No. 4 Maryland men’s lacrosse completes comeback, defeats Loyola 8-7 in overtime

Photo courtesy of Maryland Terrapins

No. 4 Maryland men’s lacrosse was in trouble early in the fourth quarter. It trailed by three goals and had just 15 minutes to salvage a comeback. However, Eric Spanos rose to the occasion, scoring three goals in just over four minutes to help give the Terps a 6-5 lead.

But that advantage would be short-lived, as Loyola defender Remi Reynolds tied the score with 5:31 left in the game. After a turnover from Noah Armitage, Reynolds sprinted the full length of the field and ripped the shot into the top corner.

Daniel Kelly had what seemed to be the last blow of the game, though. Bryce Ford flipped the ball to Braden Erksa who found Kelly at the top. Kelly pulled the trigger right away to beat goalie Max Watkinson.

After a game-tying goal with two seconds left in regulation from attacker Kenan Everhart, Matthew Keegan would win it for Maryland a minute into overtime. In a seven-goal fourth-quarter back-and-forth affair, the Terps snatched its first road victory of the season, 8-7, against Loyola.

“There’s definitely some growing pains that we’re going through, but I’m proud of the guys,” head coach John Tillman said. “It wasn’t going well, the crowd was getting into it, they had a lot of momentum and we just kept trying to grind and grind and grind.”

Just like the last time these teams met, Loyola (0-2) switched to a zone early. The Greyhounds found success with this strategy, as the Terps (2-0) failed to beat Watkinson from deep.

This change forced Maryland into long, methodical possessions. Despite this, it generated eight shots in its first five possessions, all of which Watkinson was up to the challenge.

“It’s hard to put balls in the goal when you’re turning it over and their goalie is playing great,” Tillman said. “But getting back in it was a matter of us getting some sort of rhythm.”

However, the Terps’ defense kept it in the game. They forced Loyola into three first-quarter turnovers and just four shots.

With 3:24 left in the first quarter, Maryland finally broke through. After a turnover from Jake Wilson, the Terps drove the other way. Keegan passed the ball back up top to Kelly who ripped the shot. The ball whistled past Watkinson, beating him on the far side of the net and putting Maryland on the board.

But it was Loyola who flipped the script in the second quarter. The Greyhounds came out of the break red-hot, looking like a completely different team. 

On just its seventh shot of the game, Loyola found the back of the net. Everhart circled around the net and fired the shot past goalie Logan McManey. The Greyhounds continued the momentum, scoring two more goals in the following three minutes.

After goals from attacker Matthew Minicus and midfielder Luke Murphy, the Terps were tasked with pulling off the comeback. Just three minutes later, Spanos cut the deficit to one. He sprinted around the net and pulled the trigger, as the ball just squeaked past Wilkinson.

But the Greyhounds would seize the momentum right back. With nine seconds left in the second quarter, attacker Henry Haaberman scored the Greyhounds’ fourth of the game. Loyola, then, added to its advantage halfway through the third quarter, as midfielder Brady West moved the score to 5-2 with his second goal of the season. 

Despite outshooting the Greyhounds for the entirety of the game, Maryland headed into the final quarter down three. 

Spanos started off the improbable comeback quickly in the fourth period. Zach Whittier took on his defender, got past him with ease, before he tripped. With his defender on the ground, Whittier flipped the ball to Spanos who went around the screen and rifled the shot past Watkinson.

Three minutes later, the momentum swung drastically in favor of the Terps. Two more goals from Spanos and one from Erksa gave Maryland its first lead since the beginning of the second quarter.

“Eric’s an unbelievable person,” Keegan said. “We needed a steady force like that. Things weren’t going our way, and Eric took us all under his wing and made some big plays for us.”

After both teams traded goals, the contest headed into overtime knotted at seven apiece. 

Keegan’s second shot of the extra period found the back of the net, capping off the Terps’ three-goal comeback. Four goals from Spanos led the way and helped Maryland stay perfect. 

It will be back in action at home next Saturday against Syracuse (2-0). The game starts at 2 p.m. and will air on Big Ten Plus.