With No. 11 Maryland men’s lacrosse staring at a five-goal deficit and struggling to slow down No. 9 Penn State’s high-flying offense, John Tillman knew he needed to make a change.
The Terps’ head coach switched to a zone defense early in the second quarter. That move immediately changed the tide of the game.
Maryland held the nation’s eighth-best offense scoreless for the ensuing 35 minutes, allowing time to slowly climb back. AJ Larkin’s second goal of the game left the Terps down one with seven
minutes remaining.
But Penn State ultimately cracked the Terps’ compact defense. Three goals in a three-minute span iced the game and dealt Maryland a 10-6 defeat at the Panzer Stadium. The loss marked its third consecutive year with a defeat in their Big Ten opener.
Brian Ruppel barely had a second to catch his breath early in Saturday’s contest. After practically willing No. 11 Maryland men’s lacrosse to a triple-overtime win last weekend, the senior netminder could only do so much.
Waves of Nittany Lion chances flooded the cage and long defensive possessions left Ruppel exposed in the cage. Ruppel faced five shots in the first five minutes, and Penn State was just getting started.
Maryland allowed a season-high 42 shots, with 21 challenging Ruppel in net. While he tallied 11 stops — his fourth consecutive double-digit save performance — it wasn’t enough to lead his team to victory.
Will Schaller’s injury against Virginia left the Terps in a precarious situation. Without a clear next defensive option, Tillman turned to senior Riley Reese to make his first career start, against a top-10 offense.
It went about as bad as Terps’ fans could’ve expected in the first half. Penn State generated quality chances on nearly every possession, beating defenders with ease. The trio of Peter Laake, Mikey Alexander and Reese struggled to keep pace with the Nittany Lions’ quick ball movement, leaving Ruppel stranded on an island.
While the Big Ten’s leader in saves per game fared well early on — he only allowed two goals in the opening 11 minutes — Penn State’s potent attack struck soon after. The Nittany Lions netted three unanswered goals to close out the first quarter.
Maryland trailed 5-2 after 15 minutes, marking its third quarter this season conceding five scores. It happened just three times all of last year.
After committing a season-high 19 turnovers to close out nonconference play, that wasn’t the main problem on Saturday. The Terps simply couldn’t get possession of the ball to give their defense a chance to recover.
Penn State corralled five straight faceoffs following Henry Dodge’s opening win. That stretch left Maryland’s defense on the field for nearly all of the final four minutes. Even when the Terps gained possession, the offense continued to stall out.
After Penn State produced the first two scores, Erksa stopped the bleeding on a man-up opportunity. Leo Johnson flipped a pass to Erksa standing on the doorstep, and he buried a shot at the near post to put Maryland on the board.
Four minutes later, Johnson got his own goal. The Yale transfer charged from behind the cage and fired a bouncing shot past Penn State goalie Preston Hawkins. But that was Maryland’s last goal for the ensuing 18 minutes.
While Ruppel singlehandedly kept the Terps within striking distance, the offense couldn’t find much success against Hawkins. The redshirt freshman turned in his best performance of the season with 14 saves and a 70% save percentage, outdoing his Nittany Lion counterpart.
Three things to know
1. Eric Spanos held scoreless. After missing the previous three contests, Spanos’ return to the starting lineup was a welcoming sight for fans. But the senior attacker was held off the scoresheet despite firing seven shots. That marked his first scoreless performance since last year’s Big Ten Tournament meeting against Penn State.
2. Maryland lost the faceoff battle. The biggest talking point heading into Saturday’s game was the matchup between two of the nation’s top faceoff units. While Maryland hadn’t lost in that department all season, Reid Gillis and Colby Baldwin controlled the X. The duo won 11 of the 19 bouts, keeping the country’s top faceoff specialist silent.
3. Ranked woes continue. When Tillman crafted one of the hardest nonconference schedules in the country, the hope was to prepare his team for Big Ten play. But the Terps have struggled against ranked opponents this season. Maryland’s 0-4 record in top-20 clashes has dimmed its postseason aspirations.
