Maryland's lacrosse team opens its season Saturday against Detroit, with the annual date with Georgetown looming in another week.
It's also the first season under coach John Tillman, the former Navy assistant who spent the last three seasons at Harvard.
As for what to expect? Here's a guide to the Terrapins as they seek their first final four appearance since 2006 and try to end a 35-year national title drought.
ATTACK
It's about what you'd expect from a team that brings back the bulk of a unit. Grant Catalino and Ryan Young are the two most known quantities, and Travis Reed is back as well (minus, Tillman said, 20 pounds; Reed must have gone really light on the Chipotle this offseason).
Perhaps that will provide Reed, whose greatest strength during his first three seasons was as a lethal stationary shooter, a little more agility and versatility in the offense. Catalino is the big scorer, but Young will play a large role in Maryland's offensive success.
MIDFIELD
Maryland ran four midfields a season ago, a statement not only about the depth in the program (which was good) but also about divide between the best and fourth-best midfields (which wasn't all that wide).
Tillman doesn't have much interest in revisiting that setup, but isn't quite ready to commit long term to many combinations.
One guy who figures to be a crucial asset to the first midfield is Joe Cummings, who has played both attack and midfield for Maryland. One theme throughout his career is figuring out ways to get teammates to play better while he's on the field.
"I think Joe Cummings is a guy who's a really, really smart player," Tillman said. "Every day he does something that makes you step back and say 'Whoa, that was really smart.'"
Other holdovers certain to factor in are Jake Bernhardt and John Haus.
Tillman said sophomore Kevin Cooper, a tall, lanky occasional fourth midfielder last season, is a bit of a pleasant surprise. He might get more work early on as a bunch of nicked up players (Scott LaRue, Warren Hansen, Eric Boyle and Dan Burns) get healthy.
CLOSE DEFENSE
Tillman, like predecessor Dave Cottle, possesses an offensive background. But there's no doubt the pieces are in place for his first team to be defined by defense.
Three senior starters --- Brett Schmidt, Max Schmidt and Ryder Bohlander --- return, as does fifth-year long pole Brian Farrell. Tillman is impressed with senior Shane Hall as well. Toss is Jesse Bernhardt, who like Farrell is a dangerous commodity in transition, and the Terps should be in solid shape.
The question here is how much Maryland opts to tinker with a group that played well last year --- and how much those guys welcome change.
"They’ve been great, been very receptive and worked very hard at it," Tillman said. "We tried to figure out what they were very good at and what they were suited for for and what they needed to learn. We didn't want to turn those guys into freshmen again. We constantly had to communicate with them: 'Does this make sense, do you guys feel comfortable and understand why we're using these schemes?'"
FACEOFFS
Ah, the old Maryland bugaboo. The Terps have enjoyed seasons when they were solid at the faceoff X, but only in spurts has Maryland dominated possession over the course of several games.
It could be a cast-of-thousands approach this year, with Jake Bernhardt, Curtis Holmes, Dan Burns and Mike Shakespeare all possibilities to have their turn on faceoffs.
The guy to keep an eye on, though, might be freshman Dan Noskin.
"He's a guy who helps us in practice, a guy who is very different," Tillman said. "He's very dedicated and that makes everybody better. Danny is so focused, and he's a faceoff guy. That's what his craft is and he's always analyzing film. It's what he does."
GOALIE
With veteran Brian Phipps graduated, Maryland has hyped redshirt freshman Niko Amato and junior Mark White (he of 48 career minutes) as options in the cage.
Amato is expected to start the opener, but Tillman isn't willing to commit to a goalie as his long-term option just yet.
"Niko is ahead but we haven't said 'He's our guy for the next four years,'" Tillman said. "Mark has been a pleasant surprise. He came back this year and he hasn’t laid down."
OVERALL
Tillman is in an interesting spot. His predecessor got fired, essentially, for not reaching Memorial Day weekend for four years running, and now he inherits a veteran team that probably should be playing deep into May (though it's tough to float Maryland as a title favorite with Virginia and Syracuse still lurking).
There will be an inevitable adjustment period, and that's not always ideal with Maryland playing Georgetown and Duke in the opening weeks of the season. Still, if the faceoff situation can prove adequate and Amato or White settles in at goalie, it should be a solid season for the Terps.
Comments