The winless Bears pushed the Terps into an extra period, but Maryland ultimately rallied for the victory.
Weather conditions were gloomy Saturday in College Park as Maryland men’s lacrosse geared up to take on Brown. The Terps, ranked No. 7 nationally, were looking to avoid losing back-to-back regular-season games for the first time since 2017.
Many expected they would have an easy time doing so, given Brown’s winless record. But they were wrong. The Terps needed overtime to stave off the Bears, eventually winning, 14-13 after Daniel Maltz netted the game-winner.
“They [Brown] play hard,” Maryland head coach John Tillman said. “I showed it to our guys all week, clips of them like diving for backups, guys diving in front of shots.”
Concerns began from the opening whistle when Maryland’s all-American faceoff specialist Luke Wierman didn’t take the field. Brown (0-5) scored twice to start the game, immediately putting Maryland (6-1) on the back foot.
The Terps leveled the score with goals of their own from Owen Murphy and Jack Koras, but were unable to take a lead, a trend that would continue for the entirety of the first half.
Brown’s offense — the same one that managed just five goals against Georgetown — consistently found success against Maryland’s defense, which has consistently looked like one of the best in the country. Junior attackman Matteo Corsi, who hadn’t scored since the Bears’ season opener, found success dodging to score three times in the first half.
Maltz was a bright spot in the Terps’ opening half, also securing a hat trick with some crafty finishes. But Maryland still trailed 8-6 at the break.
The second half started with more of the same, as Maryland lost the opening faceoff and Brown instantly scored, pushing its lead to three. However, with their backs against the wall, the Terps received a crucial goal from Braden Erksa, who went scoreless in the team’s last game.
Erksa scored again later in the period — as did Ryan Siracusa — to cut Brown’s lead to just one. The Terps were generating momentum with better play on both ends, but faceoff issues persisted, with the Maryland platoon of Sean Creter and Shea Keethler not winning a single faceoff in the third quarter.
It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that the Terps would take their first lead, leaning on their defense that kept Brown scoreless for more than 15 minutes. Once he started scoring, Erksa couldn’t stop, finishing with five second-half goals.
Erksa’s most prudent tally came after Brown tied the game at 12 with three minutes left. Eric Spanos tried to wrap around the cage and missed, but Erksa scooped the ball off the back of the net, came around the other side and finished to put Maryland back on top.
Brown had one more answer when Jack Kelly scored with less than a minute left to send the game to overtime tied at 13, but what had hurt the Terps all game eventually won them the contest.
With the help of Jack Koras off the wing, Keethler won a faceoff to give Maryland possession to start overtime. The Terps made good use of their opportunity, as Spanos found Maltz, who buried it into the bottom corner for the winner.
“I loved the focus in the huddle,” Tillman said. “… The guys were like ‘We’re going to score right here.’”
Three things to know
1. Wierman’s absence was felt. Saturday’s game was Maryland’s first this season without Wierman, and it nearly cost the Terps. Brown, which entered the game winning under 50% of faceoffs, took 17 of the game’s 30 faceoffs.
2. The Terps won another close one. Maryland has played three overtime games already this season, winning each time.
3. Koras played a pivotal role. Koras’ play was crucial. He recorded three timely ground balls and also netted two goals, adding an assist.
“I think it’s just doing whatever the team needs me to do,” Koras said. “Early in my career, I played a lot of defense and offense. Being able to do both and learn both sides and schemes has really helped me.”