‘It’s embarrassing when we don’t bring it’: The speech that sparked Whipsnakes’ comeback vs. Waterdogs

For the second time in its last two games, Maryland found itself down 5-0 before the halftime whistle blew. The Whipsnakes lacked offensive presence, and when they did have the ball, they looked sloppy. Whether it was slipping on the turf or dropping uncontested passes, it felt like the team didn’t have its head in the game.

In a must-win matchup with the Philadelphia Waterdogs, the Whipsnakes came out flat and struggled to contain Michael Sowers, who notched a hat trick in the first quarter and outscored Maryland by himself in the first half.

Maryland had 10 turnovers in the first half and was losing the possession battle by over four minutes. The turnovers primarily resulted from sloppy passing, whether on the feed or the catch, and many of them were unforced errors. Passes were thrown out of bounds or dropped in the middle of the field, where Waterdogs were just waiting to capitalize on any mistake. It felt like Maryland was beating itself.

But Whipsnakes veteran Matt Dunn refused to let his teammates mentally check out. At halftime, with the Whips trailing 5-2, Dunn delivered a passionate message emphasizing that effort was the one thing they could control.

“It’s embarrassing when we don’t bring it,” Dunn told the huddle. “And we control that.”

He pointed to fellow defender Tim Muller, whose intensity had stood out during a sluggish first half.

“Tim Muller, that’s who I want to play with. I want 19 of those guys out there.”

Dunn implored the team to match Muller’s energy.

“Find that within you, whatever it is. That’s [expletive] caring about this [expletive]. If you [expletive] care, show it. Show it with how you [expletive] play.”

Slapping Muller on the back, Dunn continued: “This. We need that. That is [expletive] caring. Let’s bring that. Every single person in the second half. No matter what happens, we are not [expletive] going anywhere.”

Dunn’s speech lit a fire. Maryland came out of the break looking like a different team, fueling a second-half comeback as the Whipsnakes rallied to win 10-7.

After the game, Dunn revealed his speech had echoed a statement Muller made on the field during the first half.

“Tim said it, and I think for us, we talked earlier today about why we do this,” he said. “A lot of guys in this league sacrifice a lot to do this, and a lot of guys want to be doing this. We’ll make mistakes, and that’s one thing, but to feel like guys were not present and giving it all we can out there, and just knowing the potential of our team, too, it’s just frustrating.”

“I got to give Tim Muller a lot of credit — a veteran defender on our team who’s really stepped up on the field, but also just a leadership role,” Dunn continued. “I think a lot of the guys look to him, and the more voices we have echoing the right points, the stronger we’re going to be.”

Dunn and Muller are two-time PLL champions, and Dunn is a three-time Defensive Player of the Year, so naturally, they hold a commanding presence on the field and in the locker room.

“If you have watched the PLL in the last however many years, you know that Matt Dunn and Tim Muller are some of the best defensemen in the league and have always been,” second-year attackman Matt Brandau said postgame. “So, when they’re telling you to give it all you got, you owe it to them, and you owe it to the rest of the team, and you owe it to yourself to go out there and do it.”

Coming out of the locker room, the Whipsnakes looked like an entirely different team against their Eastern Conference rival.

They just seemed more focused. The errant passes completely disappeared from the game, and the effort was clearly visible. Dunn and Muller had rookies like Jack McDonald fully bought into the message to give 100% effort and lay their bodies on the line.

And most importantly, Maryland found ways to score consistently, something it struggled with in the past six quarters against Denver and Philadelphia.

Brad Smith (2G, 1T) scored three points in just 15 seconds, starting the Whipsnakes’ second-half scoring with a two-pointer. Then, after Joe Nardella won the ensuing faceoff, Smith buried an unassisted goal to bring the Whipsnakes within one score, giving Maryland much-needed life.

From that point on, TJ Malone (1G, 4A) and Brandau (4G, 1A) stole the show, accounting for the Whipsnakes’ next five unanswered goals and tacking onto the 8-0 run started by Smith.

Malone scored tied the game at 6-6 with just under five minutes remaining in the third quarter. He barrelled into three Waterdogs defenders after curling around the back of the crease to deliver a diving right-handed finish.

Then, Brandau drew a short-stick matchup on Christian Scarpello to begin the fourth quarter and put one past Matt DeLuca to give the Whipsnakes their first lead of the night.

Brandau went on to score four consecutive goals to put the Whipsnakes up 10-6, and the final three were all assisted by Malone, who passed Smith for second-most career assists in Whipsnakes history with 38.

“[Malone] threw me open, I think every time,” Brandau said. “Playing with that kid is incredible.”

Brandau, whom the Whipsnakes acquired in an offseason trade for Zed Williams, scored just four goals in his six games with Philadelphia last season. He matched that in a single game – a must-win game – against his former team.

Maryland has won and lost thanks to its young offensive corps all season, and on Saturday night in Fairfield, it felt like it had some extra motivation from its veteran defenseman to get the job done in the second half.

“I think we have some younger guys on our team that are starting to feel out their role, and we’re trying to get everybody to understand that when you’re in this league, like, there are no young guys at this point,” Dunn said. “Everybody needs to contribute and play.”

Whipsnakes head coach and general manager Jim Stagnitta called Dunn “an amazing leader.”

“I do leadership for a living,” he said, “and I’m just so proud of how he leads this team. [Muller] stepped up today, and that takes so much pressure off of me because I don’t have to say things. And they get tired of me saying the same things over and over again.”

Praise like that from Stagnitta, the second-winningest coach in pro lacrosse history, means you are doing something right. And Dunn’s leadership isn’t anything new to the Whipsnakes.

In training camp back in May, he harped on the importance of giving 100% effort in every game this season.

“If we just really focus on doing the right things ourselves and playing hard and competing, those one-goal games tend to go our way versus somebody else,” Dunn said before the season. “The X’s and O’s might all be the same, but a really important ground ball or a really important slide, if you’re not dialed in and you don’t make that play, the other team gets to win, and that’s all you remember.”

With a win over the Waterdogs in their back pocket and the entire team bought in on Dunn’s message, the Whipsnakes now prepare for a rematch with the New York Atlas on Friday in Salt Lake City – another matchup in the East with massive playoff implications.