Maryland’s men’s lacrosse entered its 2026 campaign with sky-high expectations, coming off back-to-back national championship game appearances.
The Terps brought in the top transfer class in the country, pairing an infusion of talent with established returners like Eric Spanos and Will Schaller.
Ranked as the pre-season No. 1 team, it looked like the perfect opportunity for Maryland to win its third national championship under head coach John Tillman.
Instead, the season fell well short of expectations.
Maryland missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2002, posting a 7-6 record after a semifinal exit in the Big Ten tournament.
Maryland’s first scheduled game against Richmond was postponed, and it started a week late against in-state foe Loyola Maryland. The cracks didn’t show yet, as the Terps dominated the game with new additions Leo Johnson and Chris Lyons looking as advertised.
But after starting the season 1-0, Maryland would not win another game for nearly a month.
The Terps dropped three straight games against Syracuse, Princeton and Notre Dame without ever having any control in those games.
“Got off to a good start against Loyola,” Tillman said. “Played some pretty darn good teams there early … so we kind of dug ourselves a hole.”
Both sides of the ball were underperforming. Turnovers were the biggest issue on offense, with the Terps totaling 40 over the three-game losing stretch. Those issues left the attack stagnant and out of rhythm.
“We know in our league, the pace is not what it’s going to be like against other people, but [we] still need to be efficient,” Tillman said. “We just didn’t do that.”
Along with the offensive struggles, several players failed to live up to expectations.
Braden Erksa was a pre-season All-American honorable mention by USA Lacrosse, but scored less than half of his goal total from 2025. Jack Schultz scored just four points following his Big Ten All-Freshman season in 2025 and didn’t score a point until seven weeks into the season.
The defense allowed opponents to score in double-digits in the first four games. Goalie Brian Ruppel was a big part of that. He posted a poor .381 save percentage in a one-goal loss to Princeton on Feb. 21.
The back line in front of Ruppel was much help. A lack of cohesion on the backline led to free runs in front of the net and easy goals for opposing attackers.
The struggles for Maryland culminated in its 10-6 loss to Penn State on March 21. The offense couldn’t generate any good looks, while the Nittany Lions used a five-goal first quarter to fuel the win.
After falling to its lowest point of the season, Maryland showed flashes of the team it was supposed to be. It dismantled Michigan, led by an eight-goal performance by Eric Spanos, who had been injured and had not looked like himself for much of the year.
Spanos was not the only injury to impact the Terps, as defensive leader Will Schaller suffered an ACL injury in an overtime win against Virginia, which kept him out for the rest of the season.
Schaller has the reputation of being a top defensemen in the country, but Riley Reese filled in nicely.
Reese became a leader on the Terps’ defense, including multiple masterful performances late in the season. The senior forced nine turnovers in the last five games of play and Maryland’s defense allowed just 7.2 goals per game in that span.
After defeating Michigan, the Terps won their next two games. The first was an overtime thriller against Ohio State, where Reese scored the game-winner, followed by a dominant 12-2 victory against Rutgers.
Peter Laake and AJ Larkin stepped up in a big way for the Terps’ defense, shutting down its opponents in Big Ten play. Maryland’s 7.2 goals allowed per game in conference play was the lowest in the Big Ten.
Ruppel was also a huge factor in the defensive revival. The senior turned his season around and made huge saves to keep Maryland in games.
“I think [Ruppel], admittedly, will say he played better as the year went on and I’d agree,” Tillman said. “The defense played better as the year went on. I think some of those guys settled in.”
Led by Johnson and Spanos, Maryland’s offense was playing its best lacrosse of the season as well, scoring over 11 goals per game as a team over the course of the winning streak.
The entire offense ran through the Terps’ two leading scorers. Johnson and Spanos carried an otherwise lackluster attack to clinch a share of the Big Ten regular-season title.
Leading into “The Rivalry” with Johns Hopkins, Maryland had a chance to win the Big Ten outright and all but clinch a spot in the NCAA tournament, but that would not be the case.
The offense again struggled, putting up just eight goals, with Johnson being the Terps’ only real source of attacking throughout.
Maryland dropped from No. 1 down to No. 3 in the Big Ten standings and needed to win multiple games in the tournament to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
The Terps got that chance in a win-or-go-home scenario against Penn State in the semifinals, a rematch of their worst loss of the season.
The second matchup was no different.
Maryland’s offense was stagnant again, scoring just six goals and looked extremely similar to the regular season matchup. Without a usually dominant face-off performance, Maryland couldn’t score enough to have a chance.
“There are moments, especially later in the season and in league, we didn’t get to double digits,” Tillman said. “I think you’re asking a lot of your defense if you can’t get to double digits.”
Sitting at 7-6, the Terps had to wait until Selection Sunday to hope for their name to be called. When the bracket was unveiled, Maryland was not included for the first time since 2002.
Now that several high-profile seniors are graduating, Maryland has many holes to fill in the offseason.
The Terps have key returners like attacker Matt Higgins, face-off specialist Henry Dodge and attacker Spencer Ford. Higgins and Ford need to take developmental jumps.
“Guys on the inside… they’ve been waiting for this moment,” Tillman said. “They really want that opportunity, and they’re excited for it.”
