Maryland men’s lacrosse’s veteran midfielders are leading a young position group

Maryland men’s lacrosse is off to a 5-0 start for the second consecutive season, getting strong contributions from all four position groups.

The Terps’ midfield, though, was expected before the season to take somewhat of a step back. With Connor Kelly, Tim Rotanz and Adam DiMillo now all in Major League Lacrosse, head coach John Tillman has had to shift the responsibility for that group to this year’s class of seniors.

Those seniors have stepped up on both sides of the position as well, as Tillman has relied on Will Snider guiding the offense and Thomas O’Connell heading up the short-stick defensive midfield.

O’Connell’s leadership comes from everything he’s learned during his time in College Park, specifically from former great defensive mids Nick Manis and Isaiah Davis-Allen.

“They were some of the most confident players I’ve ever seen,” O’Connell said. “Just how loud they were on the field, how they approached guys, their energy on the field getting other guys to be hyped up for gameday ... I learned a ton from those guys, and I try to use that every day to help the other guys grow too.”

On the other side, Snider is focusing on making sure all the midfielders are on the same page. The Terps have gotten production from the likes of Bubba Fairman and Anthony DeMaio, and their younger midfielders are showing improvement as well.

“The first midfield line, early on, we kinda were switching guys in and out, but I think we’ve been a little more solid as far as lineup has gone. So I think we’re kinda ahead of the second line as far as getting through those growing pains and playing with those two other guys for the majority of the game,” Snider said.

“I think that second line is coming along really well, I think they’re kinda getting used to each other’s play styles and playing with each other, so I think they’re just gonna continue to get better.”

Maryland visits No. 17 Notre Dame on Sunday afternoon. A win would likely vault the Terps to No. 1 in the rankings.

In other news

Maryland women’s lacrosse had six players named to the Tewaaraton Award watch list:

Maryland baseball takes a five-game winning streak to Louisiana this weekend as the Terps face Louisiana-Lafayette for a three game series.

ICMYI, The Washington Post wrote about Aaron Wiggins’ history of dancing, piano and trombone, if you’re into that kind of thing.

From InsideMdSports, Maryland basketball head coaching great Lefty Driesell discussed his reputation, signing Albert King and Moses Malone, and more on 105.7 the Fan this week.

And here’s Lamar on Maryland’s poor showing against Penn State.