As we come to the end of an exciting year of Maryland athletics, we at Terps Watch decided to rank the top 10 Maryland games of 2017, across all sports.
Five of our writers (Connor Newcomb, Jordan Katz, Harrison Cann, Gabe Fernandez and Liam Beatus) submitted a top-10 list, and all five lists were combined to make the final selections.
We now present you with games 10 through six. We’ll be revealing our top five later this week, so stay tuned! (Update: Here’s the top five!)
10. Men’s lacrosse: No. 1 Maryland 10, No. 7 Ohio State 9 (May 6)
With the Big Ten title on the line, Maryland met Ohio State for the second time of the season, after the Buckeyes won their regular-season meeting in overtime. The teams seemingly traded goals the entire game, but Colin Heacock’s strike with 3:27 to go proved to be the conference winner.
Championship. Game. Winner. pic.twitter.com/f8MSlsS4Ut
— Maryland Lacrosse (@TerpsMLax) May 7, 2017
9. Field hockey: No. 16 Maryland 2, No. 6 Penn State 1 (Oct. 15)
With three regular-season games remaining, the 16th-ranked Terps were just 9-5 and in serious danger of missing the NCAA tournament. No. 6 Penn State coming to town gave Maryland a chance to get a signature win for its resume. The game went to overtime tied at one, and then senior Carrie Hanks decided to play the hero.
Watch Carrie Hanks’ game-winning goal in 2OT over No. 6 Penn State!#GoTerps #FTT pic.twitter.com/tsdKj1Z8Em
— Maryland Field Hockey (@TerpFieldHockey) October 15, 2017
8. Softball: Maryland 4, No. 1 Florida 2 (Feb. 18)
It was another disappointing season for Maryland softball in 2017, as the Terps finished 11-39-1 overall. However, Maryland may have pulled off the biggest upset in college sports this year.
After losing their first eight games of the season, the Terps were set to take on No. 1 Florida in Gainesville. The Gators would finish the season 58-10, making a run to the College World Series finals. Nine of Florida’s losses came to teams that appeared in the NCAA tournament. The other came to Maryland. The Terps pitched the game of their lives and used a three-run fourth inning to pull off the improbable upset over the Gators.
Final moment, Maryland gets its first win of the season over #1 Florida! @NCAAsoftball @umterps #Believe #FearTheTurtle pic.twitter.com/WlO93mxR9i
— Maryland Softball (@TerpsSoftball) February 18, 2017
7. Baseball: Maryland 2, Penn State 1 (Apr. 14)
In a battle of aces on a Friday night in College Park, the Terps entered the bottom of the ninth inning trailing 1-0 with only one hit off Penn State starter Sal Biasi. The right-hander recorded the first out of the ninth before Zach Jancarski homered to tie the game at one. Brandon Gum would then step to the plate, and on the very next pitch he sent Terps fans home happy.
Best of 2️⃣0️⃣1️⃣7️⃣@ZachJancarski7 tied it ????@BrandonGum won it ????#DirtyTerps | #WalkOff pic.twitter.com/W6pzuKlaTC
— Maryland Baseball (@TerpsBaseball) December 21, 2017
6. Men’s soccer: No. 6 Maryland 3, No. 15 UCLA 2 (OT) (Sep. 1)
These two teams’ last matchup in 2015 brought the stands down at Ludwig Field after Sebastian Elney’s overtime winner, so Maryland and UCLA decided to do it all over again this season. The game went overtime tied at two, and then Elney did it again with another golden goal against the Bruins.
Look familiar?
You can’t make this stuff up. Seb in OT against the Bruins. AGAIN. #FearTheTurtle pic.twitter.com/IJB3fkznt1
— Maryland Soccer (@MarylandMSoccer) September 2, 2017