Maryland men’s lacrosse looks to reach fourth straight B1G title game

#8 Maryland 8-4 (3-2) vs #9 Penn State 10-3 (3-2)
Where: Ohio State
When: May 2nd, approximately 8:30 PM
TV: Big Ten Network

Betting odds: Maryland +1.5 (-145) | Maryland ML (+100) | O/U: 22 (DraftKings)

Maryland will look to reach their fourth consecutive Big Ten title game when they face Penn State on Friday in a rematch of a thrilling contest earlier this season in State College.

Maryland squeaked out a 13-11 win in the first matchup, giving the Terps the tiebreaker in the conference standings that ultimately set the stage for the first-round bye.

How the first matchup

In their first matchup this season, the Terps were down 10-7 at the end of the third quarter, but rallied thanks to strong efforts from Luke Wierman at the face-off dot and the Terps defense holding Penn State to just one goal the entire fourth quarter. Jack Kras led the team with four goals on the day while another seven players also had a goal.

Penn State’s defense

On defense for Penn State, they are led by their goalie Jack Fracyon. Fracyon had 16 saves in the losing effort in the first matchup of the season and has been stellar all season. Fracyon ended the regular season with 180 saves and a save percentage of 60%. One reason the Terps were able to pull out a victory in the first matchup is that they won the turnover battle. Only Will Costin came away with a caused turnover on the day for Penn State on Easter Sunday night. Another player to look out for on Penn State’s defense is Sam Sweeney. Sweeney leads the team with 11 caused turnovers while also picking up 28 ground balls. Penn State is a team that rallies behind Fracyon in the cage and will simply look to keep teams from getting inside to keep Fracyon from facing many tough shots. If the Terps offense is able to get inside and get close shots on Fracyon like they did in the fourth quarter of the first matchup, they have a very good chance at advancing. 

Penn State’s offense

On offense for Penn State, it is the same story as before. They are led by TJ Malone and their offense goes where he goes. Terps star defender Ajax Zappitello was matched up on Malone in the first game and had two caused turnovers and six ground balls on the night. Malone had four points off of three goals and an assist, however most of them came off of picks that the Terps ended up switching their defenders. Johns Hopkins did the same thing with Zappitello last game when he was guarding Jacob Angelus. They screened Zappitello like crazy trying to create a switch and once he did switch, Angelus would go to work and start scoring points. Once Ajax and the defense stopped switching, Hopkins stopped scoring. If Zappitello is able to stay on Malone all game long and not get switched off of him, the Terps should have a good shot at pulling out the win and advancing. Matt Traynor is the other player to look out for on the Penn State offense. Traynor is second on the team with 42 points coming off of 36 goals and six assists. In the first matchup, Traynor was held to just a goal and an assist. If the Terps defense is able to shut off Malone’s favorite option to pass the ball to for shots, the Terps chances at pulling out the win will increase immensely.

Series overview

The Terps are now 41-1 all-time against Penn State, including 2-0 in neutral-site games. Head coach John Tillman and the Terps have been to three straight Big Ten tournament title games. The Terps will be looking to continue their dominance over Penn State to make it six wins in a row over the Nittany Lions and give them their fourth straight title game appearance. With a loss, it will very likely mean the Terps will be on the road in the first round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019, while a loss also risks a potential missed postseason appearance. With a win, however, Maryland will likely earn a home game in the first round and cement their spot in the NCAA Tournament

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