Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 5/12/25 – From Press Release
Eric Spanos (Malvern Prep) collected six goals as the No. 4-ranked and No. 2-seeded Maryland men’s lacrosse advanced to the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals after defeating Air Force, 13-5, in the first round at SECU Stadium on Sunday. The Terps are now 12-3 overall and 33-7 all-time in NCAA Tournament First Round games.
Maryland will play Georgetown in the quarterfinals on May 18. The game will be played at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis. It will be streamed on ESPNU.
Maryland boasted a lead for the entirety of the contest after scoring the game’s first two goals. It then outscored Air Force (9-8) 4-1 in the second frame to lead 7-2 at the break. The Terps scored eight unanswered goals through the second, third and fourth quarters to put the game away. They held Air Force scoreless for 23:10 during the run.
Maryland’s goal scorers included Spanos (6 goals), Daniel Kelly (2 goals), Braden Erksa (1 goal & 2 assists) Zach Whittier (1 goal & 2 assists), Bryce Ford (1 goal & 1 assist), Matthew Keegan (1 goal & 1 assist) and Noah Armitage.
Jack McDonald (two), Zack Goorno (two), Eric Kolar (Hill School), AJ Larkin and Trace Davidson caused turnovers defensively. This was the 12th time the Terps held an opponent to single-digit goals this season.
Also for Maryland, defenseman Will Schaller (Hill School) was a standout and scooped one groundball while Mitchell Lloyd (St. Joseph’s Prep) won 2 of 3 faceoffs and Geordy Holmes (Haverford School) had a groundball. For Air Force (9-8), Caelan Driggs (Salesianum School) had two goals.
Spanos recorded a first-quarter hat trick and finished with a career-high in goals. He also recorded a career high in points. It was his ninth career hat trick and fourth of the season. The last Terp to score six goals in an NCAA Tournament game was Jared Bernhardt against Vermont in 2021.
Goalie Logan McNaney finished the game with 10 saves between the pipes. It was his 13th time this season making double-digit saves. Backup goalie Brian Ruppel took over in the fourth as Maryland held a large lead.
Shea Keethler (8 wins) and Jonah Carrier (4 wins) led the Terps from the faceoff dot. As a team, the Terps combined to win 14 of 22 faceoffs. Keethler and McDonald led Maryland with three ground balls apiece.
Maryland is 74-42 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. Under head coach John Tillman, the Terps have made every tournament since 2011, going 32-11. This is Maryland’s 47th tournament appearance and an NCAA-best 22nd straight appearance.
