After Maryland men’s lacrosse started its season on a high note with a 15-4 win against Richmond on Saturday, a few Terps received award recognition. Graduate defender Brett Makar was named Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week and freshman attacker Braden Erksa was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday.
This type of award is nothing new for Makar, who was the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year last season. He forced four turnovers and got five ground balls as the Terps held the Spiders scoreless for most of the game.
With a lot of players and staff from last year’s national champion squad not returning, the freshman Erksa has already shown himself capable of providing offense in his first collegiate game.