Eric Spanos whipped around from behind the net and used his 6-foot-5- frame to knock out and break the Rutgers defender’s stick from his hands, leaving him wide for a score late in the third quarter.
The sophomore’s score was the final of the night for No. 4 Maryland men’s lacrosse (8-3, 3-1 B1G) in an 11-8 Sunday night victory over No. 9 Rutgers (8-4, 1-3 B1G).
“I liked our start, especially on the road in a really tough spot,” coach John Tillman said. “We come up here a lot and I don’t think we have gotten off to really good starts. It’s a hard place to play.”
The Terps’ win snapped Rutgers’ 16-home game winning streak, the longest in the nation entering the day.
Both teams started off a bit slow with each side only taking one shot and committing two turnovers apiece in the first seven minutes, but then Maryland’s offense came to life, putting together one of its best all-around performances this season.
Maryland opened the game on a five-goal run, with senior attacker/midfielder Ryan Siracusa and junior midfielder Jack Koras scoring on the Terps’ first two shots of the game.
Freshman attacker Braden Erksa had a terrific start to the game for the Terps, dishing out three-straight assists, finding sophomore attacker Zach Whittier on the third. Senior attacker Daniel Maltz joined the scoring party to finish the 4-0 first quarter advantage, and Koras scored his second to make it 5-0 early in the second frame.
Erksa’s assists were three of Maryland’s eight, its most in three weeks.
“When we were moving it, [the ball] was moving pretty good,” Tillman said.
The Scarlet Knights had no answers for Maryland, as they managed just one shot in the game’s first 18 minutes. Rutgers finally got on the board with junior midfielder Jack Aimone scoring from about 10-yards out with 10:32 left in the second quarter.
Senior attacker Brian Cameron then found the back of the net shooting over a Maryland defender to get the Scarlet Knights within three.
But Maryland’s second midfield line continued to deliver, with Spanos and Whittier scoring in the second quarter.
Three goals later — two from Rutgers and one from Maryland — and the Terps led 8-4 at halftime.
Erksa scored on the run to open the second half, streaking in front of the crease to push Maryland ahead 9-4. The Terps were particularly efficient, recording their best shooting percentage (.367) since the season-opener.
“I thought we did a great job,” junior defender Ajax Zappitello said. “We hammered it home the point … just 60 minutes and it’s not going to be perfect lacrosse. It’s just 60 minutes of playing tough, playing like a Terp.”
Maryland junior attacker Daniel Kelly and Aimone traded a pair of goals midway through the third quarter. Spanos struck for the second time on the night later in the period to put the Terps up six, 11-5, entering the final frame.
Rutgers senior defender Bobby Russo took advantage of an opportunity early in the fourth quarter, scoring right outside the crease. But that was all the Scarlet Knights could muster, as the Terps’ offense wasted time and Rutgers’ shots missed wide for most of the final period.
The Scarlet Knights added two goals within the final five minutes, but all it changed was the final score as freshman goalkeeper Brian Ruppel and the rest of the Maryland defense held strong throughout the majority of the game.
Now the Terps return home to College Park to close out the regular season against No. 7 Johns Hopkins, with a shot at the Big Ten regular season title on the line.
