No. 1 Maryland men’s lacrosse impresses offensively in 19-10 victory over Loyola

Photo courtesy of Mackenzie Mills/Maryland Athletics.

No. 1 Maryland men’s lacrosse’s transfer class shined in their season opener against Loyola. The top-ranked team in the country showed Terps fans why, as Maryland won 19-10 in their home opener against the Greyhounds on Saturday afternoon. 

After face off struggles and issues with offensive stability a season ago, head coach John Tillman sought to turn those areas into strengths in 2026 – and these transfers did just that. 

The Terps played just their second game ever in Jones Hill-House. A season ago, their matchup with Loyola resulted in overtime – Maryland took care of business this time around. 

On offense, Chris Lyons and Leo Johnson led the charge. In 2025, they combined for 87 points while playing for Yale. In their first game in Maryland uniforms, the two graduate students combined for nine goals. 

“Leo is a guy that loves lacrosse. He’s super unselfish, Tillman said. “Just nice to have a guy who’s a great person as well as a great player. And again, just blending in really well, and I think other guys have done a great job helping him blend in.” 

In his media day press conference, Tillman mentioned that face off specialist Henry Dodge has stepped into a leadership role for this team. Coming in with the number one face-off win percentage in 2025, Dodge has emphasized giving advice and leading by example. 

Maryland only posted a .512 face-off win percentage a season ago. Dodge and Jonah Carrier took most of the attempts in this one, winning 20 of their 27 attempts. In the third quarter alone, the Terps went 9-for-9 from the dot. 

“I think what Henry’s brought is not only an experienced guy, but an experienced guy who’s a good teacher,” Tillman said. “He’s been through a lot of ups and downs, and certainly had some success last year and the year before, but what he’s taught those other face off guys has been invaluable. ” 

It showed early in the game that the Terps were looking to build chemistry offensively. Maryland turned the ball over nine times in the first half. 

The Terps’ offense clicked in the third quarter. They scored eight goals in the period, which involved a 7-0 Maryland run that ultimately put the game away. 19 goals is the most for the Terps in a season opener since 2022, as nine different players found the back of the net. 

Even though new additions for Maryland made their marks in a big way, the Terps’ new owner of the number one jersey – Eric Spanos – made his impact on the game as well. 

Spanos scored two goals and had an assist. But most importantly, he took nine shots throughout the game. In 2025, Spanos was the focal point of this offense. He would get focused on by opposing defenses, who would double-team him, doing everything in their power to shut him down. 

Maryland’s new and improved offense frees up Spanos to get one-on-one opportunities and allows him to take advantage of favorable matchups. 

Other returning Terps such as Elijah Stobaugh and Spencer Ford were able to take advantage of an offensive unit with more spacing – both scored two goals. 

The change of pace on that end allowed for 29 different players to see the field for Maryland. 

“We’ve had some guys that [have] been waiting for their opportunity and just did a really good job,” Tillman said. “I’m really excited about where those guys can go. [It] wasn’t perfect, but I like the potential, and I’m excited to clean some stuff up because we’ll definitely have to be much better next week.”

Brian Ruppel was named the full-time starting goalie for the first time in his Terps career. In his first career game, he was able to tally 10 total saves and a .556 save-percentage. 

The Maryland defense was a staple in 2025. The played fast, physical, and ultimately was one of their biggest contributions to a national championship appearance a season ago.

The Terps caused seven total turnovers – five coming from the defense. 

Maryland will look to continue their momentum into the next few weeks, starting with No. 3 Syracuse on Feb. 13.