Three days after leading the Maryland men’s lacrosse team to its first NCAA championship in 42 years, coach John Tillman was in California recruiting.

“That’s how a coach thinks,” Tillman said. “I felt like I was behind everybody.”

Tillman’s players, meanwhile, went their separate ways. Some graduated. Others left for summer jobs and internships. It all felt a bit anticlimactic.

“Everybody disperses pretty quickly,” Tillman said.

The prolonged victory lap would have to wait until the fall. The Terps returned to campus at the end of August. Since then, they have been recognized at halftime of a Maryland football game and before an Orioles game at Camden Yards in Baltimore. At an awards banquet following the annual alumni game Saturday, the players and coaches from 2017 team received their championship rings.

A closer look at our National Championship rings #BeTheBest | #MoneyForNothing pic.twitter.com/DqI2r7a1Jp

— Maryland Lacrosse (@TerpsMLax) October 1, 2017

Closure.

“The kids did something they should be proud of. We want to make sure they get their moment in the sun,” Tillman said. “That banquet was an opportunity to put ’17 to bed and really make sure we’re focusing on ’18 now. The victory tour is over. We’re not going to diminish what happened, but we need to have a windshield mentality — looking through the windshield and not in the rearview mirror.”

At the first intersection ahead of Maryland awaits the U.S. national team. The defending NCAA champions will take on the aspiring world champions Saturday in the Team USA Fall Classic at US Lacrosse’s Tierney Field in Sparks, Md.

The Maryland-U.S. game will be streamed live on the US Lacrosse website, Facebook page and YouTube channel. For the visiting Terps, it’s an opportunity not only to turn the page, but also to help Team USA in its quest to regain the gold medal next summer at the FIL World Championship in Israel.

Normally in fall ball, Tillman would trot out different combinations of players and a predominance of freshmen and sophomores to get them up to speed and preserve the more established upperclassmen. But in the interest of giving Team USA the best possible competition — on one of the few occasions the national team can experience live game action outside of intra-squad scrimmages — Tillman plans to play his stars.

That includes All-American midfielder and Tewaaraton candidate Connor Kelly, one of just three collegians on the U.S. roster. Kelly will play for Maryland on Saturday and for the U.S. against Towson on Sunday.

“I feel like I owe it to the other side,” Tillman said. “There’s a responsibility on our end to help that USA team go where they want to go and get some answers.”

That includes deploying some unconventional tactics Saturday. At the request of U.S. head coach John Danowski, Tillman is installing a zone defense this week and instructing his players to milk possessions at certain points of the game — devices Canada successfully used in defeating Team USA in the 2014 world championship final.

“We want to help this U.S. team get better,” Tillman said.

Tillman does expect to be without his new defensive coordinator. Jesse Bernhardt, a defenseman for the U.S., will get a good look at the Terps as an opposing player. Among other former Maryland players on the U.S. training team are defensive midfielder Jake Bernhardt (Jesse’s brother), midfielder Mike Chanenchuk, long-stick midfielder Michael Ehrhardt, defenseman Tim Muller, goalie Brian Phipps, midfielder Drew Snider and midfielder Joe Walters.

The youngest Bernhardt brother, Terps sophomore Jared Bernhardt, also should be in action Saturday, meaning all three could be on the field at the same time. Jared Bernhardt was the MVP of the 2016 FIL Under-19 World Championship playing for Team USA. He made an impact as a midfielder during his first season in College Park, scoring 20 goals and earning honorable mention All-American honors. He passed up an opportunity to play football at Navy for lacrosse at Maryland.

“My gut tells me if he does not come here, we don’t win the championship,” Tillman said.

Bernhardt likely will shift to attack this season. The Terps are looking to reload up front after graduating Tewaaraton winner Matt Rambo, All-American Colin Heacock and clutch scorer Dylan Maltz.

In addition to those three players, Maryland also must replace national defenseman of the year Muller, All-American defensive midfielder Isaiah Davis-Allen, former team captain Nick Manis and another heart-and-soul player in defenseman Mac Pons.

“Some very strong personalities,” Tillman said. “Who’s going to step up? Who are our leaders?”