Maryland was ready for the challenge. The early top 10 matchup served its purpose. The Terps cemented their place as a legitimate top five threat.
In No. 2 Maryland men’s lacrosse’s quest to be the best, No. 8 Loyola served as a stepping stool. Maryland’s, 20-8, victory over Loyola was a product of an offense that asserted its dominance and never wavered. A product of a team that had a profound, early season statement to make.
“What a great effort by our guys today,” head coach John Tillman said. “[I] didn’t expect that. Didn’t see that coming.”
Exactly seven days removed from their uncontested season opener, the Terps picked up where they left off. The offense was humming and FOGO Luke Wierman enjoyed a strong start at the faceoff X.
With two of the first three faceoff wins and a turnover forced by the Terps defense granted Maryland three unanswered goals — a statement that demanded a response. A 3-0 start that led to the Greyhounds netting two points with the help of their veteran attackmen, Kevin Lindley and Adam Poitras, who scored both unassisted, in the center of the Terps’ defense.
But Maryland had a gear it hadn’t reached. Even with Loyola threatening to tie and take the lead, it was visibly sped up by Maryland’s backline, taking advantage of the few of mistakes that the Terps made, oftentimes forcing its way past the impenetrable bunch of short-stick midfielders to the back of the net.
“I think this whole week, we were kind of just pushing the envelope,” defenseman Brett Makar said. “With the experience we have, I just knew we were gonna bounce back … [this was] pretty much kind of a bounce back week for [the defense.]”
Loyola’s fourth goal, and its first assisted score, converted in the second frame, was scored in spite of two converging defenders, one of whom was All-American defenseman Makar.
Meanwhile, Maryland had little trouble peppering the cage. It had tapped into a new level of production before the Greyhounds could find their footing. By the time Loyola netted its fourth, the Terps already had nine in the midst of a 10-3 second quarter onslaught — their first double-digit quarter since 2014.
The faceoff success continued. Wierman won 11 of a possible 14 battles at the X. And he managed to score twice off of the momentum of his victories at midfield. Wierman ended with a 76% win percentage at the dot to go along with his goals.
“Not only were we able to get a lot of extra possessions [from Wierman], which helps your confidence, helps your rhythm on offense,” Tillman said. “But to get some goals, and other guys to get some goals, is huge for us.”
In between his scores, Maryland dialed up its intensity and commenced to dismantle their opponent, one point at a time.
Logan Wisnauskas used his left hand to strike two beams past Loyola’s goaltender. After Wisnauskas’ second, Kyle Long scored a runner off of a back of the net feed by Keegan Khan. The 11-4 lead his doorstep goal created, prompted a Loyola goalie change that did little to stem the tide of Maryland goals.
Wisnauskas, along with Jon Donville and Eric Malever ended with hat-tricks. Maryland ended with 11 total scorers.
“There’s a lot of guys there,” Tillman said “We’re gonna need that down the road as things go forward. Great seeing some of the guys there making the extra pass. But again, a lot of it came from getting stops, transition, guys just busting their butts and picking up tough grounders and giving us opportunities.”
The Terps would score three more before the half’s end. And, with their near-insurmountable 14-5 lead entering the third frame, the Terps cruised to their second consecutive 20-point victory as the second half served as merely a formality.
