals and other of import plays this season: with an elevated sense of camaraderie and renewed level of excitement.

"There's definitely a heightened sense of camaraderie, excitement and energy when another gameday rolls around," senior midfielder Alex Smith said.

That infectious positivity and renewed appreciation for playing lacrosse has transcended throughout the squad since the Terps 2022 season concluded prematurely after half dozen games due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Maryland went 350 days between its first game against Michigan on Feb. 20 and last season'south final game on March vii against Albany.

Concluding season's premature catastrophe brought a great sense of uncertainty for many players like senior attackman Jared Bernhardt who didn't know if they'd ever exist able to put on a Terps uniform again. At present with all of those seniors including Bernhardt and Nick Grill returning, there's an added sense of excitement with final season'south premature ending.

"Having our season taken away seeing the seniors afterward the call that COVID'southward gonna cancel the flavour for usa or just them sitting in the locker room unable to take their pinny off kind of actually hit home for everyone," Smith said. "So at that place's a sense of urgency and esprit around the flavour because everyone understands how fast it tin can be taken away."

Despite returning to play, this season has brought unique challenges with the intense COVID-xix protocols the team has to follow in lodge to go along each other safe. Those protocols include a daily testing regiment as well equally altering typical team activities.

In-person team picture show sessions during a typical film session have now transitioned to Zoom. The team besides has to split up lift sessions into smaller groups. Additionally, all 49 players on the roster can't eat together as gamedays are the but occasions where the entire team is immune in the locker room at the same time.

All of these safety precautions take fabricated the Terps' squad activities outside of games and practices largely non-real. The ability to assemble together equally a team on game days has helped foster that camaraderie and further appreciation each time the team takes the field.

"I think there is a greater appreciation for what we get to do given last year," caput passenger vehicle John Tillman said. "And to be honest [it's] as plain and simple as practise and the games are the but time these kids are together. That's it, they never hangout equally a team like all 49 guys except for games and practice.

Those safety precautions have also served as an added reminder for the Terps' to value the time they spend together equally a full team because those instances volition be few and far between in this anarchistic season.

It's also provided extra inspiration for the players to spend extra time on the field before and after games embracing with another continuing to foster that the tight-knit community that has come to define the culture of Maryland men's lacrosse.

"We talk about information technology a lot, nosotros need to brand sure that nosotros really appreciate that and embrace it," Tillman said. "I think you run into a lot of guys coming out a little before and stay a piddling subsequently simply cause they miss that connection, they're not doing that. It's a little bit of a release for them."

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Source: http://wmucsports.net/no-3-maryland-mens-lacrosse-is-playing-with-a-renewed-appreciation-and-a-heightened-sense-of-camaraderie/

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