Maryland’s third-quarter run not enough in 19-9 loss to Penn State

Photo courtesy of Mackenzie Miles/Maryland Terrapins

Ajax Zappitello fielded a ground ball and ran down the field during a three-goal Maryland run. He fired a shot that found the back of the net for a fourth straight goal in the third quarter. This was a much-needed run for a team that faced an eight-goal halftime deficit.

The run was reminiscent of Maryland men’s lacrosse’s (8-5, 3-3 Big Ten) regular season Penn State matchup. This time, the comeback fell short. Following the Zappitello goal, the offense saw an almost 12-minute scoring drought.

During that drought, the glimpse of hope was squashed on four straight goals from Matt Traynor. Three Penn State players – including Traynor – recorded hat tricks.

Penn State (11-3, 4-2) advanced to the Big Ten Championship game with a 19-9 win in the semifinals over the Terps in Columbus, Ohio on Thursday night.

Logan McNaney struggled to slow down the Nittany Lion offense, allowing all 19 goals with eight saves – a .296 save percentage.

Maryland’s offensive struggles continued, scoring just nine goals. Entering the matchup, the Terps averaged eight goals per game over their last three matches.

Missing shots and turnovers led to the drought. The Terps shot 9-of-20 on shots on goal and committed 11 turnovers.

“We just did not get off to a good start. We were kind of sloppy there which gave them possessions back and we didn’t get into a good flow,” coach John Tillman said. “On defense, we just were not communicating well and we just had some breakdowns. Our on-ball play was not great.”

Jack Fracyon made it difficult, making 10 saves for a .556 percentage. The Big Ten Specialist of the Year held Maryland to 13 goals in the first matchup with 16 saves.

The offense took another blow in the second quarter when Braden Erksa was stretchered off the field. Erksa took a hit while shooting and hit the ground hard. After a short delay, he was taken off the field.

“It’s a tough one. It’s always tough when a guy goes down,” Tillman said, “They’re all best friends and they’re all really close. I think they’re sometimes hard to pivot.”

Similar to the regular season meeting, Maryland faced a heavy deficit heading into halftime. The lead was much larger this time. Penn State outscored the Terps 11-3 and took 17 shots on goal compared to Maryland’s eight.

Maryland committed four first-quarter turnovers allowing Penn State to go on an early three-goal run. Luke Wierman attempted to ignite the Maryland offense. He helped get it on the board after winning a faceoff and sprinting to the goal, where he found Daniel Maltz for a goal. Despite this, the Terps still faced a 4-1 deficit at the end of the quarter.

Wierman earned possessions all night, winning 19-of-28 faceoffs. He added a goal in the third quarter to contribute to the four-goal run. Maryland scored three goals in 50 seconds to cut the lead to six and gain momentum.

“We have a lot of confidence in [Wierman]. We just feel like he’s such a good weapon,” Tillman said. “I thought he did a good job with it. That was a bright spot for sure. Not a lot of them but that certainly was one.”

The efforts of Traynor and the Penn State defense regained that momentum and ran away with the win.

With the loss, Maryland is eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament. The Terps will wait for their seeding in the NCAA tournament and will play on either May 11th or 12th.