The Terps handled the Tigers with relative ease.
For the fourth week in a row, No. 4 Maryland men’s lacrosse stared down a ranked opponent and answered the bell with a win.
Dominating from start to finish, the Terps controlled possession and shut down No. 11 Princeton en route to a 13-7 victory.
Maryland’s defense once again shut down a prolific offense. It would have held the Tigers scoreless in the opening quarter if not for an impressive effort from Nate Kabiri, a local freshman, who scored a beautiful low-to-low goal. Eric Spanos struck twice in the frame for the Terps, finding mismatches on short-stick midfielders. Braden Erksa added another goal to give Maryland a 3-1 advantage after 15 minutes of play.
In the second period, the gap between the Terps and Tigers widened. Luke Wierman dominated the faceoff “X,” winning all of the quarter’s seven faceoffs. Maryland’s ball movement was on full display, with an assist on all five of their second-quarter goals. Attackmen Daniel Maltz and Eric Malever both scored twice in the frame.
The star of the first half was Spanos. With Maryland searching for a spark from its midfield, Spanos has emerged. He gave the Tigers fits the entire half, racking up three goals and an assist.
Maryland’s offense has struggled with consistency this season, often going quiet for long stretches of games. It happened again in the third quarter, but the Terps ended the period on a high note when Daniel Kelly caught a pass from Malever and fired a step-down past Princeton goalie Michael Gianforcaro with just seconds on the clock.
Luckily for Maryland, its offense has not had to pay for its struggles, thanks to lockdown efforts from its defense. Princeton managed just two third-quarter goals, with one coming on its only man-up opportunity of the afternoon.
Terps defenseman Ajax Zappitello locked down one of the best attackmen in the nation, holding the ever- Coulter Mackesy to just one goal.
Princeton’s main source of offense was Kabiri, who found success against Maryland’s Jackson Canfield. He scored four goals, the last of which cut Maryland’s lead to 11-7 halfway through the fourth quarter. That’s as close as the Tigers would get.
With another win under its belt, Maryland will head to South Bend to face the reigning champions and top-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish next Sunday — a matchup that will draw every lacrosse fan’s attention.
Three things to know
1. Wierman’s best game yet. Luke Wierman won 20 of his 23 faceoff opportunities. He gave Maryland’s offense plenty of opportunities to build its lead.
2. Stagnant offense. Thirteen goals matched Maryland’s highest offensive output of the season, and it was enough to keep it undefeated. But Notre Dame looming, the question is: Will that be enough against the nation’s top team?
3. The Terps forced mistakes. Maryland caused seven Princeton turnovers behind the efforts of its stalwart defense. The Terps made the Tigers look uncomfortable in all phases, forcing them into three failed clears.