COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Jared Bernhardt predictably capitalized on the rare matchup with a short stick midfielder, darting from behind the cage to deposit a goal late in the second quarter Saturday. Teammate Kyle Long quickly greeted him, then Bubba Fairman, then the rest of Maryland’s offensive personnel.

Bernhardt’s 156th career goal — a Maryland career record, one more than 2017 Tewaaraton winner Matt Rambo managed in his storied four-year career — was pretty much a perfect Bernhardt moment.

It was understated. It didn’t draw attention to itself, even if it warranted some. (For its part, Maryland subbed the ball out prior to the ensuing faceoff, noted the accomplishment on the video board and made a public address announcement after play continued). There was a just-like-any-other-goal celebration, and the game moved on.

What a journey it has been for JB1 #BeTheBest pic.twitter.com/0RVqIus4PI

— Maryland Lacrosse (@TerpsMLax) April 3, 2021

Bernhardt finished with five goals and three assists in the 17-10 defeat of Penn State as the Terps (7-0) finished off a season sweep of the Nittany Lions (2-5) and continued their impressive run through the Big Ten’s double round robin schedule.

As strong as Bernhardt’s been — 159 goals and 75 assists for 234 points in 67 career games, eight fewer than his former teammate Rambo played at Maryland — he’s never been interested in making a big deal about himself.

“Obviously it’s a great honor, but I didn’t come to Maryland to break records or any of that stuff,” Bernhardt said. “I came to win national championships. I came for the people that were here in College Park and those things.”

Saturday’s biggest priority was to help earn a victory on the program’s Senior Day, no more and no less. That’s no surprise to those who know him well.

“I think it’s kind of the way he is,” said older brother Jesse Bernhardt, Maryland’s defensive coordinator. “We like to joke and say he’s a man of many words. He obviously understands and realizes what he’s accomplished, whether it’s this or anything else. But I think that in a day and age where it’s almost too much what people care about, he doesn’t. He’s very driven, in a kind of silent way. Definitely far from a self-promoter. The accolades and the achievements are very, very low on the totem pole of what motivates him.”

***

The Bernhardt family was already well known in College Park well before Jared — a star in both football and lacrosse in high school — arrived on campus. Jake Bernhardt was a two-way midfielder from 2009-13, and Jesse Bernhardt capped his career as a first team All-American defenseman in 2013. Both were substance-over-style players.

The same is true of Jared, who joined the program at a pivotal time. Maryland had played in four of the previous six national title games, winning none of them. A veteran-laden team that included the likes of Rambo and Collin Heacock, Connor Kelly and Tim Rotanz, Isaiah Davis-Allen, Nick Manis and Tim Muller was poised to break through in 2017.

And Bernhardt scored 20 goals as a starting midfielder for that bunch as the Terps won their first NCAA tournament since 1975.

“You come to Maryland, and the personalities he was able to blend with and gain respect from as a freshman on that team were pretty big, and he fit in right away,” said Holy Cross coach J.L. Reppert, a Maryland assistant from 2015-20. “That is, to me, one of his strengths, but it goes to him not knowing how good he is. He’s such a team player that he blends in and becomes a chameleon wherever he needs to be.”

With Rambo and Heacock graduating, Bernhardt moved to attack as a sophomore and scored 40 goals as Maryland made it back to Memorial Day weekend. He was a Tewaaraton finalist in 2019, collecting 51 goals for a team that was a goal away from another trip to the semifinals.

He was well on his way to a stellar senior year — 20 goals and nine assists in six games — when the COVID-19 pandemic ended the 2020 season.

“When all this went down a year ago, it was like, ‘God, is that the way Jared’s career is going to end?’” coach John Tillman said. “You just felt like there was some unfinished business. That wasn’t the way it should end. There was more to accomplish. Not only is he a guy who can help us win games, but I think people enjoy watching him play — how hard he plays, how athletic he is, at times how graceful and explosive he is.”

Bernhardt originally planned to spend last fall playing college football and committed to Division II Ferris State. But the pandemic wiped out that season, too, and he wound up spending nine months back home in Florida.

While his former Maryland teammates were dealing with the drudgery of pandemic protocols on campus in the fall, he was going through what Jesse Bernhardt described as a Groundhog Day existence — sharing a home with his mom and the family dog, doing a lot of training and lifting day after day. By the end of 2020, he was ready to get back to Maryland, even though he hadn't picked up a lacrosse stick in more than eight months.

“He came in and was like, ‘OK, I’m only going to be here for the spring. There’s a short amount of time and a high level of urgency. I know why I’m coming back. Game on, let’s go.’’’ Tillman said. “I think he’s been super focused. I think he’s been laser focused on what he wanted to accomplish.”

Those aims include a national title to provide a bookend to his career. Maryland’s plowed through opponents by an average of 7.3 goals and can clinch the top seed in the Big Ten tournament with one victory in its final three games, and Bernhardt already has 28 goals and 15 assists.

A few more repetitive months — from home to practice and back again — haven’t slowed him down.

“It probably plays to him better being a little bit more of an introvert,” Jesse Bernhardt said. “He just cares about winning and is motivated to do that. In certain ways, the COVID restrictions take away a lot of distractions. I don’t think that affects him like it does some other guys.”

***

Jared Bernhardt hopped on the team bus last Sunday after a four-goal, two-assist effort at Rutgers to pull within a goal of Rambo’s record. He celebrated the season sweep of the Scarlet Knights by watching football film for the three-hour ride home.

A few seats away, Jesse Bernhardt could only marvel.

“Sometimes, you almost have to remind him, ‘Hey, what you’re doing is pretty remarkable,’” Jesse Bernhardt said. “He probably nods his head and goes, ‘Yeah, I know.’ That’s usually the extent of it. It’s genuine. It’s not like he talks to people, and I’ll go talk to him and he’ll say, ‘Oh my gosh, I’m getting so close.’”

If there is one difference in Bernhardt in his fifth season, it is a greater willingness to assert himself at critical moments. The Terps’ toughest tests this year have come against Rutgers. Bernhardt still had a combined 10 goals and three assists against the Scarlet Knights.

In Saturday’s triumph over Penn State, he scored three times (including the record-breaking tally) in a seven-goal spurt Maryland used to turn a tenuous 6-4 lead into a rout.

“You know how he prepares, you know how much experience he has and you know he’s not doing it for the wrong reasons,” Tillman said. “There’s just a level of comfort that you have, and it’s not too different from Matt in 2017. You knew you’d have some tough moments, and you were playing against good teams. There’s some comfort to, ‘Yeah, but we have Matt Rambo.’ I don’t think it’s too different than if you’re the Lakers and you have LeBron James.”

Then there’s the competitiveness, which pops up in any endeavor. Consider some of it a byproduct of growing up with two brothers who were strong athletes in their own right.

But there’s more to it. Tillman likes to think of practices as “game preparation,” and he’s probably never had a player as willing as Bernhardt to treat midweek workouts like game days.

“I’m not sure he knows how good he is,” Reppert said. “I think when he brings his level and becomes competitive, he certainly raises the level of play of everybody. Just by his abilities, he makes everybody around him better. Then by his approachable nature, he’s able to mentor guys, and he sets the example and he’s going to follow what he says.”

While goal No. 156 was Saturday’s milestone, No. 157 might be the afternoon’s most indicative of the player Bernhardt has become late in his college career. He picked up an errant pass at midfield in the closing seconds of the first half, scampered more than 30 yards while getting a defender off balance and then fired in a sidearm dart as time expired.

All capped, of course, with an unassuming celebration with teammates and a jog to the locker room.

“I think people are starting to see this season, even more than any other, his physical ability and athletic ability,” Jesse Bernhardt said. “Sometimes I step back and I’m watching almost as a fan when I’m watching the film. I don’t know if there’s anyone in the country who is anywhere close to him in that realm. As a coach, I’m glad he’s on our team. As a brother, I’m just proud to see him mature and take the next step and turn into the player that I always knew he was capable of being.”