Owen Murphy left his defender in the dust behind the net before wrapping around and firing a shot past the goalkeeper.
His goal was the third of five goals the Terps rattled off in the opening five minutes.
The torrent of early goals allowed Maryland men’s lacrosse to cruise to a 17-9 victory over No. 4 Rutgers, its 10th-straight win this season.
The Terps started the game off hot, with Jonathan Donville finding Keegan Khan in front of the net for an easy finish.
Khan also provided assistance on Maryland’s second goal. He fed Eric Malever who pump-faked before beating Scarlet Knights goalkeeper Colin Kirst to double the Terps’ lead.
Murphy’s goal was followed by two rips from Logan Wisnauskas that pushed Maryland’s lead to five within the first five minutes of the game.
“Yeah, you never know how things are gonna go and to get out to that fast start was great,” coach John Tillman said. “We got to talk in the locker room like, ‘Hey, we’re gonna get a lot of energy from that crowd.’”
Rutgers responded with back-to-back goals from Shane Knoblach and Mitch Bartolo, but a Jonathan Donville strike put an end to any momentum from the Scarlet Knights. The Terps left the first quarter with a 6-2 lead.
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Knoblach added his second score to start the second quarter, but four straight Maryland goals kept Rutgers behind.
Murphy threw the ball between Kirst’s legs before Jack Brennan unloaded a shot that found the back of the net.
Then, back-to-back goals from Khan earned the attacker his fourth-straight hat trick.
Brennan Kamish and Jack Koras traded goals to end the first half as another large run allowed the Terps to cruise into halftime with a seven-goal lead.
After wanting to improve after some sloppy play against Michigan, the Terps were able to string together two impressive first-half runs against a highly-ranked Rutgers team.
“[We] also knew it wouldn’t be easy. So we wanted more movement than what we had seen because I feel like they are very experienced there,” Tillman said. “Most of their guys are fourth, fifth year type guys, and their goalie is terrific.”
Khan shined in the first 30 minutes, notching a hat trick and two assists. Logan McNaney was also solid in goal for the Terps — he snagged eight saves in the opening two quarters.
Nick Teresky opened the scoring in the second half for Rutgers, cutting Maryland’s lead back to six goals.
But Wisnauskas found Malever at the face of the net for a simple goal, with the assist breaking the record for career points at Maryland. Wisnauskas’ 291st point broke the record that was set just last year by Jared Bernhardt.
[Maryland men’s lacrosse unsatisfied with sloppy play despite win over Michigan]
The Terps scored three more goals in a row. A smart finish from Khan, a snipe from Kyle Long and a rocket from Wisnauskas extended Maryland’s lead to 10 at the end of the third quarter.
Donville assisted two of those goals and notched a season-high four assists on the night.
Maryland also shared the ball as a whole, assisting on a season-high 76.47% of its goals.
“I think offensively the guys have been pretty consistent with just trying to share the ball and move it,” Tillman said. “I think we had 13 assists on 17 goals today, which speaks to what these guys do, how unselfish they are.”
A behind-the-back finish from Brian Cameron and a goal from Ross Scott was followed by a rifle of a shot from Anthony DeMaio on the man-up opportunity to Maryland’s nine-goal lead.
The Terps ended the game in style — Daniel Kelly was able to pick up a ground ball and roll a one-handed behind-the-back shot into the back of the net.
Four different Terps netted four points or more as Maryland comfortably coasted past the Scarlet Knights, maintaining its status as the only undefeated team in the country.
