Maryland men’s lacrosse (5-4, 2-1 Big Ten) is playing its best lacrosse of the season, and it’s coming at the right time.
The Terps No. 8 ranking is their highest since the second week of the season. Maryland is also tied for first place in the Big Ten with just two games remaining in the season.
“I think the guys realized, didn’t go well early, but now we’re starting to play better,” head coach John Tillman said. “But don’t take anything for granted. Just stay consistent.”
Winning four of their last five games, the Terps will face off against No. 19 Rutgers. The matchup with the Scarlet Knights gives another opportunity for a ranked win to keep pace in the Big Ten.
Maryland has dominated the all-time series with a 36-2 record, including a 14-1 mark under Tillman. But Rutgers won the most recent matchup in 2025.
Rutgers has struggled lately, but has been strong this season
Rutgers (8-4, 1-2 Big Ten) has been struggling recently and is coming off a loss to Michigan, the Big Ten’s lone unranked team. Despite losing two of their last three games, the Scarlet Knights’ win during that stretch was an overtime victory over Johns Hopkins.
The offense has struggled at times in Big Ten play, scoring in double digits just once and being held to five goals by Ohio State.
Its offense is led by junior Colin Kurdyla. The junior leads the Big Ten in both goals and assists. Kurdyla also leads in points per game with 14 more than any other player in the conference.
Greyson Vorgang is the other Scarlet Knights attacker with over 20 goals. The Sophomore has 21 goals on just 52 shots, and his efficiency pairs well with Kurdyla’s scoring prowess.
The defense for Rutgers has been a strong point this season, with its 9.3 goals allowed per game ranking second-best in the conference, behind only Ohio State. The Scarlet Knights’ defense has shown some cracks at times this season, allowing 13 goals to Michigan and 21 against Princeton earlier in the season.
The backline is anchored by goalkeeper Cardin Stoller, who has been having a good season up to this point. Stoller leads the conference in saves per game with 10.3, and is third in save percentage at 54.4%.
Stoller has been playing his best following the blowout loss to Princeton, saving over 60% of shots he has faced twice in the last five games, and not posting a save percentage under 53% during that span.
Can Maryland prevent a letdown game?
Maryland has been playing its best lacrosse down the stretch.
With just two weeks remaining in the regular season, it looks to be right in the heart of NCAA tournament contention. A loss to Rutgers would change that, and presumably knock the Terps out of at-large contention.
With a big rivalry game on the horizon and a massive win against Ohio State last week, Maryland needs to keep its sights on Rutgers. It can’t let the least hyped matchup remaining on its schedule turn into a slip-up and create possibly the biggest blemish on its resume.
