The Terps used a dominant first half to book their 18th championship appearance.
With Memorial Day quickly approaching, the analysis from national media toward No. 2-seed Maryland men’s lacrosse has been consistent.
Its offense faced two major struggles that could prove costly in lacrosse’s final weekend. The Terps’ scoring depth was seemingly a massive question mark, and Maryland lacked a true star like Cornell’s CJ Kirst or Syracuse’s Joey Spallina.
But Maryland silenced the doubters against Syracuse in the NCAA semifinal Saturday. A balanced, dynamic attack that saw eight players get on the scoresheet was perfectly complemented by Eric Spanos’ four-goal masterclass. With everything clicking at the right time, the Terps blitzed by No. 6-seed Syracuse, 14-8, to secure a spot in the national championship.
“We scored in a variety of ways, a lot of different guys, but that’s kind of been our identity all year,” head coach John Tillman said. “We don’t really have to rely on one guy.”
The game got off to a sloppy start, with Shea Keethler losing a gritty scrum off the opening faceoff. With less than a minute off the clock, Syracuse attacker Owen Hiltz worked himself free to rifle the opening goal past Logan McNaney.
That early mess mirrored the conditions coming in — spurts of rain leading up to the match left Gillette Stadium’s grass slick, with several players slipping throughout the first half. Compounding that, Jimmy McCool started the game hot in net for Syracuse, swallowing each of Maryland’s first three shots.
Syracuse’s defense constricted space in front of McCool, forming a solid unit that the Terps took time to pull apart. But when Maryland first broke through, the goal wasn’t the story.
Eric Spanos wrapped around the net and scored halfway through the opening period, but was rocked for his troubles. Syracuse defender Chuck Kuczynski caught the Maryland star squarely in the side and sent him crumpling to the floor. Many on the Maryland sideline believed the call was late.
“The refs make great calls… but sometimes they might miss a few things,” Bryce Ford said. “We just saw that and it got us fired up.”
Maryland fans breathed a sigh of relief as Spanos eventually picked himself up and continued playing. But the moment clearly sparked something.
With the inside bottled up, Maryland went about beating Syracuse from the outside. Elijah Stobaugh scored his fourth goal of the postseason to take the lead before AJ Larkin scored his third of the season — and second on the year against Syracuse — and celebrated with words in the face of defender Riley Figueiras.
Entering the second quarter, it was much of the same. The game continued to be chippy, with Maryland’s Jackson Canfield and Syracuse’s Michael Leo exchanging words after an illegal push from Kolar on Leo.
Maryland’s defense continued to step up to the task. Syracuse’s scoreless streak ticked past 20 minutes, with the Orange failing to convert on two man-up opportunities.
And the Terps continued scoring. Daniel Kelly got in his trademark position — right of the goalmouth, around fifteen yards from net — and scored a goal with his trademarked left-handed crank to the opposite side to put Maryland up 4-1. Halfway through the frame, Aitken and Kelly then scored within 30 seconds of each other.
“We know that they wanted to speed up the game for our defense, and they wanted us to make mistakes,” Larkin said. “So we tried to flip the script almost, try to counteract those and make them make the mistakes.
Spanos got his second goal of the game in nearly identical fashion, wrapping around the net and burying a goal before absorbing a late hit. Michael Grace was flagged for the penalty this time, giving Maryland the ball back. Ford converted the ensuing possession, capping a run of eight consecutive goals for Maryland.
Finn Thomson broke Syracuse’s 26-minute, 54-second scoring drought with 2:15 left in the second quarter. He found space to score another goal five minutes into the second half. The deficit was the same — Thompson’s pair sandwiched scores from Erksa and Spanos — but Syracuse had found its footing.
Two more Orange goals in the middle of the third quarter pressured Maryland. Syracuse switched to a zone defense, too, giving the Terps something new to chew on.
All the while, McNaney’s playoff form shone through. He made a spectacular double save on shots from Wyatt Hottle and Joey Spallina to break Syracuse’s momentum.
“Getting 14 saves from him was huge,” Tillman said. “When we make a mistake, you know, he kind of bails us out. And it’s not lost on me.”
And an energized Spanos scored his fourth goal of the game in transition, where Syracuse struggled against the Terps back in February.
“Maybe he doesn’t get seen by some other people the way we do, but, man, I wouldn’t give him up for anybody,” Tillman said. “He’s so invested. He’s so selfless.”
Syracuse scored a goal entering the fourth quarter, but the result already seemed all but confirmed. Ford and Michael Leo traded goals in the middle of the period, and a flurry of late goals — from Luca Ward and Larkin for Maryland on an open net, and from Sam English past Maryland backup Brian Ruppel with seconds left — pushed up the score before time ran out.
Three things to know
1. Early lead assists the Terps once again. Maryland responded well to Hiltz’s opener, scoring three goals before the end of the first frame. The Terps are now 11-0 when leading after the opening quarter.
2. Syracuse’s attack shut down. Before the game, Tillman called Syracuse’s offense one of the best in the country. But across 60 minutes Saturday, Syracuse star Spallina was held to just one point: an assist on a goal with three seconds left in the game. The other two attackers — Hiltz and Thomson — combined for just three goals, none of which came in the last 25 minutes.
3. National championship on deck. The Terps have booked their place in the title game against No. 1-seed Cornell on Monday at 1:00 p.m. The game is a rematch of the 2022 championship game, which Maryland won to complete an undefeated season, and is the return of Tillman to play against his alma mater.