Maryland (1-0) vs. Loyola (MD) (1-0)
Stream: BTN+
Betting odds: Maryland -3 • O/U: 25 (DraftKings as of 2/9)
Maryland men’s lacrosse is coming off a hard-fought 12-11 double-overtime win over the Richmond Spiders last weekend. Maryland will now look to extend that positive start into this weekend with Loyola (MD) headed to College Park with the Greyhounds coming off a dominant 18-10 win over previously top-ten-ranked Georgetown.
Saturday will serve as a chance for Maryland to avenge last season’s loss against Loyola (MD), a 12-7 loss in Baltimore, to end the Terps’ three-game win streak.
Loyola beat Georgetown in dominating fashion in last week’s upset, wreaking havoc on defense after forcing 17 turnovers while also moving the ball well with assists on 11 of their 18 goals. The Greyhounds attack unit scored 13 of their 18 goals last week with Evan James leading the way with five as well as Adam Poitras and Matthew Minicus both having four of their own. It was James who led the scoring for the Greyhounds in last season’s upset win over the Terps while Poitras and Minicus also added two goals a piece. The Greyhounds go as far as their attack unit will take them and it is a very hard attack unit to low down. With all the new faces on defense for the Terps, it will be a tall task on their hands this weekend. However, if the Terps’ defense plays like it did in the fourth quarter and overtime of the Richmond game, the Terps should have a very good chance of pulling out the win.
On defense, Loyola loves to play fast and physical. The Greyhounds caused 11 turnovers against Georgetown but even the uncaused turnovers by Georgetown were because of the stingy Loyola defense making it hard for the offense to find any kind of rhythm. The main players to watch for defensively for the Greyhounds are Mustang Sally and Diego Roman. Sally is the Greyhounds’ top short-stick defensive midfielder and while he is great on defense, he is even better in transition on the fast break off of quick clears and turnovers. Last season against the Terps, Sally had a fast-break goal and he added another in last week’s win over the Hoyas. Roman is the Greyhounds’ top long stick midfielder this season. Last season against the Terps he led the Greyhounds in caused turnovers and he led the team in caused turnovers against Georgetown as well. There are a lot of new faces on Loyola’s defense but they are still a well-coached and stingy unit that is not to be overlooked. If the Terps want to avoid the upset and not lose two in a row to Loyola, they will need to take care of the ball. Like most of last season, against Loyola, the Terps had a lot of careless turnovers giving the Greyhounds tons of extra possessions. With how well Loyola does in transition and how well the Greyhound attack unit is this season, taking care of the ball and not wasting possessions will be key for the Terps this Saturday to pull out the victory.
Loyola is hot right now and will be looking to spoil the Terps’ chances at getting revenge for the loss the Greyhounds handed them last season at Loyola. This is a game that might be early in the season but can very much determine if either squad earns an at-large bid for the NCAA tournament if they do not win their conference tournament and automatically qualify. The game is set for 12 PM EST this Saturday at SECU Stadium and will be aired on BTN+.
Prediction: Maryland beats Loyola (MD), 13-12
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