I

t was the last place Jack Brennan expected to be, and for a reason he could not fathom.

Four days before his collegiate lacrosse debut, Brennan, a freshman attackman at Maryland, was back home in upstate New York, mourning the death of the man who helped introduce him to the sport.

“He grew up playing lacrosse,” Brennan said of his uncle, Robert Knapp, who played lacrosse at Irondequoit High School and SUNY Potsdam. “When I was growing up, I know a big hope of his was for me to play. My brother was a baseball player, so I was one of the last boys to get the chance.”

Knapp, 46, died Jan. 23.

“Starting in third grade, he gave me my first two sticks,” Brennan said. “He was just the biggest supporter I had while also being my biggest critic. I’m thankful I had him for all that time.”

Days after the funeral, Brennan stepped on the field in College Park for his first regular season game in a Maryland uniform. Less than two minutes into the Feb. 1 opener, he buried a shot from a tough angle on the left side of the field. Moments later, he scored again, helping Maryland jump out to a 3-0 lead over High Point in a game it would eventually win 23-12.

“It’s been a tough couple of weeks for Jack Brennan,” Maryland coach John Tillman said in the press conference following the victory. “We feel for his family. These guys did a tremendous job of supporting him through a tough time. You’re a freshman, and you lose someone really close to you and a guy that helped introduce Jack to lacrosse. I think the support of the teammates was huge for Jack, because he looked confident today. Early in the game, he was not afraid to step in there.”

“I had a lot of support from Coach Tillman and the guys, and they were just making sure that I was ok to go out and play, which really helped,” Brennan said. “They continue to help, which is really the best thing that I could ask for. I know I’m really appreciative of it, and so is my family.”

That family atmosphere is one of the reasons Brennan ended up at Maryland.

“The culture here was probably the best I had seen,” Brennan said. “From top to bottom, all of the guys are really close. The coaches treat you like one of their own, like one of their family members. That was the biggest part that I saw and drew me to the program.”

That wasn’t the only draw to Maryland, which hosts Penn on Saturday in an early season top 10 showdown.

The famed Irondequoit program has produced scores of standout players over the years. National Lacrosse Hall of Fame member Jeff Long starred at the school before going on to the Naval Academy and the U.S. national team. Paul Cantabene, one of the sport’s most dominant faceoff specialists ever, played at Irondequoit before starring at Loyola and in the professional ranks. Irondequoit’s all-time leading scorer, Andrew Whipple, was a three-time All-American at Maryland.

More recently Joe Walters, went from Irondequoit to stardom. Walters plays for Redwoods LC in the Premier Lacrosse League. Before that, he excelled in Major League Lacrosse and the National Lacrosse League. He represented the USA on indoor and outdoor teams at the world championships, and of course, he lit up the scoreboard at Maryland while earning All-America honors all four years.

Brennan first met the Irondequoit legend as a fifth-grader at a camp, but that wasn’t the last time they met.

“I really started working with him towards the end of eighth grade into ninth at the facility he had in downtown Rochester,” Brennan said. “I worked with him throughout high school, working on different parts of my game. Joe was a big helper in drawing me here. It’s cool to follow him, in a way, and keep the Irondequoit-to-Maryland pipeline going.”

The two have stayed in contact since Brennan arrived in College Park.

“He’ll check in every once in a while to see how I’m doing,” Brennan said. “It’s always good to hear from him and see his input on anything I can do better.”

It’s hard to imagine a better start for the freshman. With stars like Jared Bernhardt, Anthony DeMaio, Bubba Fairman and Logan Wisnauskus on the Terps’ roster, Brennan doesn’t have to carry the load, but has been a significant contributor.

The two early goals helped spark the offense in the win over High Point and then both of Brennan’s goals against Richmond came in the fourth quarter, as the Terps rallied from a five-goal deficit to eventually win in overtime.

Brennan has felt right at home.

“The coaches have given us some good free rein to do our thing,” Brennan said. “That starts with the trust they have with the upperclassmen and the experience they have.”