Maryland Beats Bryant 16-8, Punch Ticket to Final Four

Maryland defeated Bryant, 16-8, in the NCAA Tournament quarterfinal round to clinch a berth in next weekend's national semifinals in Baltimore. The Terps took control right at the start of the game with four goals in the first five minutes, dominating faceoff play in the first quarter to build a 7-2 lead. The Terps held a wire-to-wire lead to eliminate the Bulldogs.

Senior attackman Mike Chanenchuk had a career day for the Terrapins, racking up nine points with five goals and four assists. Connor Cannizzaro, Jay Carlson, and Joe LoCascio each tallied hat tricks of their own in the winning effort.

The game featured a matchup between two of the nation's top faceoff men in Maryland's Charlie Raffa and Bryant's Kevin Massa. The battled ended up being a one-sided affair, however, as Raffa went 14/20 on draws, including a dominant first 15 minutes. As a result, Bryant's possession opportunities were limited and allowed Maryland to pull away very early.

Maryland also won the shots battle, tallying 38 compared to the Bulldogs' 29. The Terps also won the groundball battle 36-23. Both teams were efficient in extra-man opportunities, with Bryant hitting on both of their chances and Maryland cashing in on half of their four opportunities when man-up.

Maryland will await the winner of the Albany-Notre Dame quarterfinal that awaits here on a beautiful day at Hofstra University. This will be the Terps' third semifinal appearance in four seasons. Maryland finished as the national runner-up in 2011 and 2012, losing to Virginia and Loyola, respectively, in the finals in those two years.