Top-ranked Maryland men's lacrosse falls at #2 Syracuse for first time under Tillman

Franklin Zessis
57 minutes ago
3 min read

No. 1 Maryland men’s lacrosse had thrived in its matchups against No. 2 Syracuse.

The Terps had won eight consecutive games against the Orange, including two wins last season.

But for the first time under head coach John Tillman, Maryland lost to Syracuse. The Terps struggled to win faceoffs early on and failed to contain Joey Spallina, resulting in an 11-9 loss on Friday at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, N.Y. The win is Syracuse’s first against Maryland since 2009.

“I just think they did a really good job, just kind of putting guys in spots,” Tillman said. “They did some isolations which we kind of expected, and they hit some really good shots.”

In Maryland’s (1-1) two games against Syracuse (3-0) last season, its defensive game plan was apparent: stop Joey Spallina. The Terps primarily did so by keeping defender Will Schaller on Spallina and keeping the senior to the outside.

The plan worked as Spallina scored just six points through eight quarters of play. But Friday’s game was different. While the Terps mostly kept Spallina to the outside, the attacker converted.

His first came midway into the opening quarter, rifling a shot near the left wing between the legs of goalie Brian Ruppel. Spallina scored again roughly four minutes later on a midrange shot, giving Syracuse a one-goal advantage and its first lead of the game.

Spallina scored just two goals through two contests against Maryland last season. Syracuse’s attacker matched that total in less than one full quarter against the Terps and finished the game with four goals.

“Early on, they were trying to put him inside, you know, kind of make Will be more of an inside presence,” Tillman said. “We had to slide and change the matchups. But I think there were times where Joey got good matchups.”

When Spallina wasn’t scoring, the Terps struggled to contain midfielder Wyatt Hottle. The junior frequently drew a short stick matchup in the first, causing problems for Maryland’s defense due to Wottle’s speed.

That speed was evident on the Orange’s fourth goal as Hottle ran right by UMBC transfer Trey Fleece before emerging from behind the net, scoring on a short-side shot past Ruppel.

In Maryland’s season opener, its faceoff specialists dominated, winning 21 of 31 faceoffs. Friday’s matchup was just the opposite, as the Terps lost nine of the first 10 draws. The extra possessions allowed the Orange to dictate the pace for the majority of the first half and take a three-goal lead into halftime.

But Maryland adjusted on the draws. The Terps had rotated between faceoff specialists Henry Dodge and Jonah Carrier throughout last week’s contest against Loyola and the first half against Syracuse.

In the second half, the Terps made a permanent switch to Dodge. The Vermont transfer won nearly 71 percent of his faceoffs last season and carried similar success into the final 30 minutes, winning eight of the 11 second half faceoffs.

The extra possessions allowed Maryland to cut its deficit to one with 13 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, but the Terps mustered just two shots on goal for the rest of the game, preventing them from overcoming their slow first-half start.

Eliminating the slow start will be crucial for Maryland as it heads back to College Park to host No. 3 Princeton on Saturday.

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