The Terps’ defense held strong as the offense stuttered.
Halfway through the fourth quarter, No. 2-seed Maryland lacrosse needed to build some momentum.
The Terps had just killed a three-minute penalty, and head coach John Tillman’s bench was fired up. Maryland had the chance to stretch its lead — the Terps had scored just once in 24 minutes — but a sloppy turnover by Braden Erksa allowed Penn State to run the other way and tie the game.
With Maryland left searching for an answer, Daniel Kelly rose to the occasion. The fifth-year senior, who was already on a hat trick, scored one more for the Terps. Then he added another on their next possession. Suddenly, Maryland had some breathing room — room it didn’t relinquish for the rest of the game.
A career day from Kelly helped restart a sputtering Maryland offense as the it pulled away late against No. 3-seed Penn State, winning 10-8.
“I felt like all the guys just stuck together,” Tillman said. “This group has been totally united. There was no pointing fingers, [it was] just stick together, follow the plan, do the little things. And that’s really a credit to those guys.”
The Terps got off to a strong start. Despite losing the opening faceoff, their wing unit forced a turnover from Penn State. Erksa punched home the game’s opening goal just 32 seconds in.
But Logan McNaney got himself into trouble early. The graduate goalkeeper tried a casual clear, but trailing Penn State attackman Jon King intercepted the ball. King went for goal with McNaney stuck in no man’s land, but the open-net shot hit the post.
Matthew Keegan made King pay for his mistake, dodging around him on the ensuing possession and doubling Maryland’s lead.
Daniel Kelly responded to a well-worked goal from Jack Aimone with his 23rd score of the season; McNaney made two late saves to give Maryland a 3-1 advantage at the end of the opening quarter.
“Just classic Logan,” Tillman said. “Logan’s always been so calm and cool… credit to him, credit to our defense.”
The Nittany Lions took their turn to score early in a period — this time 33 seconds into the second quarter — but the Terps dominated from there.
Maryland won the second quarter by the same 3-1 scoreline as it did the first. Again, McNaney made three superb stops, and again, Daniel Kelly converted for Maryland. Kelly’s two second-quarter goals secured his fourth hat trick of the season before halftime.
Coming out of the break, the game turned on its head. The Nittany Lions had more chances, and when the dam broke, they were the ones to convert — four goals in 5:20 leveled the game. Faceoff dominance meant the Terps couldn’t stop the bleeding. Maryland had one possession over the four-goal run, in which Zach Whittier hit the post.
“I just felt like the ball just kept coming back down our way and down our way… they just kept getting the ball and then could keep grinding us down,” Tillman said. “We had some untimely turnovers.”
As the game turned to the fourth quarter, Maryland’s scoreless streak rolled to 19 minutes. The Terps needed a spark and Keegan provided it, ripping a low bouncing drive past Fracyon for his second of the game.
In the very moment Maryland needed to build momentum, it made a massive, uncharacteristic mistake. Graduate defender Jackson Canfield’s check on a Penn State attacker turned into a helmet-to-helmet hit, which was punished with a three-minute, non-releasable power play for Penn State.
But the five-man Maryland defense held strong, not allowing any of Penn State’s five power-play shots to land on target. McNaney, who finished with double-digit saves for the 11th time this season, was comfortable amidst the chaos.
The goal that tied the game at 7-7 was a tough pill for Maryland to swallow. Erksa’s 31st turnover of the season punished with maximum severity, but Daniel Kelly’s two goals killed the Nittany Lions’ momentum. Keegan completed his hat trick to throw an exclamation mark on the game, dulled only slightly by Liam Matthews’ consolation effort with 6 seconds to go.
“Man, there were some dicey moments there, for sure,” Tillman said. “Some things, it was like, ‘Man, we’re making this way too hard.’”
Three things to know
1. Faceoff fail from the Terps. Penn State’s Hunter Aquino was the big availability question mark coming into the game, but the Terps were met with an even greater lineup surprise Thursday afternoon. Nittany Lion faceoff specialist Colby Baldwin, who won 15 of 22 faceoffs in the regular-season matchup, did not suit up due to injury. But his replacement, freshman Reid Gills, was unconscionably good, winning 82% of faceoffs for Penn State. Maryland won at the X just four times.
2. The power of the post. The Nittany Lions sent three shots off the post throughout Thursday’s game, none more consequential than King’s early miss. None of their shots that hit the iron bounced behind McNaney. Maryland hit the post twice themselves; one went in for Daniel Kelly’s second goal and the other was a backbreaking miss from Whittier during Penn State’s scoring streak. Fine margins such as those just barely broke the Terps’ way.
3. Title game time. Maryland and No. 1-seed Ohio State will face off on Saturday at 8:30 p.m. in Ann Arbor. The Buckeyes, fresh off their first-ever regular season Big Ten crown, are looking to win the tournament for the first time. A Maryland win would be its fifth title in 10 years of Big Ten tournaments, a reflection of the Terps’ recent dominance.