John Tillman targeted experienced players over the offseason to round out No. 7 Maryland men’s lacrosse’s 2026 roster.
The nation’s top-ranked transfer class featured three graduate students and a pair of seniors. Those moves have paid off amid the Terps’ tumultuous start, with the majority of those pieces becoming vital contributors.
“If you look at the landscape with college athletics, you see the value of just experience, the guys that have been around,” Tillman said. “There’s emotional maturity,
physical maturity, just the speed of play in college lacrosse, managing the day-to-day, the week-to-week.”
While Henry Dodge wasn’t the prized addition, he’s quickly become Maryland’s most important player. Dodge is the Big Ten’s leader with a 68.4% faceoff percentage — good for the fourth-highest clip nationally.
Leo Johnson has controlled the Terps’ offense, creating quality looks for himself and his teammates. He has paced Maryland with 22 goals and 19 assists for the 21st-most points per game in the country.
Despite Chris Lyons and Michael Alexander not living up to expectations, they’ve still played critical roles. Lyons’ 15 goals are third on the team, and Alexander has started all 10 games in the Terps’ defense.
Those four players are just a glimpse into Maryland’s veteran heavy lineup.
Peter Laake, Matt Higgins, Spencer Ford and Jack Schultz are the lone underclassmen to appear in the starting lineup this season. They have totaled 21 of the Terps’ 100 starts, with Laake and Higgins logging 17 of those.
But in the big moments, Maryland’s experience has starred.
The Terps’ game against then-No. 9 Ohio State was a prime example. With its postseason aspirations hanging in the balance, Maryland’s veterans stole the show to guide them to an 8-7 upset victory in overtime.
Senior Brian Ruppel had six second-half stops to limit the Buckeyes’ scoring to just two goals in the final 30 minutes. Dodge won eight of his 10 bouts at the X and Johnson’s five-point game shouldered the attacking production. In total, the Terps’ upperclassmen combined for all but two of the team’s goals.
That attacking production was just a microcosm of a recurring theme: Maryland relies on experienced players for offense.
But this year’s goal distribution is unusual. The Terps’ veterans have netted 101 of 114 goals scored this season — 88.6% of the total, marking the program’s second-highest share in more than two decades.
Despite the Terps landing consecutive highly-touted recruiting classes, those pieces have yet to live up to the billing.
Ford, a former five-star recruit and the top-ranked class of 2024 attackman, redshirted his first season in College Park. While he has seen the field in every game this year, Ford has only contributed six goals. He scored a brace in the Terps’ season-opener rout.
“For [Ford] to get out there and play and have some success, we’re all thrilled for him,” Tillman said. “I think his teammates love him because of the type of guy he is. You know what you’re getting from Spence every day.”
But that is nothing new for Tillman; freshmen rarely see the field and often opt to save eligibility with a redshirt. Of Maryland’s 12 recruits last season, just three received regular playing time. None were in the attacking unit.
Jonah Carrier slotted into the Terps’ faceoff committee and corralled the team’s second-most faceoff wins (75). Laake and Schultz were part of Maryland’s defense and midfield, respectively. Still, none of that trio ever earned a start.
This season, the Terps’ freshman class has been almost nonexistent.
Higgins, the No. 12-ranked freshman prospect, has carved out a role in Maryland’s everyday rotation. He has logged seven starts, but not in his typical attacking position. Higgins has shifted into the midfield instead to earn more playing time.
While his scoring production has taken a backseat — Higgins has just three goals this season — he has thrived setting up the Terps’ star attackers. Higgins’ seven assists are the fourth-most on the team and second-most by a freshman in the past decade.
“[Higgins] just plays well beyond his years,” Tillman said. “You put him with some older guys, it just seems like he’s able to assimilate very quickly. … Not everybody has that aptitude, but we saw it very early.”
Outside of Higgins, no other freshman from the nation’s fifth-best recruiting class has seen action in multiple games. Tillman has kept his rotation relatively the same even with the inconsistencies across Maryland’s different units, entrusting his veterans to right the ship.
The lack of breakout stars has left the Terps’ upperclassmen to shoulder the scoring load. It’s shown relative to the other elite programs.
Maryland’s inability to find a spark from younger players — its nearly 89 percent of goal production coming from upperclassmen is highest among ranked teams — has been a reason behind its offensive struggles. The Terps rank 42nd nationally in goals per game.
While Maryland is on a three-game winning streak, it’ll need someone outside Spanos and Johnson to have a late-season scoring surge. Outside of the Terps’ experienced players, Ford and Higgins are the likeliest breakout stars.
