No. 1 Maryland men’s lacrosse headed down to Charlottesville hoping to get its 900th program win on Saturday as it took on No. 18 Virginia.
Maryland fired on all cylinders to start, but it left the window open for the Cavaliers to keep it close. A return to the Terps’ normal style of play — mixed with a dominant fourth quarter — allowed Maryland to win, 12-6, remaining undefeated this season.
The Terps went on a 5-0 scoring run to open and started out 4-for-4 on shots. Within the first minute of the game, Bryce Ford gave the Terps the lead with a quick goal. Elijah Stobaugh and Matthew Keegan supplemented that lead by hammering home two goals each.
Virginia was unable to get their first taste of success until a little over a minute left in the first period — when Will Inderlied scored. The Cavalier’s sole first-quarter goal kept the home squad down, 5-1, after one frame.
Maryland’s offensive firepower flickered out in the second quarter — and so did its lead. Both teams played tough defense to start, but Kyle Colsey was able to score for Virginia. Will Erdmann and Thomas Mencke added to it, cutting the road advantage down to just one.
Alongside dominating offense, Virginia exhibited great defense. The Terps were held scoreless in the second quarter — contributing to 20 overall turnovers. This resulted in them closing the first half with a slim 5-4 lead.
The Terps finally ended their scoring drought after Aidan Aitken scored, pushing the lead back up to two. Shortly after, Ford scored his second goal of the game getting the Terps ahead 7-4.
Virginia got down field after a Maryland miss minutes later, and Griffin Schutz capitalized to cut the deficit back to two.
McNaney had, what seemed to be, a crucial save to start the fourth quarter, but the Cavaliers’ Truitt Sunderland got the ball off a second-chance ricochet. He didn’t waste time, netting a clutch goal.
Eric Spanos responded for the Terps, rifling a power shot home. Maryland kept its foot on the gas, winning the next faceoff. Within five seconds of game time, Sean Creter scored to give it a 9-5 advantage.
Braden Erksa got the Terps to double digits minutes later, hitting his first goal of the game. Spanos replicated Virginia’s last goal, getting his rebound off a miss to score once again.
Another Erksa goal in the game’s closing minute sealed the dominant road victory.
McNaney, who’s emerged as one of the most consistent goalies in the nation, finished Saturday with 13 saves for the Terps.
“When we’ve had breakdowns, which we did, he’s kind of bailed us out,” Tillman said. “Not only is he saving, he’s catching and getting us outlets.”
The victory moved Maryland to 7-0 this season while giving the program its 900th career win — a milestone that’s only been achieved by two other schools in Johns Hopkins and Syracuse.
Maryland opens up Big Ten play back in College Park against Michigan at noon next Saturday.
“I always tell people it’s like the AFC North,” Tillman said on upcoming conference games. “It’s gonna be smash mouth. Everybody plays good beat, it’s hard to score goals, so you gotta execute.”
