No. 5 Maryland men’s lacrosse holds off Rutgers, 11-6

Led by a strong defensive effort and timely offense, No. 5 Maryland men’s lacrosse Saturday pulled away late from Rutgers to secure an 11-6 victory and also a first-round bye in the Big Ten Tournament.

The game began like most of the Terps’ games this season, with both offenses struggling to generate much of anything. Maryland’s lone tally of the opening quarter came from Daniel Kelly, who was filling in for the injured Daniel Maltz for the second straight week. The Terps were especially careless in possession, turning the ball over six times in the frame.

Defensively, though, the Terps were stifling early on. They prevented multiple good looks at goal and Logan McNaney was strong when called upon. However, Rutgers’ got on the board with 50 seconds left in the frame when Rutgers long-stick midfielder Ryan Splaine ripped the bottom left corner in transition.

“I thought [defensive coordinator] Jesse [Bernhardt] put together a good plan,” head coach John Tillman. “I think these guys executed the plan and communicated well.”

Maryland’s offense found some rhythm in the second frame, large in part due to it committing just two turnovers. With that added time on the ball, it was able to find the back of the net five times.

After Kelly got his second to put the Terps ahead, Ryan Siracusa tattooed the top corner with a beautiful low-to-high finish. Braden Erksa delivered a score as well while Jack Koras also found the net twice.

With McNaney continuing to be a hard-to-solve puzzle for the Scarlet Knights, finishing the half with seven saves, Koras’ latter tally gave Maryland a 6-4 lead heading into the break. As well, Ajax Zappitello made a diving check at the end of the frame to save a goal.

The second half opened the same way the first did, with more unimpressive offense. The Terps’ attacking unit as a whole was highly variable, unable to open the game up despite numerous looks to do so. Kelly was an exception to that, cutting to the cage late in the frame and securing his hat trick.

Again, the Terps’ defense was tremendous — but also received a bit of luck. Ross Scott and Colin Kurdyla each finished on the doorstep for the Scarlet Knights, but Kurdyla’s shot, which clearly hit the back of the net, was ruled no goal by the referees.

Maryland took a 7-5 lead into the final frame but the Scarlet Knights quickly answered to cut the deficit in half, a deserved score after having one unfairly wiped out.

But in the final 10 minutes, Maryland exploded to come out on top.

Three seconds after Siracusa netted his second goal of the night, Luke Wierman cleanly won a draw and buried the ball into the bottom corner for his first goal of the season. Less than two minutes later, Zach Whittier scored just his second of the year to give the Terps’ a four-goal advantage.

“It was so hard to score, getting two in a row… I think it energized us,” Tillman said.

The Terps got some added insurance with 2:25 left when Jack Brennan also found the back of the net for the first time all season.

Three Things to Know

1. Both goalies shined. McNaney put together one of his best games all year, stopping 15 of the 21 shots he faced. On the other end, redshirt freshman Cardin Stoller was just as strong, making 14 saves of his own — some of which will go on the highlight reel.

“Man, it’s the best thing in the world playing with a goalie like that,” graduate defender Jackson Canfield said of McNaney.

2. An even matchup at the faceoff X. Wierman, who has been unstoppable of late, won just over half of his faceoffs Saturday. However, he came up huge late, giving the Terps’ a three-goal lead.

3. “The Rivalry” will have added stakes. With this win, next week’s game between Maryland and Johns Hopkins will be for the No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. As well, if the Terps come out on top, they will take home a share of the regular-season title.

“We try not to make it bigger than it is, you know, but it’s a rivalry and we love that.” Kelly said. “It’s a game that’s circled on our calendar every year.”