Preview: No. 6 Maryland and No. 3 Johns Hopkins compete for regular season title.

No. 6 Maryland men’s lacrosse (8-3, 3-1 Big Ten) visits No. 3 Johns Hopkins (9-3, 4-0) for its regular season finale on Saturday. The winner claims the regular season Big Ten title.

The Terps are coming off their third straight win with an 11-6 victory over Rutgers.

Logan McNaney’s 15-save performance earned him Big Ten Specialist of the Week for the second time this season. The display was a season-high for McNaney, who added seven ground balls.

Faceoff specialist Luke Wierman scored his first goal of the season while Maryland notched four unanswered goals in the fourth quarter. The senior won 11-of-21 faceoffs on the night – his third straight game with a .500 or above winning percentage.

Wierman and defender Ajax Zappitello were both named Tewaaraton Award nominees on Thursday. Zappitello ranks top-30 in Division I in caused turnovers per game with 1.64.

Now, the sights turn to Maryland’s biggest rival Johns Hopkins, with the two competing for a share of the Big Ten title.

“They’re great, they got a lot of veteran guys. The coaches have done a good job, they’ve done an awesome job in the portal,” coach John Tillman said. “We’re gonna have a good week of prep and obviously work hard every day to try and get better and get ready.”

The Blue Jays won the 2023 regular season matchup 12-11 but the Terps got revenge with a 14-9 win in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. Former Blue Jay Owen Murphy recorded a hat trick to lead Maryland to the victory.

John Hopkins enters this weekend on a four-game winning streak with the last two wins coming in overtime. The Blue Jays beat Ohio State by one goal on Sunday after outscoring the Buckeyes 7-3 in the second half.

“That’s why you go to Maryland, to play games like this,” Jackson Canfield said, “Just play the best we can and come out with a win is what we’re expecting.”

Attacker Jacob Angelus averages 4.33 points per game, the 23rd-best in the NCAA. He brought up his average against Ohio State, recording two goals and three assists. 

Defender Beaudan Szuluk made history in the win as his three caused turnovers made him the school’s all-time leader in the stat. The performance earned him Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week.

In the cage is Chayse Ierlan, a Cornell transfer. The graduate student boasts a .553 season save percentage and allows 9.79 goals per game – 13th best in the nation. Ierlan had a below-average .444 save percentage against Ohio State.

Senior Tyler Dunn and junior Logan Callahan split faceoff duties with Callahan taking a majority. Callahan’s win percentage sits just above .500. The two each won five of 12 faceoffs taken against Ohio State.

“[Dunn] is a quick guy, really athletic. He’s very versatile so you gotta always be on your toes, he can throw a lot at you,” Wierman said, “[Callahan] also throws in a mix of different styles, different techniques. They have a strong core there.”

With a win, Maryland would secure its first Big Ten regular season championship since the 2022 NCAA champion season.