Shortly after second-seeded Maryland won its NCAA men’s lacrosse tournament opener last weekend, Coach John Tillman received a text message from a former assistant who worked on his staff more than a decade ago. It was Georgetown Coach Kevin Warne offering a lighthearted greeting.
The two have remained close since Warne served as defensive coordinator for the Terrapins in 2011 and 2012, helping them advance to the national championship game in each of those seasons, so reaching out to a longtime mentor in Tillman was nothing out of the ordinary.
That the programs were set for a showdown in Sunday afternoon’s NCAA quarterfinals at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, however, was anything but business as usual.