No. 4 Maryland men’s lacrosse (3-1) returns home to College Park this weekend where the Terps will take on their second straight top-five opponent, this time No. 2 Notre Dame (3-0).
The Terps completely blew out then-No. 3 Princeton last weekend, shutting down its offense as they ran away with an 11-5 victory. One of the biggest stars of the game was freshman goalkeeper Brian Ruppel. Ruppel made his first career start and dazzled, finishing with 14 saves for a .737 save percentage. The freshman’s stellar performance between the pipes earned himself Big Ten Specialist of the Week honors.
Just four games into the season the Terps have already started three different goalkeepers in Ruppel, senior Logan McNaney and graduate student Teddy Dolan, a rarity for the program.
“You don’t see a lot of long-term big injuries to goalies in lacrosse,” coach John Tillman said. “At least I haven’t seen and I don’t remember a lot.”
After McNaney went down the Terps turned to Dolan, the Binghamton transfer who started the next game against Syracuse with his veteran presence. Dolan did not have the sharpest outing against the Orange though, allowing 13 goals while making 12 saves. But Maryland still won the game as its offense rebounded and scored enough to squeak by the Orange.
Yet last weekend Tillman added another twist to the goalie saga, giving Ruppel the start in the cage after he excelled in the preseason both in the fall and spring. Tillman gave the freshman a voice of confidence.
“He just didn’t flinch,” Tillman said. “He looked comfortable and steady. When goals went in he reacted very well. He brought energy, he was diving to backup shots. Anytime you can see it firsthand, I think there is more trust and there’s more comfort there.”
No matter who starts in goal on Saturday their work is cut out for them. The Fighting Irish own the second-highest scoring offense in the nation, averaging 18 goals a game. Notre Dame has cruised to three-straight victories to open its 2023 campaign, winning the first two by double digits.
The Fighting Irish are off to a great start courtesy of the Kavanagh brothers, sophomore attacker Chris Kavanagh and senior attacker Pat Kavanagh. The duo have combined for 35 points in just three games, headlined by Chris’ 12 goals. Pat is a particularly good distributor, leading the nation in assists, averaging close to five a game.
“You got to know personnel, schemes and make sure you communicate well,” Tillman said. “They do a good job at clearing the ball, getting out in transition, they make the extra pass and they’re very smart shooters.”
Notre Dame has started each of its first three games with fast scoring on the first possession of the game and the Fighting Irish have used that momentum to build up a lead that they have sustained for the full 60 minutes.
Notre Dame has a veteran presence on the defensive side with graduate student defenders Chris Fake and Chris Conlin coming over from Yale and Holy Cross, respectively. The duo have combined for 13 ground balls and seven caused turnovers thus far.
The Fighting Irish also have a talented goalkeeper in senior Liam Entenmann, who has made 377 saves throughout his three-and-a-half year career. Entenmann has yet to be tested this season, only making 25 saves so far with a season-high of 10 against Georgetown last weekend. Last season in the Terps’ 11-9 victory in South Bend, Entenmann recorded 11 saves in the loss.
Opening face-off is set for 1 p.m at SECU Stadium in College Park.
