No. 2 Maryland (1-0) played away from home for the first time this season, going to Baltimore to face in-state rival Loyola in the Greyhounds’ regular-season opener.
Maryland trounced No. 20 Richmond 15-4 to kick off its 2023 campaign on Feb. 4. Owen Murphy manned the offensive side with four goals, and senior attackman Daniel Maltz contributed a game-high five points. Logan McNaney was also stellar, making 12 saves and allowing just three goals.
McNaney later left the game with an apparent injury that prompted the help of Maryland’s training staff.
The Terps hoped to start 2-0 for the seventh consecutive season vs. Loyola at a packed Ridley Athletic Complex, but the Greyhounds shocked the college lacrosse world, handing Maryland their first defeat since 2021, 12-7.
“They were a better coached team today. I thought they executed better today,” said Maryland Head Coach John Tillman. “I thought they played harder; they were more efficient.”
Maryland started off slow, even with FOGO Luke Weirman winning 9/11 on face-offs in the first half. Weirman finished with 18 face-off wins on the day, going 82 percent from the spot and picking up nine ground balls.
Maryland didn’t score until the 1:14 left in the first quarter, when Daniel Kelly scored his first of the game on his way to a four-goal afternoon, including two in the first half.
The Terps’ defense began pressing out on the Greyhounds as the first half went on, holding Loyola to 16 shots.
Loyola scored at the 1:50 mark of the second quarter to take a 4-3 lead, but Kyle Long scored just 41 seconds later to tie things up.
Loyola got the ball back as the half neared, and scored with 7.6 seconds remaining in the second quarter to take a 5-4 lead going into the locker room.
Both sides were perfect on the clear, but Maryland had nine turnovers through the first 30 minutes compared to Loyola’s five.
Daniel Maltz got the game back to even at the 10:09 mark of the third quarter following a long Maryland possession, but Loyola responded with two quick goals from Matthew Minicus and Adam Poitras to make it 7-5 with 7:25 to play.
Both sides traded goals as the third quarter came to a close, including a man-up tally from Daniel Kelly to keep the Terps in it, but Loyola stayed two goals in front heading into the fourth quarter.
Loyola turned it on to start the final quarter, scoring four consecutive goals to make it 12-6 with 9:17 left on the clock.
“We got a couple back, thought we were gonna get over that hump and get some momentum going, and they were able to get a couple in transition; a couple of energy goals for them,” said defenseman Brett Makar. “It was tough for us to bounce back… There’s a lot left to play for, and we’ll be back to work on Monday.”
Loyola’s defense was phenomenal, and Greyhounds goalie Luke Staudt stole the show, making 19 saves and allowing only seven goals. Maryland was held to under 10 goals in a regular season game for the first time since April 2018.
Loyola snapped Maryland’s 24-game regular-season unbeaten streak, which handed Maryland its first loss since falling to Virginia in the 2021 NCAA National Championship.
Kelly scored another for the Terps late, but it was too little, too late for Maryland, who will play Syracuse back in College Park next Saturday, hoping to get back in the win column.
“We just could not get over the hump and get the goal to go ahead, and that’s a credit to them,” said Tillman. “Give Loyola credit, they deserved it today.”
