No. 3-seeded Maryland men’s lacrosse holds off late surge by No. 6-seeded Rutgers in 13-10 win

Franklin Zessis
Apr 25
3 min read

When Maryland men’s lacrosse played Rutgers two weeks ago, it was not close.

The Terps held the Scarlet Knights to just two goals and dominated time of possession by winning two-thirds of the faceoffs.

While Saturday’s contest was closer in the first, No. 3-seeded Maryland utilized its strong defense and a balanced scoring attack to cruise past No. 6-seeded Rutgers 13-10 at SECU Stadium. Maryland will play No. 2-seeded Penn State in its next game.

“The fourth quarter was a little spotty there at times. So definitely some things we want to clean up,” coach John Tillman said. “Some self inflicted wounds that we just got to clean up. But I thought in the six-on-six … our guys did a good job

The key to Maryland’s (7-5) defense in its prior contest was neutralizing Rutgers’ top scorer Colin Kurdyla. The junior finished the season as the Big Ten’s leading point scorer, collecting 55 points.

But none of them game against the Terps.

Kurdyla was stymied by defender Peter Laake in the prior meeting, holding the Second Team All-Big Ten attacker to just two shots on goal. In Saturday’s rematch, Maryland kept Laake on Kurdyla.

The matchup produced similar success as Kurdyla tallied just two points. Both of his points were goals, with his first tally goal coming on a sharp-angle shot with 7:44 remaining in the second quarter. The goal was Rutgers’ first of the contest.

In the last meeting with Rutgers, Maryland’s defense generated turnovers and capitalized on transition opportunities. The second contest saw a similar pattern as the Terps used rain and slick turf to capitalize on slips during dodges.

“They [were] kind of going all out on the dodges, and they got themselves in positions where we can take advantage of their spacing and dodging ability,” defender Michael Alexander said. “Because it's a little bit wet, it's hard kind of to roll around super fast and get the ball out, so we claimed a certain number of opportunities.”

When Maryland wasn’t running in transition, it did most of its damage from the faceoff circle. The Terps once again dominated on faceoffs, winning 20 of 27 faceoffs and allowing their offense to control time of possession.

Once Maryland got the ball into the offensive zone, it frequently attacked from the wings, using cross-body shots into the upper half of the net to score several goals.

“That was just something we kind of adjusted to,” attacker Leo Johnson said. “It wasn't necessarily something we saw in film. That’s just something we adjusted to, and obviously, a lot of guys made some really great plays.”

Spearheading the offense was attacker Eric Spanos. The Tewaaraton Nominee took on a less traditional role for the Terps. While the graduate student was one of four multi-goal scorers, he frequently set up his teammates.

That play was highlighted midway through the third quarter as Spanos found graduate student midfielder Zach Whittier wide open from behind the net. The assist was Spanos’ third of the game, marking a single-game season high and giving Maryland a 9-4 lead.

“When the ball is popping, we're much better,” Tillman said. “He's a good passer … but I think the more we can keep the ball humming and get some slides and then try to see if there's some opportunities, I think that's when this group really thrives.”

Maryland’s ball movement allowed the Terps to match a Scarlet Knights' surge late in the fourth quarter and maintain a multi-goal lead throughout the quarter, and prevent a comeback.

The Terps ended the game with nine different goal scorers, which bodes well as they now prepare for one of the nation's top-scoring offenses.

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