For the third consecutive year, the Terps are returning to the Big Ten Championship Game after beating tournament host Johns Hopkins, 14-9.
Maryland and John Hopkins added yet another memorable chapter to one of the most historic rivalries in all of college lacrosse on Thursday afternoon.
“It’s hard to come to a team when you’ve never been in that type of rivalry before. You’ll feel it throughout the week, but once you’re in the game, it’s like whoa,” said midfielder Dante Trader. “Just getting another shot at this rivalry, you can’t even put words to it.”
Just two weeks ago, the Blue Jays beat the Terps in the final game of the regular season to clinch the No. 2 seed in the conference tournament, dropping Maryland to No. 3.
Owen Murphy led the way with his third hat trick of the season while Braden Erksa, Ryan Siracusa, Jack Brennan, and Zach Whittier each scored two goals apiece to send the Terps back to their sixth championship game since the conference came together in 2015.
The opening half between the two sides was a tale of two quarters. After a sluggish start, including four out of five losses from the faceoff spot, Maryland had their backs against the wall.
Johns Hopkins came out the gates firing, with two goals from Russell Melendez and one from Casey McDermott within the first six minutes to jump out to an early 3-0 lead.
A timeout from Head Coach John Tillman gave his team a chance to reset after a group of early turnovers from the offense and lots of miscommunication on defense. Following the break, there looked to be new life coming from the Maryland sidelines.
Even with All-Big Ten First Team defenseman Ajax Zappitello out for the second consecutive game and standout long stick midfielder John Geppert also sidelined with an injury, Brett Makar and the Maryland defense stepped up, allowing just two goals over the next 25 minutes to allow the offense to find their groove.
“It’s been a thing over the last couple weeks, but it’s really about embracing that next man up mentality,” said Makar when asked about injuries. “Just having confidence in whoever is out there knowing that if we play our system, play our game, we’ll be alright.”
With the offense looking for answers, Kyle Long beat his defender from the midfield and found Jack Koras inside to open up the scoring for the Terrapins to close out the first quarter. Just a minute into the second, Long found Daniel Kelly on the inside to set up another goal from the crease.
Trailing by just one goal with faceoff specialist Luke Wierman finally asserting himself, the game looked to be swinging in Maryland’s favor, but a big time shot from Matt Collison on the man-up gave the Blue Jays some breathing room with 10 minutes remaining in the half..
Down 4-2, Tillman needed a spark and looked to his bench for help. Following a timeout, Owen Murphy jogged out onto the field and the Maryland offense started looking as sharp as ever.
“[Daniel] Maltz has not felt great the last few days, so Murphy played a little more attack to help down there,” said Tillman. “He got some big opportunities which I thought were huge.”
The Terps went on a 4-0 run to close out the half, including a goal with 17 seconds left to swing the momentum in their favor heading into the locker room on top, 6-4.
In the third frame, the two teams went back and forth for the first six minutes to cut Maryland’s lead to one. But, a quick 3-0 run, including two of Murphy’s three goals, took the life out of Johns Hopkins’ sails and put the Terps in the driver’s seat.
Jack Brennan scored two timely goals in the fourth quarter, and freshman Brian Ruppel made some big stops down the stretch en route to an 11-save performance to seal it for Maryland.
The Terps – No. 7 in the national rankings – will face No. 15 Michigan in the Big Ten Championship on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. The two sides last met on April 1, when Michigan dismantled Maryland on the road, 16-11.
“They have three attackmen that can win a one on one matchup, so we really gotta be buttoned up there. The last time we played them they were definitely a handful,” said Makar when asked about Michigan. “We gotta get back to CP (College Park), get back to the film, recover, and be ready for them.
