Maryland men’s lacrosse entered 2025 with numerous key questions — none were bigger than how it would replace Luke Wierman, the Terps’ all-time faceoff leader.
Saturday’s season opener against No. 18 Richmond might have provided an early answer.
No. 6 Maryland won 13 of 21 faceoffs, nearly identical to its 61.6 percent Big Ten-leading mark last season. Sophomore Sean Creter and senior Shea Keethler led the way, winning a combined 11 faceoffs. Keethler took all the faceoffs in the first period and Creter mixed in consistently after.
“I don’t think it’d be fair for any of us to expect somebody to follow Luke and be Luke,” coach John Tillman said. “But both those guys did a good job.”
Keethler won six of his eight bouts at the X, displaying impressive physicality in just his second career game with more than three faceoffs taken. He flashed potential in his first real opportunity against Brown last season, winning 12 of 20 faceoffs — including all of the final five — in an overtime win.
[No. 6 Maryland men’s lacrosse dominates No. 18 Richmond, 12-7, in season-opener]
Creter’s only major opportunity last season was in that same battle against the Bears. He struggled immensely, winning just one of his 10 clashes at the X. The faceoff specialist’s performance Saturday against the Spiders was drastically better, though, as he won half of his 10 attempts.
The sophomore’s biggest highlight was unexpected.
Immediately after Richmond scored its first goal at the onset of the second half, Creter used his agility to win a faceoff with ease. He sprinted uncontested down the middle of the field with the ball in his stick and fired a lightning-quick shot into the right corner of the cage for his first career score.
“He’s a guy that has good ball skills. He can handle the ball, handle pressure, and that was one of the things that really attracted us to him,” Tillman said.
Tillman has stressed the importance of having multiple strong faceoff specialists this season due to an NCAA rule change stating that any faceoff man who commits a violation is ineligible to take the next faceoff. That situation didn’t arise on Saturday but is something to watch out for.
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Junior Mitchell Lloyd and freshman Jonah Carrier received playing time once the game was a blowout, with Lloyd losing his only faceoff attempt and Carrier winning both of his. The Terps hope that those two can improve by going against, and studying, Creter and Keethler in practice — similar to how the duo learned from Wierman last season.
“Sean’s a great guy. He works very hard, he’s been a great teammate,” fifth-year attacker Daniel Kelly said. “Shea kind of backed up Luke for a couple years. They learned a lot from him, going against him every day.”
One example of Wierman’s impact was Creter’s score. Wierman tallied 16 career goals throughout his four years at Maryland, with many looking similar to Creter’s.
Maryland’s new centerpieces at the X had moments of excellence against the Spiders. The duo will aim to keep the momentum going in a road matchup against Loyola on Saturday — a team that Wierman dominated in last season’s matchup.
“Those guys are only going to get better, [there were] some good moments in a lot of different ways for those guys,” Tillman said. “Still a lot to learn, but I think for today, just kind of getting that experience is only going to help down the road.”
