No. 12 Marylnd men’s lacrosse is looking for answers as it sits at 1-3 four weeks after starting the season as the top-ranked team in the nation. 

The Terps have lost their last three games. Their most recent loss to new No. 1 Notre Dame, where they looked outclassed, including surrendering seven consecutive goals. 

Maryland will face off against Delaware in what is a badly needed get-right game. 

The Terps have dominated Delaware, with a 9-1 all-time record, the only loss coming in 1985.

Despite the slow start, head coach John Tillman has preached not abandoning the system while still improving on the bad last few weeks.

“You always try to get better, be your best, be your best,” Tillman said. “Obviously, with things not going the way they want, we’re not going to basically just overhaul everything.”

Delaware

Delaware (1-4) has not been good this season. All four of its losses have come by five or more goals, including an 11-1 defeat to Drexel. 

The Blue Hens failed to reach 10 goals in any of those games, as their offense hasn’t found any consistency.

Leading the attack are John McCurry and Brendan Powers. The latter is a 2025 All-CAA First Team selection. They have each scored eight goals and added an assist so far this season, combining for over half of the team’s total goals. No other Delaware player has more than four points. 

Despite McCurry holding the joint lead in both points and goals, he has struggled with turnovers, accumulating 14 in total this year, nine more than any other Blue Hen player. 

The defense has not been much better. Delaware is averaging nearly 13 goals allowed per game this season. 

In goal for the Blue Hens is Aidan Koff, who has started every game. Koff has struggled so far this year, allowing 63 goals while making 57 saves, good for a 47.5% save percentage. 

Maryland’s offense has struggled mightily throughout the season, but Koff will have to step up his play to keep the Terps from finding a rhythm. 

Will Maryland get right?

Despite the season being disastrous so far, the Terps will be given a chance to find some momentum against a Delaware team that has been bad all year. Maryland outclasses the Blue Hens in every category, with superior players at every position on the field. 

The Terps offense will be the key to watch, as they looked stagnant and out-of-rhythm all game against Notre Dame. Little pressure was put in front of the net, and too many costly turnovers made life easy for the opposing defense.

Against a Delaware team that has struggled to stop offenses with much less firepower than Maryland, players who struggled against Notre Dame can get back on track. This includes Leo Johnson, Chris Lyons, and Braden Erska, and possibly Eric Spanos back in the lineup. 

Maryland will follow up Delaware with one more non-conference game against Virginia, and then will play its five Big Ten games, including four ranked teams, to end the regular season. With the level of competition on the Terps’ schedule, Saturday has become a must-win game.