Daniel Kelly has shuffled through different roles for Maryland men’s lacrosse

Despite being a five-star prospect, Daniel Kelly spent his first two collegiate seasons coming off the bench, totaling just six goals over 18 games.

He then broke out and starred for the Terps’ offense last season as a full-time starter, more than doubling his career scoring total in that campaign alone.

But Eric Malever’s return from a torn right ACL and meniscus that kept him out for all of 2023 moved Kelly back into Maryland’s second line for the majority of this season. He only recently returned to the starting lineup due to a Daniel Maltz injury.

Kelly’s role has fluctuated over the past two seasons. He’s remained steady this year despite the

uncertainty.

“It’s been a little bit different this year bouncing back from attack to midfield,” Kelly said. “It’s a team sport, you do anything the team needs.”

Kelly led Maryland’s offense last season with 30 goals on a team-high 96 shots. He scored a goal in all but one game and his 1.88 goals per game ranked 10th among all Big Ten players.

Kelly excelled at finding openings in opposing defenses.

His first score in his first four-goal outing of the 2023 season against Loyola — which gave Maryland its first score more than 13 minutes in — came as he slowly shuffled over to an opening to the side of the cage, freeing himself for an easy look. Kelly, with the entire Greyhounds’ defense focused on one side of the field, crept open for an uncontested goal in the third quarter.

In Kelly’s second straight four-goal game, he waited in front of the goal-crease before scoring with a one-on-one look against the Syracuse goalkeeper for his third goal. He ran behind the side of the cage to the front for a close-range score a couple minutes later.