The Maryland men’s lacrosse team’s lead over No. 15 Michigan had shrunk to one goal with about five minutes left in the third quarter when the Wolverines were whistled for a shot-clock violation, one of their 18 turnovers on the day.
Midfielder Drew Harrison fielded the ball after the call, drove the length of the field and spun away from a defender. Then, he fired a strike into the lower-left corner of the net to push Maryland’s advantage back to two goals.
It was the Baltimore native’s first goal this season and halted the Wolverines’ momentum. No. 2 Maryland’s lead only grew from there as the Terps cruised to a 13-5 win, using Michigan’s frequent giveaways to neutralize its faceoff advantage.
Midfielders Bubba Fairman and Logan Wisnauskas both boasted hat tricks, and defenseman Bryce Young scored for the second time in as many weeks.
On a day when faceoff specialist Justin Shockey struggled, giving Maryland few first-half possessions, a pair of late-quarter runs pushed the Terps to their seventh consecutive conference-opening victory.
And unlike in recent games, the Terps (8-1, 1-0 Big Ten) prevented a fourth-quarter comeback against the Wolverines (7-3, 0-1), outscoring their opponent in the final quarter for the first time in five games.
“Early on, that was kind of the story, they kept getting faceoff possessions,” coach John Tillman said. “We couldn’t get any momentum … When we started getting the ball, we got more flow.”
Though Maryland never trailed, Michigan faceoff specialist Connor Cronin kept his team in the game. Harrison’s score came after Michigan attackman Brent Noseworthy and midfielder Chase Young scored consecutive goals to open the third quarter.
But Harrison’s score started a Maryland rally, which coincided with a change at the faceoff X. Austin Henningsen and Will Bonaparte both relieved Shockey, who won 16 of 20 faceoffs against North Carolina last weekend.
Fairman found the net with about 90 seconds remaining in the third and did so again about three minutes into the fourth quarter. Maryland scored the game’s last seven goals.
Cronin won seven of nine faceoffs against Shockey in the first half. However, Maryland capitalized on the Wolverine’s nine turnovers and its first offensive spurt helped it enter the half with a lead.
The Terps rallied with seven minutes remaining before intermission, ending the break on a 3-0 run to take a 6-3 advantage. Wisnauskas and midfielder Tim Rotanz found the left side of the net, and midfielder Jared Bernhardt deposited the ball into the net while spinning away from the goal.
Michigan’s five goals were the fewest they’ve scored this season the second-fewest Maryland has allowed.
“They’re a special group down there [on offense],” defenseman Curtis Corley said. “We did a good job team-wise. That was a big focus for us this week.”
