A second-quarter surge fueled the Terps.
Entering a do-or-die game at No. 2 Ohio State, No. 6 Maryland men’s lacrosse looked for offensive answers. After last week’s dismal offensive performance, in which it scored six goals at No. 18 Rutgers, somebody had to step up. It wasn’t one player that met the occasion, though; in a high-stakes affair, the Terps’ midfield put together their best collective game of the season.
Maryland’s top two attacking midfield lines combined for just five goals in their first three Big Ten games. But against Ohio State, the Terps matched that number in the second quarter alone. The dominance started early and continued throughout the game, aiding the Terps to a 13-8 victory at Ohio State Saturday — Maryland’s fifth top-10 victory of the year.
Logan McNaney was a big part of the Terps’ early success. The graduate goalkeeper got his first save six and a half minutes into the game. The stop was the 706th in McNaney’s career, taking him above Terps legend Kevin O’Leary to become Maryland’s all-time saves leader. McNaney finished the afternoon with 10 saves, his 10th game with double-digit games this season.
The Terps needed a strong start. A faceoff win by Shea Keethler gave Maryland an opportunity; Daniel Kelly hammered the ball home, beating Ohio State goalkeeper Caleb Fyock between his legs.
Ohio State — which ranked atop the Big Ten in goals per game with 13.3 — scored twice and retook the advantage halfway through the opening frame. However, the goals came from a breakdown in transition and an extra-man opportunity. The Buckeyes were unable to crack Maryland’s set defense until deep in the third quarter.
Maryland’s offense certainly wasn’t perfect early on — the Terps wasted two man-up opportunities and committed five turnovers in the first quarter — but they looked far better than last week. Matthew Keegan brought the Terps level before Kelly and Eric Spanos each scored their 20th goal of the season, capitalizing on snappy ball movement and picking apart the Ohio State defense.
In the second quarter, the game settled into a more methodical rhythm. Ohio State scored one — Maryland erred in switching back to its six-man defense just after completing a penalty kill — and from there, the Terps took over.
The defense stepped up, with that goal being the only one allowed in the final 23 minutes of the first half. But the story of the game was Maryland’s midfield.
Keegan scored his second goal of the game early in the frame. Bryce Ford recorded two goals, sandwiching a score from Jack Schultz. And with two seconds left in the half, Zach Whittier took a feed from Braden Erksa on the pick-and-roll and dished past Fyock to put an exclamation mark on an impressive turnaround.
Maryland’s scouting report played a part in the performance. Fyock, the 6-foot-2, 297-pound goalkeeper nicknamed “Big Tasty,” was vulnerable down low. The Terps feasted on bounce shots, with two of the second-quarter goals going right through the netminder’s legs.
The ball simply moved better for Maryland. The rock-solid fundamentals that underscored massive early-season wins against No. 4 Syracuse, No. 3 Princeton and No. 9 Notre Dame returned to Maryland. Clears were executed perfectly and the Terps held for the best shot, moving around and getting all their sticks involved to create mismatches.
The Terps carried the momentum into the second half. Keegan finished his hat trick in the opening possession, and Spanos cranked a howitzer off a power play to stretch the Maryland advantage to eight goals.
Ohio State was not going to be denied forever, though. The Buckeyes broke a 22-minute scoreless streak late in the period before adding another less than 60 seconds later to breathe some life into an ailing offense. The Buckeyes won the fourth-quarter faceoff and scored another, cutting Maryland’s lead to four with 14 minutes left to play.
Maryland looked rattled. Turnovers crept back into the equation,and two defensive lapses gave the Buckeyes two more fourth-quarter goals, but a solo effort from Ford gave Maryland enough breathing room to regain its footing and squeeze the clock dry.
Three things to know
1. Improved shot selection. After the loss against Rutgers, one of head coach John Tillman’s biggest concerns was poor shot selection. Against the Buckeyes, the Terps were deliberate: 22 of 33 shots, including each of their first nine, were on target.
2. The Terps own the faceoff battle. One of the few bright spots for Maryland last week was its performance at the X, where Keethler and Jonah Carrier each won at least half of their faceoffs. They carried that momentum to Columbus, Ohio — each specialist took 12 faceoffs, with Keethler winning seven and Carrier winning eight.
3. Maryland extends its streak over Ohio State. The Terps have had lots of success against the Buckeyes recently. Saturday’s win makes it nine victories in the last 10 games against Ohio State, including seven straight.