The Terps look to avoid a sub-.500 finish in conference play.
Saturday was a bad day for Maryland men’s lacrosse, to put it lightly.
The then-No. 2 Terps slumped to an 8-6 defeat against Rutgers. It wasn’t losing to Rutgers — which logged its second-ever victory over the Terps — that was the issue, though. Rather, it was the manner in which Maryland lost.
Maryland’s balanced offense was thrown off kilter. The Terps recorded three separate goal droughts — lasting 17 minutes and 14 seconds, 20 minutes and two seconds and 14 minutes and six seconds, respectively — that killed any chance to capitalize on continued strong defensive work. For head coach John Tillman and his program, there are many areas to clean up.
“We got to work for the best shot, we got to play at a faster tempo…our stickwork’s got to be better and cleaner,” Tillman said. “We got to put more pressure on the defense, we got to use picks better, we’ve got to have better spacing… we’re just not going to get as many chances, so we got to make the most of the chances that we have.”
The Terps will have to turn it around fast. Up next, Maryland faces No. 2 Ohio State, which enters the contest on a Division I-leading 11-game winning streak.
The Terps and the Buckeyes will battle at Ohio State Lacrosse Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, Saturday at 2 p.m. The game will be available to stream on the Big Ten Network.
Ohio State (11-1, 3-0 Big Ten)
Buckeyes head coach Nick Myers has engineered a steady rise in the program. Ohio State failed to make the tournament from their inception in 1971 until 2003; since Myers took over in 2009, Ohio State has reached two quarterfinals and a national championship that was lost to Maryland. But the Buckeyes have slumped to three losing seasons over the last four years.
Since a 19-13 opening-day loss to Utah, the Buckeyes have looked like one of the best teams in the nation. Ohio State has steamrolled past 11 consecutive opponents — including four ranked foes — and has emerged as the clear second-ranked team in the country with two weeks remaining in the regular season.
Players to watch
Alex Marinier, senior attacker, No. 5 — Marinier scores goals. The Ontario native has 40 on the season, tied for second in Division I behind Cornell’s CJ Kirst. Marinier was blanked just once this season, against Virginia on Feb. 22. He has averaged 3.5 goals per game since then as the focal point of the Buckeyes’ attack.
Caleb Fyock, sophomore goalkeeper, No. 18 — Caleb Fyock stops goals. His 62.6% save percentage ranks third in the country, a spot ahead of Maryland’s Logan McNaney. At 6-foot-2 and 297 pounds, the Bowie, Maryland, native has an unusual build for a goalkeeper. But the man nicknamed “Big Tasty” swallows over 10 shots a game on average and hasn’t had a game below 50% save percentage on the year.
Bobby Van Buren, senior defender, No. 44 — Van Buren stops goalscorers. His recognition as a Midseason Media first-team All-American underscores that point. The left-handed defender consistently nullifies the opponents’ top threat, allowing the Buckeyes more room to breathe defensively. Look for him to stick to one of Eric Spanos or Braden Erksa and make their lives miserable.
Strength
Clinical finishing. Ohio State has a 32.9% shot conversion percentage, the sixth-best mark in the country. Three individual Ohio State attackers — Marinier (45.5%), Ed Shean (45.2%) and Garrett Haas (41.7%) — are top 25 in shot percentage among players with double-digit goal totals.
Weakness
Faceoffs. Ohio State has won just over half of its faceoffs on the season, but the position has faltered in recent games. In conference play, the Buckeyes have a roughly 45% faceoff win rate — they most recently won just nine of 28 faceoffs against Johns Hopkins. With Shea Keethler and Jonah Carrier visiting Columbus, Ohio, in good form, Maryland could find a crucial advantage from the center X.
Three things to know
1. Turnovers on tap. Ohio State commits nearly 18 turnovers a game, ranking in the bottom 20 nationally. But the Buckeyes are also eighth in the country with over 10 turnovers caused per game; their opponents average nearly 20 total turnovers per game. With Maryland games averaging 13 turnovers per game and its opponents totaling 11 per game, whichever team imposes their style of transition play will likely decide the outcome of the game.
2. A loss would bring a new low for Maryland. The Terps sit at 1-2 in Big Ten conference play with two games to go. If Maryland loses either of its final matchups, it will mark the first season the Terps finish with three regular season conference losses since 1993.
3. McNaney to finally break the record? The Terps’ sixth-year goalkeeper has frequented this spot in the preview, having started the season on track to smash the program all-time record for career saves but hitting a rough patch recently. After tying Kevin O’Leary with 705 career saves at the end of the third quarter against Rutgers, McNaney failed to make a save for the rest of the game. The first one McNaney makes against the Buckeyes will finally allow him to stand alone on top of the Terps’ all-time list.