No. 11 Maryland men’s lacrosse handles No. 20 Rutgers 13-10 in opening round of Big Ten Tournament

Photo courtesy of Grayson Belanger/Maryland Athletics.

No. 11 Maryland men’s lacrosse (7-5, 3-2 B1G) had an up-and-down regular season, but was able to finish in a four way tie for the Big Ten regular season title, earning the Terps a home game against No. 20 Rutgers (8-7, 1-4 B1G) in the first round of the conference tournament. 

Henry Dodge was nearly flawless on the face-off dot, goalie Brian Ruppel and the rest of the Terrapin defense were dominant from start to finish, and Maryland earned itself a much needed first round win with a final score of 13-10. 

The Terps had about as strong of a start as a team can possibly have. Dodge – who had an unbelievable .857 face-off win percentage in the game, starting the game nine-of-nine – instantly won the face-off, pushed in transition and found Leo Johnson for the first goal of the game just seconds in. 

Both teams proceeded to show off their strong defenses, as no other goals would be scored for the entirety of the first – until Maryland defenseman Trevor Owens threw a hail mary pass to Eric Spanos, who found the back of the net with six seconds left in the opening quarter. 

Everything clicked for the Terps, from offensive possessions to Ruppel. The ball was moving even when goals weren’t falling early, and the defense was locked down from the opening whistle on. They forced 12 Rutger turnovers, and Ruppel had 11 saves – eight coming from the first half alone. 

“Honestly, it’s just from the fact that they kind of had nothing to lose. They were going all out on dodges, and they got themselves into positions where we can take advantage of their spacing and dodging ability,” defenseman Michael Alexander said.

Maryland’s success from the dot was the star of the evening – the Terps won 20 of 27. 

Some of the same issues that have been present all season still remained for Maryland despite the win. The Terps still failed multiple clears throughout the game – all of which came in the second half. And they had 14 total turnovers.

Their shooting percentage also wasn’t the best – and they had plenty of opportunities. Maryland tallied 42 total shots – only 25 found the goal. 

Yale teammates Johnson and Chris Lyons – after Johnson scored the first goal of the game just seconds in – started the game 1-for-12. 

Lyons found his groove in the second half, scoring two goals of his 10 total shots – Johnson also had two goals off nine shots. 

Spanos continued to be as advertised in big moments for the Terps, as he’s done throughout his entire tenure at Maryland. He had five total points and continued to be the focal point for the  Terps offense. 

“He, much like the other guys, when the ball is popping we’re much better. He’s a good passer, obviously he’s capable shooter, but I think the more we can keep the ball humming, [keep] good spacing and get some slides and try to see if there’s some opportunities, [then] I think that’s when this group really thrives,” head coach John Tillman said. 

In the regular season, Maryland handled Rutgers 12-2 earlier in the year. In the fourth quarter of this game, the Terps had a 10-5 lead. The Scarlet Knights didn’t go away. 

They scored three straight goals in the final minutes, closing Maryland’s gap to only two. The Terps would ultimately close it out with late goals from Johnson and Braden Erksa, getting some much needed breathing room. 

This win against Rutgers was just the first step for Maryland as they look to make a run in the Big Ten tournament and earn a NCAA tournament bid. 

The Terps will take on No. 2 seed Penn State on April 30 at 6 p.m. for the semi-final round, hosted at Rutgers University. 

“They [Penn State] haven’t already played somebody. You’re a lot more familiar with them then they’re familiar with you,” Tillman said. “Penn State’s super talented, they’re as good as anybody we’ve seen, so we’ll have to have a good few days of prep and make sure we rest these guys up.”