No. 9 Maryland men’s lacrosse came into its matchup with No. 19 Rutgers in sole first place of the Big Ten standings. 

With a win against the Scarlet Knights, the Terps would clinch at least a share of the Big Ten regular season title. 

Maryland claimed that title in dominating fashion, using a nine-goal scoring run and an absolutely lockdown defensive performance to take a 12-2 win in the Terps’ final home game of the regular season. 

“Obviously, to bring home a championship to the school, the department, [and] the state, is something I think these guys are super proud of,” head coach John Tillman said.

Coming off a defensive battle against Ohio State, the first quarter looked like a repeat of that game. Neither team was able to produce much offense, and after the first quarter, there were just three goals combined between the two teams.

That did not continue, at least for the Terps.

In the second quarter, Maryland’s offense got going massively. The Terps scored six times and dominated on both sides of the ball.

Maryland constantly held possession of the ball and used that advantage to fire a consistent stream of shots towards the Rutgers net. Led by Eric Spanos, who scored twice during the Terps’ run, the attack had 24 shots and 17 shots on goal. 

The offense worked the ball all around the field en route to six different Maryland players scoring goals in the first half.

Continuing the attacking barrage of the second quarter, Maryland opened the third quarter right where it left off, scoring two goals in the period to build on a dominant performance on offense.

Maryland’s attack closed out the game in the same dominant fashion that it had throughout, scoring the only two goals of the fourth quarter. 

“Eric and Leo and Braden had us organized, which was awesome,” Tillman said. “ As the game went on, I thought these guys really got a good feel for just hitting shots and shooting good shots, so credit to them.”

Coming into the Maryland face-off, prowess looked like it could be an advantage, and it proved to be a total game-changer. Henry Dodge and Jonah Carrier combined for 10-11 on faceoffs in the first half, with Dodge going a perfect six for six.

Rutgers was able to win some face offs in the second half to narrow the deficit, but the Terps ended with a 67% win rate while Dodge won eight of 10.

The offense was not the only side of the ball that was firing on all cylinders for Maryland. The defense played great all game, continuing its dominant first quarter throughout the rest of the game.

Maryland held Rutgers scoreless in the second quarter and made life extremely easy for Brian Ruppel throughout the game. 

When Ruppel was needed, he stepped up, delivering arguably his best performance of the season. Ruppel saved 80% of the shots he faced, putting the stamp on an all-around defensive showing. 

Even with Ruppel dominating the backline for the Terps was the star of the show. Rutgers couldn’t get any good looks on net, and not many of its 10 shots on goal were high-quality attempts.

“Defensively, Jesse [Bernhardt] had a great gameplan. These guys executed it, I thought, really well,” Tillman said. “When we had a breakdown, I felt like [Ruppel] made the saves.”

Faceoffs were not the only way Maryland controlled possession. The defense was active throughout and Rutgers ball security was lacking. Riley Reese led the defense with a career-high five forced turnovers, and the Terps caused 12 in total.

Reese was dominant in every facet, and along with Peter Laake, Maryland shut down Scarlet Knights star attacker Colin Kurdyla.

Kurdyla had just two shots and was held without a point. While Greyson Vorgang was able to score twice, without Kurdyla providing anything on offense, Rutgers never stood much of a chance to get the goals they needed.

The Terps now control their destiny atop the Big Ten standings, with a win against Johns Hopkins in their next matchup securing the top seed in the conference tournament and the sole possession of the Big Ten regular season title.

For Maryland, the dominant showing will provide an exclamation point to the NCAA tournament selection committee as the Terps keep building their resume for an at-large bid.

No. 9 Maryland men’s lacrosse came into its matchup with No. 19 Rutgers in sole first place of the Big Ten standings. 

With a win against the Scarlet Knights, the Terps would clinch at least a share of the Big Ten regular season title. 

Maryland claimed that title in dominating fashion, using a nine-goal scoring run and an absolutely lockdown defensive performance to take a 12-2 win in the Terps’ final home game of the regular season. 

“Obviously, to bring home a championship to the school, the department, [and] the state, is something I think these guys are super proud of,” head coach John Tillman said.

Coming off a defensive battle against Ohio State, the first quarter looked like a repeat of that game. Neither team was able to produce much offense, and after the first quarter, there were just three goals combined between the two teams.

That did not continue, at least for the Terps.

In the second quarter, Maryland’s offense got going massively. The Terps scored six times and dominated on both sides of the ball.

Maryland constantly held possession of the ball and used that advantage to fire a consistent stream of shots towards the Rutgers net. Led by Eric Spanos, who scored twice during the Terps’ run, the attack had 24 shots and 17 shots on goal. 

The offense worked the ball all around the field en route to six different Maryland players scoring goals in the first half.

Continuing the attacking barrage of the second quarter, Maryland opened the third quarter right where it left off, scoring two goals in the period to build on a dominant performance on offense.

Maryland’s attack closed out the game in the same dominant fashion that it had throughout, scoring the only two goals of the fourth quarter. 

“Eric and Leo and Braden had us organized, which was awesome,” Tillman said. “ As the game went on, I thought these guys really got a good feel for just hitting shots and shooting good shots, so credit to them.”

Coming into the Maryland face-off, prowess looked like it could be an advantage, and it proved to be a total game-changer. Henry Dodge and Jonah Carrier combined for 10-11 on faceoffs in the first half, with Dodge going a perfect six for six.

Rutgers was able to win some face offs in the second half to narrow the deficit, but the Terps ended with a 67% win rate while Dodge won eight of 10.

The offense was not the only side of the ball that was firing on all cylinders for Maryland. The defense played great all game, continuing its dominant first quarter throughout the rest of the game.

Maryland held Rutgers scoreless in the second quarter and made life extremely easy for Brian Ruppel throughout the game. 

When Ruppel was needed, he stepped up, delivering arguably his best performance of the season. Ruppel saved 80% of the shots he faced, putting the stamp on an all-around defensive showing. 

Even with Ruppel dominating the backline for the Terps was the star of the show. Rutgers couldn’t get any good looks on net, and not many of its 10 shots on goal were high-quality attempts.

“Defensively, Jesse [Bernhardt] had a great gameplan. These guys executed it, I thought, really well,” Tillman said. “When we had a breakdown, I felt like [Ruppel] made the saves.”

Faceoffs were not the only way Maryland controlled possession. The defense was active throughout and Rutgers ball security was lacking. Riley Reese led the defense with a career-high five forced turnovers, and the Terps caused 12 in total.

Reese was dominant in every facet, and along with Peter Laake, Maryland shut down Scarlet Knights star attacker Colin Kurdyla.

Kurdyla had just two shots and was held without a point. While Greyson Vorgang was able to score twice, without Kurdyla providing anything on offense, Rutgers never stood much of a chance to get the goals they needed.

The Terps now control their destiny atop the Big Ten standings, with a win against Johns Hopkins in their next matchup securing the top seed in the conference tournament and the sole possession of the Big Ten regular season title.

For Maryland, the dominant showing will provide an exclamation point to the NCAA tournament selection committee as the Terps keep building their resume for an at-large bid.