04/29/23 - 3rd-seeded Maryland hosted 6th-seeded Rutgers for the opening round of the Big 10 Tournament for an 8 PM game under the lights. The Terps' Daniel Kelly had 4G, 1A, freshman Braden Erksa had 1G, 6A and Daniel Maltz had 3G, 1A as the attack lit up the scoreboard. Luke Wierman took care of the face-off X, winning 20 of 27.

Brett Makar showed why he was voted the Big 10 Defensive Player of the Year for the second straight year. He held down the defense and even had a big goal that got had the sidelines swarm him on the field and get a penalty for it. Based on the energy it brought, and the fact that the MDD didn't give up a goal on the penalty, it seemed like a good trade.

All-American defenseman Ajax Zappitello was out of the game with an injury. Freshman Will Schaller took his place, earning his first start in his first post-season game. Will is a family friend, so I was excited to see him do a great job on the field in his first start.

Speaking of friends I was happy to see on the field, it was great seeing Eric Seremet at the game. A former high school teammate, and college opponent, Eric is the Offensive Coordinator for the Scarlet Knights. Last year, he won the award for the top assistant coach in Division 1. He also served as the Head Coach of Air Force for a number of years, among other positions. Bottom line - he's a great guy and coach. I was sad for him to see his season come to an end.

Rutgers put up a good fight and kept things interesting in the end, outscoring Maryland 6-4 in the 4th quarter. Attackman Shane Knobloch had 3 goals. He had a nice one in the 4th quarter as he swept over the top that I missed in the video since I didn't hit freaking record. Sorry, Shane. Attackman Ross Scott had 4 assists as another of Rutgers' point leaders. Rutgers had stretches of solid defense and goalie play throughout the game.

The Terps advance to the Big 10 Semifinals where they don't have to wait long to get a shot at redemption against Hopkins at Homewood. Their first game a week before was one of the best college games of the season. The lacrosse world is excited to see the sequel.

Notes:

- Once again, I shot pics in the first half and video in the second.

- Please check out www.proudlacrosse.com to see more vids and photos.

- Most of the video was shot with a Sony FX3 and Sony FE 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens. The stills and some smaller video clips were shot with a Sony A7iv with both the above lens and also the Sony FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS lens.

Thanks for watching and reading!

Joe