Men's lax game against Duke a step forward for Brian Farrell

Tomorrow's game against Duke at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore has been a long time coming for Terrapin men's lacrosse defender Brian Farrell.

More than a year ago, as his team faced the same opponent at the same venue for the same event — the Konica Minolta Face-off Classic — the long pole instead found himself a mile away in the hospital, listening to the ACC opener on the radio.

"It was tough," Farrell said. "I'll never forget when I was sitting in the hospital bed."

Farrell checked into the University of Maryland Medical Center on the Thursday before the Duke game after doctors told him he needed surgery to remove a buildup of blood in his chest around two cracked ribs.

Two weeks earlier, he had broken his ribs against Air Force in the second game of the season. Though he played in the next game, the extent of his injury soon became clear.

"They were like, ‘I'm sorry, sir, I don't think you're going to be able to play in the game. You have to get this blood removed, and you're not going to be ready by Saturday,'" Farrell said. "I was devastated."

To add insult to injury, Farrell didn't even get to hear the whole radio broadcast. He listened as his team amassed an 8-4 lead through the first three quarters, but as the fourth quarter started, a nurse came in to take him into surgery. He said he even asked for a half-hour delay, but the surgeon insisted they proceed.

When he returned from the procedure, his father told him the good news: The Terps had won, 11-8. And when some of his teammates visited later, he shared in their celebration. But without question, he would rather have been on that field.

After missing the rest of last year with the injury, the redshirt junior and team captain will finally get his chance against Duke this weekend. The No. 7 Terps (2-0) even boast the same ranking they held going into last year's match.

No. 9 Duke (2-1) came into this season ranked No. 2 but dropped after an overtime win against Bucknell and a loss to Notre Dame. The Blue Devils haven't gotten much production from their midfield, which has contributed only 19 percent of their scoring.

Instead, they have relied heavily on their attack to pull them through.

Duke's long pole defenders provide another strength, according to Terps' coach Dave Cottle, especially the pressure they apply on transition.

The Terps plan to counter with their own transition game, spearheaded by Farrell. The 6-foot-5, 240-pound long pole, who also serves as a wing on faceoffs, makes his presence felt all the way up the field.

"He's just the spark and energy of the defense, and he can go play offense too," goalie Brian Phipps said. "So we're going to have that surprise factor this year having him on defense and also able to go and score. It's going to be a lot of fun to have him back."

The Terps felt Farrell's loss immediately last season, starting in the win against the Blue Devils. Though they did score transition goals in the match, they did not have as much movement from the defense through the attack, Cottle said.

"We went from a team that was going to try to run from defense to offense to, with one player going out, not being able to run as much as we normally ran," Cottle said. "I think it affected us style-wise, substance-wise. We had to overcome that."

Farrell proved his worth when he came out swinging against Georgetown last weekend in his first game against high-level competition since returning. In a 15-13 comeback win, Farrell collected a career-high 10 ground balls, doubling his previous best, and recorded a career-high six caused turnovers.

The Baltimore native said he hopes to be even more productive in his hometown. He got the chance to play at M&T Bank Stadium twice in high school, but because of his injury, he hasn't yet gotten the chance in college.

"I'm so excited. It's a huge venue, and there's going to be a lot of people there," Farrell said. "It's Ravens stadium, which is one of my favorite places to play. It's just awesome. I can't wait. I'm so excited."

kyanchulis@umdbk.com