It was only fitting that No. 12 Maryland men’s lacrosse’s game-winning goal against No. 9 Ohio State came from defender Riley Reese on Senior Day.
After three seasons on the bench — appearing in 10 games during that stretch — Reese was cast into the starting role following a gruesome injury to Will Schaller. All hope seemed lost for the Terps with their top defender likely out for the rest of the season.
But the senior has quickly settled into Maryland’s defensive trio, finding an instant connection
with Eric Spanos. Reese’s first career point came during the Terps’ rout of Michigan, setting up Spanos for one of his career-high eight goals.
That duo linked up once more in Saturday’s first overtime period, but the roles were reversed. Spanos whipped a pass in transition to Reese standing unmarked just outside the crease. The senior defender buried it into the top corner and was instantly swarmed with hugs.
Reese’s first career goal — and shot on goal — propelled Maryland to an 8-7 victory over Ohio State for its first ranked win of the season.
Against the nation’s top defense, goals were always going to be hard to come by for the Terps’ attack. Maryland has scored single-digit goals three times this season and shown vulnerability to poor offensive showings.
However, the Terps could not have imagined a better start to Saturday’s game. After a 14-goal showing last week, Maryland strung together a strong opening six minutes. It was the best the offense has looked all season.
Quick ball movement allowed the Terps to find open attackers around the crease. They capitalized. Maryland scored on four of its first five shots on cage, each from a different goalscorer.
That balanced offense was fueled by Leo Johnson. The senior attacker has been at his best this season creating the Terps’ offense. His incredible vision and passing have opened up quality looks for teammates, making opposing defenses look silly at times.
In the first quarter, Johnson wreaked havoc. He contributed to three of Maryland’s first four goals, including a nifty one-on-one move on his defender.
After receiving a feed from Spanos at the top of the attacking zone, Johnson cut inside before spinning back to his strong hand. That space was all he needed. The Yale transfer roofed it into the top corner past Ohio State goalie Caleb Fyock.
With the Terps’ offense humming early on, last season’s All-American first-teamer could do nothing about it. Fyock managed just one stop early on, fueling Maryland’s second five-goal first quarter of the season.
But Maryland scored just two goals in the final 45 minutes of regulation — one of which came on a ridiculous pass from Johnson to Aiden Aitken for his career-high second goal of the game.
Fyock quickly settled in after his slow start, stopping 13 of the Terps’ final 17 shots on goal. He finished with an impressive 14 saves and 63.6% save percentage to fuel Ohio State’s comeback.
After trailing 4-0 six minutes into the game, the Buckeyes slowly chipped away at Maryland’s strong lead. A 14-minute scoring drought from the Terps late in the first and into the second quarter didn’t help either.
Ohio State scored twice in the final two minutes before halftime, adding to Brian Ruppel’s shaky outing. The senior netminder managed just four first-half stops and conceded a goal he’d like to have back, allowing a harmless shot to roll into the far post.
But with Maryland’s offense continuously stalling out — it had four turnovers in the third quarter — Ruppel made some critical stops in the second half. He ended with 10 saves for his seventh double-digit performance.
None were bigger than his last save of the night. With the game tied at seven and two seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, Ruppel denied Garrett Haas at the near post on his close-range effort.
That stop pushed the game into overtime, setting up Reese’s heroics.
Three things to know
1. Maryland controls the X. In a matchup that featured two of the nation’s top-10 faceoff units, extra possessions were going to be pivotal in Saturday’s game. That rang true. Maryland corralled eight of the first 10 faceoffs to fuel its early start. But Ohio State’s rejuvenation at the X allowed it to climb back. Still, the Terps won 12 of the 18 faceoffs.
2. Eric Spanos held silent. After a career day in Maryland’s rout of Michigan, Spanos was a nonfactor in Saturday’s game. The senior attacker was held off the scoresheet in the first half and took a backseat approach as Johnson created the Terps’ offense. But his lone contribution came in the biggest moment of the game.
3. Offense sputters late. With its top scorers held in check during the second half, Maryland’s attack failed to generate many quality looks. The Terps often waited until late in the shot clock to get downhill, forcing them into some errant long-range efforts.
