Photo by @TerpsMLax
Knowing the strength of his opponent in No. 4 Rutgers, Jared Bernhardt had to set the tone throughout, and he did so with his fifth score of the game at the start of the fourth quarter, giving No. 3 Maryland men’s lacrosse its first multiple possession lead since the opening minutes.
The attacker, notorious for making the difficult look easy, scored his fifth goal unassisted from the right side of the post. Firmly backing down his opponent with his lean six-foot frame, Bernhardt eased his way past the smaller defender and eventually got the ball past Rutgers’ Colin Kirst without turning his body and seemingly without breaking a sweat.
Reply
Denise Wilkerson appointed as Personal Lines Specialist (Valley Insurance Agency Alliance)
Valley Insurance Agency Alliance (VIAA), a cohesive family of more than 130 independent insurance agencies in Missouri and Illinois, recently appointed Josh Coffman as Alliance Coordinator and Denise Wilkerson as Personal Lines Specialist.
In this position, Coffman will manage the technology, system processing, and analytic programming for the alliance s members. His strategic approach will ensure that all agency members are utilizing the alliance s computer hardware, software and networks within the organization. Prior to joining VIAA, Coffman served as an automation expert specializing in IT and business management. He earned his Bachelor of Science degree in Information Technology from Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Mo.
It also speaks to Maryland having finally rebuilt its defensive midfield depth in the wake of both Isaiah Davis-Allen and Nick Manis graduating after the Terps’ national title in 2017. Puglise emerged as a mainstay early in his career, but the overall the lack of options has created some vulnerability exposed in the 2018 NCAA semifinals by Duke and the 2019 NCAA quarterfinals by Virginia.
Yet the Terps are older now, with Higgins (who transferred from Cleveland State before last season), Puglise and Smith all seniors. So perhaps there will be a willingness to go deeper in 2021.
It doesn’t hurt that one of Maryland’s few fifth-year seniors will be Jared Bernhardt, who planned to play football at Division II Ferris State before its season was wiped out due to the pandemic. The attackman re-inserts a major component into the Terps’ offense and also creates a little more wiggle room at that end of the field as well.