Maryland runs away from Loyola (MD) in 20-8 win

This matchup was billed as the game of the week. Both teams were ranked in the top 10 and this was the first time these two programs have faced each other since 2015. But this game was over before halftime as the offense was firing on all cylinders and Goalie Logan McNaney made some timely saves.

Another Fast Start for Maryland

Just like last week, it was Donville who opened the scoring for the Terps, this time 1:33 into the game. Loyola somehow lost sight of the Canadian as he cut right down the middle of the field and finished the feed from Wisnauskas. Less than a minute later, an unfortunate broken stick for McNulty left Loyola playing man-down and Eric Malevar was able to fire one past the Greyhound goalie. Wisnauskas got his first goalie of the game when he drove up the right side from behind the cage and finished the jump shot with his right hand, a rarity for the natural lefty. Kevin Lindley got Loyola on the board with 5:35 left in the 1st quarter as he was able to get top side on Puglise. With 30 seconds left in the opening frame, Wisnauskas found a cutting Jack Koras who got his first goal of the season.

Terps Pull Away in 2nd Quarter

After the 1st quarter, this game seemed to be a 60-minute battle, but that was not the case. A 4-2 Maryland advantage quickly turned into a 7-2 lead. The Terps scored 3 goals in a minute as Donville, Wierman and Brennan were all able to put the ball in the back of the net. Wierman, the faceoff specialist, had himself a career day, recording a career-high in draws (19), groundballs (11), points( (3) and goals (2). Brennan also got his first goal of the season when he ran past his defender and finished the on the run shot down the left alley. Loyola stopped the bleeding with a goal from Adam Poitras, but the Terps responded with two quick goals by Keegan Khan and Wisnauskas. Whenever Loyola scored, the Terps were always able to respond with goals of their own, never allowing the Greyhounds to go on a run. After Loyola made it 9-4 with a goal by Riley Seay, the Terps went on a 4-goal run with tallies by WIsnauskas, Long, Maltz and DeMaio, his first of the year. Maryland put a punctuation mark on a dominate 1st half when Wierman scored off the faceoff for the second time with 7 seconds left in the half. The 10-goal second quarter was the programs first since 2014 when Maryland put up 10 against Syracuse.

Balanced Effort

#1 may be the leader, but he’s far from the only threat on offense. Eleven different Terps scored a goal, six players scored multiple goals and eight had multiple points. On the defensive end, the group was able to neutralize the duo of Lindley and Olmstead, holding them to a combined 2 goals and 2 assists. Logan McNaney was solid in net as the Junior came up with timely saves when needed. Making sure that this team, especially the offense doesn’t become one-dimensional will be even more crucial with the upcoming gauntlet of opponents starting with our next opponent.

Up Next, Syracuse

Maryland hits the road for the first time next weekend, as the Terps head up to Syracuse for a Sunday afternoon matchup. This is also a new era for the Orange. After being led by John Deskofor 22 years, a new era began this week. Gary Gait, considered by many to be one of the greatest, if not the greatest player of all time, took over the Men’s program on June 6th after leading the Women’s program for 17 years. Joining him on the sideline is Dave Pietramala. If the name sounds familiar, it’s because he was the Johns Hopkins head coach from 2001 to 2020. Pietramala is considered the greatest defenseman of all time and is now the Defensive Coordinator for the Orange. Syracuse took care of business yesterday with a 28-5 blowout win over Holy Cross.