‘Battle for the Beltway’ test is hardly new for men’s lacrosse's Tillman

Even though John Tillman is in only his first year as coach of the Terrapin men's lacrosse team, he's no stranger to one of its biggest nonconference rivals.

When the No. 3 Terps host No. 14 Georgetown tomorrow in the latest chapter of the teams' annual "battle for the Beltway," Tillman's long history against the Terps' crosstown foe will take on new circumstances.

While at Harvard the past three seasons, Tillman faced the Hoyas in Washington twice, losing both contests by just one goal. And as an assistant at Navy, he saw Georgetown every year in hotly contested matchups.

So even though he's new to the Terps (1-0), Tillman understands a tough, physical and offensively charged game is usually the norm when they face the Hoyas (1-0).

"The games with Georgetown are always exciting," Tillman said. "There's always a lot of unsettled, up-and-down play. Some crazy things happen in every one of these games. It's kind of the way they play."

The rivalry between the Terps and Hoyas has intensified in recent years, with the two teams alternately splitting meetings since the 2006 season. The Terps have won in every even year, with Georgetown claiming victories in 2007 and 2009.

Home-field advantage hasn't mattered much in the series, as the visitors have won every game since the Terps' 2005 victory at Byrd Stadium. That's a trend the Terps hope to end Saturday.

"It shows how close we are," defender Ryder Bohlander said. "We've been trading blows, but we're going to try to break that streak. … We look forward to them every year, and this is a game that we mark on our calendars."

But for the Terps to win their second straight game of the season — and in their series against Georgetown — Tillman and players conceded that improvements from their last outing are imperative.

Against Detroit Mercy last weekend, the Terps committed 17 turnovers and were forced to play shorthanded for 5:30. In the first quarter alone, the Terps played man-down defense for three straight minutes because of unnecessary-roughness and illegal-stick penalties.

"We made a lot of mental mistakes. It was real evident on the film when we came in on Monday," midfielder Jake Bernhardt said. "We want to make sure that we don't have those small mistakes that put us a man-down or result in goals for the other team."

Georgetown has missed the postseason the past three years, and after starting this year with a 15-12 victory over Jacksonville, the Hoyas are undoubtedly seeking the type of signature win that would come with beating the Terps.

Despite graduating five All-Big East selections, the Hoyas boast strong attack and midfield units. Their offense is led by attackman Travis Comeau, who is coming off a stellar freshman campaign and a three-goal season opener.

And at midfield, the Hoyas have one of the nation's best face-off specialists in Brian Tabb, who won 18 of 28 draws against the Dolphins last weekend.

"They can push the ball from defense to offense very well with excellent skill and speed," Tillman said. "They're a dangerous team and put up 15 goals [against Jacksonville]. They put up nine against [Harvard] last year, so they can certainly score."

With Georgetown's offensive prowess, the Terps realize that a full 60-minute effort — something that was absent against Detroit — will be necessary Saturday. If it's not, Tillman's personal losing streak against the Hoyas may span three games and two teams.

"They're right down the street in D.C. They're not going to be a pushover, and they're going to come out and play hard no matter what," Bernhardt said. "We're going to have to be ready to play and prepared for whatever they bring."

jengelke@umdbk.com