In front of 32,269 at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia for Saturday's Final Four, theMaryland men's lacrosse teamproduced a dominant performance against former ACC nemesis Virginia, controlling the Cavaliers en route to a 12-6 win.
The Terps' motto, "Be the Best," defines the program under coach John Tillman, who's made a tradition of playing on Memorial Day. His team will again play in the final game of the season for the eighth time, on Monday against top-seeded Notre Dame.
Luke Wierman (1g, 15-22, 10gb) won the opening faceoff and shot low on Virginia's starting goalie Kyle Morris (5sv, 31 percent), who made the save just seconds into the game. Virginia came back down, and the All-American, Offensive and Defensive Players of the Year – Conner Shellenberger and Ajax Zappitello, respectively – went to work against each other.
Shellenberger got a step on Zappitello and shot a back-handed shot over Logan McNaney (8sv, 57 percent) to get Virginia up 1-0 early in the game.
The Terps struck back two possessions later. McNaney made a save on a low offering, and the Terps cleared the ball. After moving the ball around Virginia's defense, Eric Spanos (2g, 3a) took the ball behind the goal and quickly fed a cutting Daniel Maltz (2g). Maltz quick-sticked the shot past Morris to tie the game 1-1.
A simple pass-and-catch on the clear for the Terps sailed high, and the Cavaliers got the ball back after the Terps' defense forced a shot clock violation. With the second possession, Peyton Cormier rifled a shot toward McNaney, which McNaney kicked out to the alley.
Zappitello scooped the ground ball and ran up field. With Virginia shutting off the attack, Zappitello pressed into Virginia's defensive zone. He saw LSM AJ Larkin (1a) trailing the play in middle of the field, and passed it to him. Larkin wound up to shoot but instead passed the ball to a cutting Daniel Kelly (3g). Kelly pumped high and shot around Morris to give the Terps a 2-1 lead.
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Wierman won his fourth faceoff of the game, and Tillman called a timeout with Maltz coming out of a scrum with the ball. The saved possession paid off.
Braden Erksa (2a) found himself with the ball behind the goal, and fed Kelly on the left wing. Kelly took the time-and-room shot and beat Morris low for a 3-1 Terps lead.
Wierman won the next faceoff, raced down the middle of the field, and beat Morris low. Just eight-seconds after the Kelly goal, Wierman extended the Terps' lead to 4-1.
The Terps held that lead entering the second quarter.
The Cavaliers drew blood first in the second quarter when they won the substitution game and got a 10-yard shot from dead on that beat McNaney high, reducing the Terps' lead to 4-2.
Wierman, though, gave the Terps the next possession, and Maltz again cashed in. This time, Zach Whittier (1a) fed him for an easy dunk and a 5-2 lead.
McNaney saved a Griffin Schutz low shot, and Jack McDonald cleared the ball. After substituting on offensive personnel, Spanos fed Kelly in the crease for an easy goal. Kelly completed his first-half hat-trick, and the Terps led 6-2.
Virginia's freshman phenom, McCabe Millon, got a goal back on question mark dodge to draw Virginia back to a 6-3 deficit.
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Virginia finally hopped into its 10-man ride and forced a failed Maryland clear. The Cavilers, however, turned the ball over in the middle of the field.
That sprung Colin Burlace (1g, 1a) in transition after he picked up the ground ball. Virginia refused to slide to the long pole, and he buried a shot past Morris for a 7-3 lead.
That was the score at halftime.
In that first half, the Terrapins' defense put on a clinic. They held the Cavaliers to just six shots on goal off 22 total attempts. Wierman won 10 of 12 faceoff in the half, and the Terps' midfield put the clamps on Virginia's midfield.
The temperature hovered in the high 80s, and both teams looked noticeably tired heading into the locker room.
Jack Koras (1g, 1a), however, gave the Terps an early spark. Wierman won the opening faceoff of the half, and Koras sped down the left wing. He slammed on the brakes but slipped to the ground. He quickly recovered and beat Morris low. That gave the Terps an 8-3 lead.
Wierman won the next faceoff, and Koras sped across the field. He threw a diagonal pass to Spanos, who had crept to the side of the crease. He beat Morris low and just 20-seconds after Koras had scored, Spanos' goal extended the Terps lead to 9-3.
That marked the second time in the game in the game that Terps scored two-goals in under a minute.
Virginia finally struck back when they again won a substitution game and got a short-stick defender free for a goal, which shrunk the Terps' lead to 9-4 with nine-minutes remaining the third quarter.
The Terps' steadiest offensive player for the entire season then stepped forward. After a Virginia turnover and a successful clear off Virginia's 10-man ride, Ryan Siracusa (1g) took a cross-field pass from Erksa. Siracusa hopped into a 10-yard shot and beat Morris low to push the Terps' lead to 10-4 with six-minute remaining in the third.
Maryland wasn't done beating Virginia at its own game. McNaney made an easy save on a bad Millon shot, and the Terps had to clear against the 10-man. Burlace got the ball at the midfield and pressed into Virginia's defense. As he got tripped, he threw a diagonal pass to Spanos, who was cutting across the crease.
Spanos buried the shot and ran to Burlace, who was facedown at the restraining line. The transition goal gave the Terps an 11-4 lead with three-minutes left in the quarter.
The defense forced another Virginia shot clock violation – the Cavaliers could not solve the Terps in settled situations - and the Terps settled for the final possession of the quarter. They could not score and led 11-4 to enter the fourth quarter.
Virginia pulled Morris to start the fourth quarter in favor of deposed former starter Matt Nunes.
Shellenberger fed Cormier for a goal at 11 minutes to pull the Terps lead back to 11-5. Millon scored four minutes later – breaking the Virginia record for freshman goal scoring – to get the deficit back to 11-6.
As they had all day, the Terps got another juice goal to extend back to a 12-6 lead. With the shot clock winding down, Spanos battled at goal-line extended. He floated a cross-crease pass to Jack Brennan (1g), who pumped a fake and scored low.
Brennan, the respected graduate student and former starter, let out a roar and celebrated with his teammates. With five minutes left in the game, the all that was left was picking the final score.
Tillman's coaching excellence cannot be overstated. The Terrapins, battered and bruised after playing one the of most challenging schedules in the nation, had the lacrosse world questioning whether they deserved to even make the tournament. In his 13 full seasons as coach in College Park, he has led the Terps to 10 Final Four appearances. After today, he will lead his team to the National Championship for an eighth time.
The Terps will face reigning National Champion Notre Dame, which dispatched Denver 13-6 in the first semifinal game, on Monday.
Memorial Day, John Tillman, and the Terps.
Tradition.
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