No. 8 Maryland men’s lacrosse showcases a complete performance in 12-2 win vs No. 19 Rutgers

Franklin Zessis
1 day ago
3 min read

Coach John Tillman voiced frustration with Maryland men’s lacrosse’s offense after last week’s game against Ohio State.

Tillman called his unit’s performance after the first quarter “disappointing,” as it mustered just two goals in the final three quarters of regulation. On Saturday, the Terps’ offense reversed that trend.

No. 8 Maryland’s offense totaled 10 goals after a slow-paced first quarter, allowing it to cruise to a 12-2 victory at SECU Stadium against No. 19 Rutgers. The win is Maryland’s second win against a ranked opponent in as many weeks and guarantees it a share of the Big Ten regular-season title.

“They threw a lot of different looks at us in the riding game, obviously mixed in some man and zone,” Tillman said. “I just felt like [the team] dealt with a lot of different things, but just were able to handle that.”

In Maryland’s previous game against Ohio State, it struggled against zone defense. The Buckeyes made the switch after the Terps scored five first-quarter goals, and the adjustment hindered Maryland’s offense the rest of the game.

Just seven minutes into Maryland’s (6-4, 3-1 Big Ten) game against Rutgers (8-5, 1-3 Big Ten), the Terps saw another zone defense. The defensive play style continued to slow Maryland’s offense in the opening quarter, but the Terps ended the first 15 minutes with a 2-1 edge.

But Maryland’s offense exploded in the following quarter.

Maryland’s offense was fueled by its diverse scoring as seven different Terps recorded goals in the first half, allowing them to take an 8-1 lead into halftime.

Aiding the Terps offense was their faceoff unit. The combination of senior Henry Dodge and sophomore Jonah Carrier dominated in the faceoff circle, as Rutgers’ faceoff specialist failed to secure a faceoff until 8:35 remained in the second quarter.

The added possessions allowed Maryland to string together offensive possessions and blow the game open. That was highlighted near the middle of the quarter as midfielder Aiden Aitken and attackers Eric Spanos and Chris Lyons tallied three goals in just over a two-minute span.

“It’s definitely awesome,” Spanos said. “When our faceoff guys can do that, it definitely makes our job easier.

When Rutgers did have the ball, it struggled to maintain control. One of the biggest reasons was due to the play of defender Riley Reese. The senior scored the overtime winner in Maryland’s prior game while adding three groundballs and two caused turnovers.

Reese continued his strong play into Saturday’s game, notching a career best five caused turnovers — with one leading to a transition goal for long stick midfielder AJ Larkin.

“He's got just a stick that, you know, we noticed it on the scout team his freshman year,” Tillman said. “He knocked down a ton of passes with the scout man down, and so much so that we would go down to [defensive coordinator Jesse Bernhardt] and be like ‘Listen, you probably could play him man down right now… so we knew his future was bright.”

The Terps' defense also limited the play of attacker Colin Kurdyla. The Scarlet Knights had struggled to find offense from other players outside of Kurdyla all season, as the junior entered Saturday’s game with at least 23 more points than the rest of his teammates.

Maryland’s defense eliminated Kurdyla’s presence as he was often followed by defender Peter Laake and did not record his first shot until 4:15 remained in the second quarter. The combination of Maryland’s defense play and dominance in the faceoff circle allowed it to shut out Rutgers for over 35 minutes of game time.

The Terps carried their strong play into the second, limiting the Scarlet Knights to a pair of tallies throughout the entire game. Saturday’s complete performance is a promising sign for a Maryland team that has one game remaining until the Big Ten tournament.

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