Daniel Kelly enjoyed the highest of highs when he contributed to Maryland men’s lacrosse’s march to its fourth national championship in 2022. He also experienced the lowest of lows when he was a member of the 2021 and 2024 squads that lost in title games to Virginia and Notre Dame, respectively.

Like any competitor, Kelly can’t help but remember last spring’s 15-5 humbling by the Fighting Irish.“It’s definitely fresh,” said the fifth-year senior attackman, a Towson native and Calvert Hall graduate. “Obviously, winning is awesome, and you go there to win. It’s probably the best day of my life to date. I was a part of that team, and I’m grateful to be a part of that team, which in my opinion is the best team to ever play the sport. So I’m super grateful for that. But for me, my motivation right now is sitting in that press conference last year answering reporters and crying with my teammates. So I’m going to do everything in my power to be sitting in that press conference with a smile.”

Kelly and the Terps will get a chance to reverse last year’s sadness at this weekend’s NCAA Tournament at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. After No. 1 seed Cornell (16-1) meets No. 5 seed Penn State (12-4) in a semifinal on Saturday at noon, No. 2 seed Maryland (13-3) will face No. 6 seed Syracuse (13-5) in the second semifinal at 2:30 p.m.

Being one of the last four teams left after a taxing campaign is a development coach John Tillman does not take lightly.

“To get to championship weekend is important on so many levels,” he said. “There’s a little bit of a festival-slash-bowl game feel to it if you’re an alum or fan. You go to the Final Four, all of the groups go together, there’s tailgates, you see friends and families, and I think it is very important for the program and our alums. I think it’s something they really look forward to, the families. I know for our players, a lot of those guys, they were young guys going to the Final Four, and they were sitting in the stands, and they’re dreaming of one day being there. So for those guys to have that experience is really special.”

For the Terps, reaching the last weekend of the season has become more of a rule than the exception. Since the NCAA adopted a tournament-style format for the postseason in 1971, the school has advanced to the Final Four 30 times, breaking a tie with Johns Hopkins for the most appearances in the sport’s history.

Under Tillman, Maryland is 11-1 in the quarterfinals and 8-2 in the semifinals. It is a staggering display of consistency, according to ESPN lacrosse analyst Quint Kessenich.

“They have set an extremely high standard, and this year’s team is certainly on a similar path to what John has done,” said Kessenich, a former All-American goalkeeper at Johns Hopkins. “He’s been amazing. They’re 11-1 in the quarterfinal games and 8-2 in the semis, and they’re 2-6 in the finals. I think that’s the only thing he’d like to change. Every single other program in the country is chasing Maryland now in terms of consistency in the last 15 years.”

Ah, yes, that .250 winning percentage on Memorial Day. A few of those setbacks seemed understandable such as the unseeded 2011 and 2012 squads falling to No. 7 seed Virginia and No. 1 seed Loyola Maryland, respectively, and last year’s outcome against a Notre Dame team that ran roughshod en route to its second straight crown.

Then there are others that befuddle like the No. 1 seed 2016 team that got shocked by unseeded North Carolina in overtime and the No. 3 seed 2021 squad that lost to No. 4 seed Virginia by one goal.

Tillman acknowledged that he would prefer happier occasions on Memorial Day, but denied that he and the players felt more pressure to win a national title.

“We don’t talk a lot about it in terms of, ‘Hey, guys, we’ve got to go win the national championship,’” he said. “We kind of can fall back on just, ‘Be the Best.’ There’s signs on the wall, there’s signs on shirts. (Former coach) Bud Beardmore coined that phrase in the ‘70s, and that allows us to kind of keep it simple.”

Kessenich pointed to two factors in the Terps’ inability to carry their success from the semifinals to the final. He said their lack of reliance on substitutions leads to tired legs among the starters and their prowess at preparing for opponents during the usual five-day week is compromised by the brief duration of the last weekend.

“With one day’s prep and one day’s rest, it just has not been their typical product that they put on the field on Memorial Day,” he said. “It’s not that it’s bad. It just hasn’t been as good as what they normally show with a five-day turnaround.”

Still, Kessenich insisted that Tillman and the Terps have become the model for other programs in the country. At least two competing coaches in the Final Four agreed.

“They are the standard right now,” Cornell’s Connor Buczek said. “Coach Tillman does such an incredible job building a program that’s consistent, that’s tough, that executes the small details. They never beat themselves. So from a coaching perspective, they’re as good as it gets, and they continue to morph and change to fit the personnel that they have, and as a coach, that’s what you’re always trying to do. Not have your own system, but have a system that fits the players on your team. Every year, they seem to be in this position on the very last weekend and are certainly a team we’ve got a ton of respect for.”

Said Syracuse’s Gary Gait, who turned down requests by Maryland boosters to apply for the position before Tillman was hired after the 2010 season: “He’s done an amazing job.”

Still, reaching this stage of the postseason is never guaranteed, and Kelly knows he and his teammates have a coveted opportunity to end their season on high note. But that won’t alter their approach to the weekend, he said.

“We’re still trying to get better today, and that won’t change,” Kelly said. “You get to come here and compete for national championships and not just compete, but you come here to win them. That’s what we’re preaching. We’re going to Boston with one thing in mind.”

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