COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The University of Maryland men's lacrosse team is restocked and reloaded.
"One word to describe us would be 'strong'," said midfielder Jake Higgins.
Coming off their national title appearance last season the Terrapins are one of the strongest in the nation once again. They are ranked No. 2 in the country and return one of its deepest rosters. Attackman Logan Wisnauskas is back for a fifth year. The Sykesville native is wearing the esteemed No. 1 jersey this season.
"I’m feeling really good. We’ve got a good team," he said. "I feel really good about this year."
To help offset the loss of Tewaaraton Award winner Jared Bernhardt, the program’s all-time leader in goals and points, Maryland not only returns several stars, they also boast five transfers. Midfielder Jon Donville is a grad student who joined from Cornell. He didn’t get to play last year. The pandemic forced the cancellation of Cornell’s season.
"It just feels so good to be back out there again," he said. "Maryland is a place you come to win games and to finally get to be a part of that and run out of the shell and get to take on this season, it’s exciting."
Wisnauskas had 5 goals, three assists and Donville added a couple goals in last weekend’s 21-13 season-opening win against High Point. This weekend brings a major step up in competition as the Terps host No. 8 Loyola.
"Loyola is one of the most experienced teams in the country," said Donville. "Really, really good team. They do pretty much everything well. So, they are going to be a good test for us and we got to make sure we’re ready."
Higgins certainly will be for the game and the game within the game. He’ll be facing his younger brother, Seth, who is a sophomore on the Greyhounds. It will be the first time the brothers oppose each other in a game.
"There have been few and far words between us these last couple weeks," he said. "We might be saving it for the field. But, I think it will definitely be fun. He plays on the offensive side. I play on the defensive side. So, we’ll get our matchups. We’ll get our hits in and there definitely might be some words exchanged. At the end of the day I still love him. But, when those two hours come he has a mission and I have a mission."
That mission arrives Saturday at Noon inside Maryland Stadium.
Follow Shawn Stepner on Twitter @StepnerWMAR and Facebook
