With time expiring in the first overtime, Rutgers midfielder Christian Scarpello came around the back of the net to attempt a final shot. But Maryland men’s lacrosse goalkeeper Dan Morris denied him with a point-blank stop, sending the contest to another period.
In the second overtime, Morris used his helmet to deny attackman Connor Murphy from close range. And in the third overtime, he made a save and picked up a loose ball in a five-second span.
His career-high 16 stops kept Maryland alive, enabling midfielder Connor Kelly to clinch a 13-12 win with an unassisted goal. After the ball went in, the Terps mobbed the junior behind the net.
Maryland’s win in Piscataway, New Jersey, marked its third victory over a top-15 opponent in the past eight days.
“They showed a lot of toughness,” coach John Tillman said. “We told the guys most of the games we play on the road in the league have been one-goal games, so we didn’t expect anything different.”
While Morris produced a stellar performance, he faltered in the opening minutes just as he did April 8 against Penn State.
Morris didn’t make a first-half save versus the Nittany Lions, giving up six goals before registering his first stop. However, he recovered in the final two periods of that contest, recording six second-half saves.
After a 12-save showing Wednesday at Albany, Morris suffered similar early game struggles against Rutgers. He allowed six of the Scarlet Knights’ first eight efforts to reach the back of the net, which put the Terps behind, 6-4, early in the second quarter.
But in the second frame, Morris produced four saves in the final nine minutes, beginning his return to form. First, he crouched low to catch a low effort aimed for the left side of the goal. Three minutes later, with the Terps down, 6-5, he deflected another low shot from close range to keep his team within one.
“I thought Dan Morris was really outstanding,” Tillman said. “As the game went on, he got better and better. … It’s the [saves] you get at the right time that you’ll remember.”
Maryland (9-2, 3-0 Big Ten) scored twice in the last 34 seconds of the first half to turn a 6-5 deficit into a 7-6 lead entering the break. Attackman Matt Rambo earned his third point of the half with a left-handed effort before Kelly launched a near-post shot past Scarlet Knights goalkeeper Max Edelmann.
Early in the second half, attackman Colin Heacock caught a pass from Rambo in space on the right side. He hopped once, wound up and unleashed a left-handed rocket into the net, extending Maryland’s lead to 9-6.
But Rutgers (9-3, 1-2) answered with four of the next five goals to tie the game at 10. And with the Terps ahead, 12-11, with 39 seconds left, the Scarlet Knights evened the score again, leading to them to celebrate behind the net.
Three overtime periods later, though, it was Maryland’s turn to display jubilation after Morris’ flurry of clutch saves set up Kelly’s winner in the Terps’ fifth straight win.
“Rutgers is a really good team,” Tillman said. “We fought hard. … We didn’t come out of the gates as well as we’d like, but it felt like we found our groove and settled in and we got better.”
