Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/25/24
From Press Release
No. 7 seed Maryland men’s lacrosse is returning to the NCAA championship game for the eighth time in 13 tournaments and 17th time in program history as the Terps beat No. 6 seed Virginia, 12-6, today at Lincoln Financial Field. The Terps will be seeking their fifth NCAA title and third in the last seven tournaments played winning in 1973, 1975, 2017 and 2022.
Maryland (11-5) will play No. 1 seed Notre Dame (15-1), a 13-6 winner over on Memorial Day Monday, May 27 at Lincoln Financial Field. The game starts at 1 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN. The game will be a re-match of the last two national champions with the Terps winning in 2022 and Notre Dame last season. Denver,
Philly grads Eric Spanos (Malvern Prep), Luke Wierman (Henderson), Will Schaller (Hill School), and Eric Kolar (Hill School) enjoyed big days in their homecoming for Maryland. Spanos collected two goals and three assists, Wierman won 15 of 22 faceoffs, scooped 10 groundballs and scored once while defenseman Schaller had two caused turnovers and a groundball, and Kolar had two groundballs and a caused turnover.
The Terps scored three goals in an 80-second span to take a 4-1 lead late in the first quarter and Maryland never relinquished the lead. Maryland held Virginia to a season-low in goals as well as the Cavaliers’ fewest goals in a game since an 11-4 loss to Loyola on Feb. 13, 2016. It was Virginia’s fewest in a match-up with the Terps since a 9-6 Terps win on March 30, 2014.
Daniel Kelly notched his second hat trick of the season, scoring three first-half goals. Daniel Maltz tallied two goals, giving him eight goals in three NCAA Tournament games this year. Jack Koras recorded a goal and an assist. Braden Erksa had a pair of assists. Overall, 11 different Terps had points in the win.
As he has been all NCAA Tournament, Wierman was once again a key for the Terps. Maryland’s all-time leader in face-off wins and groundballs scooped up 10 groundballs, scoring his third goal of the NCAA Tournament. In three NCAA Tournament games, Wierman has won 55-of-77 for 71.4 percent with 33 groundballs.
Maryland stifled Virginia (12-6) all afternoon with the Terps’ defense by Enners Outstanding Player of the Year Award winner Ajax Zappitello limiting the Cavaliers to 6-of-39 shooting as goalie Logan McNaney made seven saves. Zappitello had three caused turnovers and three groundballs as he defended the nation’s top attackman Connor Shellenberger throughout the game and held him to one goal, which came just 55 seconds into the game. Virginia had just 14 shots on goals as the Terps’ defense was stellar all game.
In addition to his solid defense with two caused turnovers and four groundballs, Colin Burlace netted his second goal of the game on a pole goal late in the first half. He also added his first-career assist. Will Schaller had two caused turnovers and a groundball. Jack McDonald also had three groundballs.
Notre Dame’s victory
For the second-straight season, No. 1 Notre Dame advanced to the NCAA National Championship title game. The win marks Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach Kevin Corrigan’s 350th of his Notre Dame tenure, becoming the first men’s coach at the DI level to reach the milestone.
The standout performance came from Notre Dame faceoff man Will Lynch, who won 18-of-23 faceoffs to continue his excellent run of play through the postseason. The FOGO added an assist and scooped up eight ground balls to help Notre Dame control possession.
The attacking trio of Pat Kavanagh, Chris Kavanagh and Devon McLane each recorded hat tricks with three goals apiece. Pat led the offense with five points (3G, 2A) and he became just the third player in program history to record 30G and 30A in a season, joining his brother Matt and Chris.
Liam Entenmann was great in net, making 12 saves while allowing just six goals on the afternoon. The Irish defensive unit stifled the Pioneers attack, holding them to six total goals and just two in the second half. The six goals are the fewest Denver has scored in a game this season.
Breaking Down The Action for Maryland/Virginia
The teams traded goals in the opening five minutes with Shellenberger and Maltz scoring to get the game going. The Terps ripped off three goals in a span of 1:20 with Kelly tallying twice and Wierman netting one off a face-off-win to put the Terps up 4-1 with 2:58 left in the first quarter. Maryland led by that 4-1 score after the first 15 minutes.
Maltz, Kelly and pole Colin Burlace scored to put the Terps ahead 7-3 at halftime.
The lead expanded to six at 9-3 as Jack Koras and Eric Spanos scored 20 seconds apart within the first minute of the second half.
Maryland outscored Virginia 4-1 in the third quarter to take an 11-4 lead after 45 minutes. Spanos scored twice in the stanza.
NCAA Numbers
With 46 appearances, the program is 73-41 all-time in the tournament, with 29 Final Four trips, 17 Championship Game appearances and four National Championships.
Under Coach Tillman, the Terps have made every tournament since 2011, going 31-10, and earning 11 championship weekend appearances.
The Terps are searching for their fifth NCAA Championship in program history, having made eight of the last 13 title games.
Maryland is the No. 7 seed for the sixth time since the tournament began in 1971. The Terps are 8-5 all-time as the seventh seed.
This is Maryland’s 46th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and an NCAA-best 21st straight appearance. The next highest NCAA postseason streak is six (Virginia and Georgetown).
Terps In The Record Books
Luke Wierman became the program’s all-time faceoff winner in the Terps’ season opener. With 15 wins today, he added to his career total of 864
Wierman is also the program’s leader in career groundballs. He picked up 10 and now has 466 in his career.
Logan McNaney is fourth on the all-time saves list. With eight in the game, he now has 575 for his career. Niko Amato (2011-14) is third on the list with 625 saves in his career.
Daniel Maltz scored two goals to increase his career total to 120. He sits at No. 11 on the all-time list, passing Grant Catalino (2008-10), who had 119 career goals. Scott Hochstadt (1996-99) is 10th with 121 goals.
Ajax Zappitello is 10th on the all-time caused turnovers list. He added three on Saturday, giving him 74 in his career as he passed. Ryan Clarke (2004-07) for ninth place with 73 caused turnovers in his career.
Get To 10 And Win
Since John Tillman took over the program in 2011, Maryland has won 161 of the 183 games in which it has scored 10 or more goals.
Maryland is also 122-19 since 2015 when scoring at least 10 goals.
Single-Digit Defense
Maryland is 126-12 since Tillman took over the program in 2011 when it allows nine goals or less, including a 51-game winning streak from 2017 to April 20, 2024, when holding foes to less than 10 goals.
The Terps are 6-1 this season when holding opponents under 10 goals with wins over Princeton (twice), Loyola, Ohio State and Rutgers.
Series History
Maryland owns a 51-47 all-time advantage over Virginia in 98 matchups.
The two former ACC foes have met in the NCAA Tournament nine times, with the series tied at 5-5 advantage.
The last time the two teams met in the postseason was in the 2022 Quarterfinals. The Terps won 18-9 en route to an undefeated National Championship season. Owen Murphy led the way offensively with four goals.
Maryland and Virginia played earlier this season in College Park in a top-five matchup. The Cavaliers came out on top 14-10. Griffin Schutz led Virginia with six points. Luke Wierman won 16-of-28 faceoffs for the Terps, and Eric Spanos totaled four points.
The two teams met in the NCAA Semifinals just once, in 2003. Virginia ultimately won 14-4.
The series is nearly a century old, with the first game coming in 1926, a 10-1 Maryland win. The Terps won the first six games of the series.
