Maryland men’s lacrosse senior Luke Wierman recently chatted with PressBox about developing as a faceoff specialist, winning the national championship in 2022 and more. The 6-foot-1, 211-pound faceoff specialist won 66.1 percent of his draws for the Terps in 2022 en route to earning Big Ten Specialist of the Year honors. He also scored eight goals and dished out seven assists. Wierman is a native of West Chester, Pa., and graduate of B. Reed Henderson High School.
PressBox: How did you become interested in lacrosse?
Luke Wierman: I honestly became interested in lacrosse just being in the West Chester area growing up, right outside of Philly. It was pretty big there, kind of a hotbed, so seeing my friends play. But I’d also say my cousin, [Andrew Staller], and brother, [Jack Wierman], were big influences. My cousin went on to play at the University of Pennsylvania, so being young and watching him play there was a really cool experience and that’s kind of what I wanted to do.
PB: When did faceoffs become your niche?
LW: It was actually right before high school. In about eighth grade, I wanted to earn a spot on the varsity team in high school, so I kind of just decided to look for a coach to help me work on faceoffs and that’s just how it came about, really.
PB: Who was that coach? Who were the other big influences on your game as a faceoff specialist?
LW: Mike Lanham. He’s an alumni from St. Joseph’s University. He was a one-on-one coach. We’d just go meet up at a field and everything. … Growing up seeing guys like Trevor Bapstiste and TD Ierlan just do really well in college. Once I got into high school, watching those guys was really cool and seeing them be very successful in college. But I’d probably just say watching my cousin and going to his games was inspiring.
PB: Why did you choose to come to Maryland?
LW: The first time I stepped on campus the end of my senior year of high school, I just loved the campus. [Terps head coach John Tillman] was very straightforward with me about what it’s like here. I just really liked that, and I thought it was going to be a good fit culturally and kind of what I was looking for.
PB: How did the end of the 2021 season motivate you going into 2022? (Wierman nearly forced overtime against Virginia in the national championship game, but his shot was stopped by Cavaliers goalie Alex Rode in the waning seconds of regulation.)
LW: I think it kind of motivated me just because having a lot of guys return after that 2021 season, as a team we were just very hungry. … How that ended and what we sacrificed throughout that ’21 season kind of just pushed our whole group of guys that we had on that team that year with COVID and everything and having to do certain things certain ways.
PB: How did you go from winning 45.3 percent of your faceoffs in 2021 to winning 66.1 percent in 2022?
LW: I’d honestly just say repetition, kind of just working on my game and playing freely and just trusting the guys I have on my wings and trusting my teammates in general. Working with them I think is a huge thing, kind of getting used to them. In [2022], I was more familiar with who we had on our wings and their tendencies. We all worked together. I think that was a huge part of it, those wing guys.
PB: How do head coach John Tillman and his staff push faceoff specialists?
LW: I think we get tested every day. I think we have a great group of guys, especially Michael Roche, who’s a senior with me. He’s honestly just a workhorse. He makes me work every day in practice. The coaches put us up against each other a lot. He makes me work every play for it. He doesn’t let anything go easy, kind of kicks my butt all practice. I think that goes a very long way, honestly — just us going up against each other, putting us in uncomfortable situations for sure.
PB: What did it mean to you to win Big Ten Specialist of the Year in 2022?
LW: I felt like it was a good accomplishment. My focus was fully on just how the end of the season was going to be. As a team, you’re all kind of locked in with the tournament and trying to reach our goal. Honestly, that award wasn’t just for me. That was for the guys. I think every faceoff win last year, they were unbelievable — Roman Puglise, Jake Higgins, John Geppert, all those guys made things very easy with how experienced they were and how good they were off the ground, honestly. They made things very easy for me.
PB: What was the moment like when you won the national title against Cornell last year?
LW: It was definitely the best lacrosse moment I’ve ever had, just with how the ’21 season ended. The guys that all came back reached that goal that we all missed out in ’21. It was very surreal, didn’t really have words for it. The love we had for our teammates that season last year, it was just a perfect ending for it all.
PB: You’re now one of the leaders on the team. What’s it going to be like to help your team try to get back to the mountaintop after a lot of top scorers moved on? What’s it been like in practice so far?
LW: It’s been good. It’s really good seeing a lot of guys get opportunities with a bunch of guys leaving, especially on offense. I definitely would say from the past years taking things from our leaders of the past have done and trying to do my best at doing what they did — uplifting guys and letting guys know that they’re here for a reason and they’re capable and just trusting each other, honestly. Just growing that trust with your teammates I think is very important.
PB: What’s your favorite thing about College Park?
LW: My favorite thing about College Park is probably just honestly the culture of Maryland. I love how everything is so close together. We practice, we go inside, all we have to do is walk upstairs to see our tutors or do schoolwork. Everything is very close together. It’s a very dense university, which I really like.
PB: What’s your favorite thing about the University of Maryland?
LW: I’d say just the support staff we have here is unbelievable. The training staff that we have here is so great. I think the campus is awesome. Everything’s very close together and very easy to get to. As a freshman, it was kind of hard to navigate but it comes very quickly. That’s what I really enjoy about it. And just the school spirit — I think there’s a lot of school spirit for the sports teams and everything, which is great.
PB: Who’s your best friend on the team and what’s a story that underscores your friendship?
LW: I could say a bunch of guys, but one guy that sticks out is [midfielder] Garrett Gibbons. He’s a Long Island guy who I’ve lived with all four years of my career here. We sit on the bus together for every away trip, pretty much. I think just doing that, that relationship and the stories we tell each other and the jokes we have kind of lightens the mood. I think just being around each other a lot just is really good for our relationship.
PB: Who was the player you looked up to when you first got to Maryland as a freshman?
LW: Definitely Roman Puglise and definitely Matt Rahill. They just did the little things right, which was very noticeable. I looked up to all those guys, especially from that class. They just came in every day, they were great leaders and I just thought how they led the team and how they approached each and every day was something that I would definitely want to strive to do.
PB: What advice do you have for younger players who are going through the recruiting process?
LW: Some advice I would have for kids going through the recruiting process is don’t tell yourself that anyone’s better than you. I think go out there with a chip on your shoulder. I’d say definitely work on your stick skills. I think stick skills go a long way on the collegiate level. I think they expand your game very much. Probably just work on your stick skills and don’t doubt yourself.
PB: What are your goals for after lacrosse?
LW: Get a job, be comfortable. I’m hoping to move back closer to home. I’d like to live in Philadelphia once I graduate. Being around home for a little bit I think would be really nice. I’m studying criminal justice right now. I don’t know if I want to get into anything with criminal justice. I’ve been talking to my mentors recently. We have a great mentor group that know a lot of people and have a lot of connections. I’m kind of weighing my options, but taking it one step at a time. I’m doing a graduate program next year, too, so bought myself a little bit of time to think about that.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Maryland Athletics
Issue 279: February/March 2023
Originally published Feb. 15, 2023