Maryland men’s lacrosse blew a one-goal lead to Loyola with mere seconds remaining, creating a sudden death situation.
Senior Shea Keethler won the overtime face-off. Then, Binghamton transfer Matthew Keegan maneuvered around the cage and fired a shot into the corner of the goal.
The Terps, who trailed by three goals entering the fourth quarter, overcame early woes to top the Greyhounds, 8-7, at the Ridley Athletic Complex on Saturday.
No. 4 Maryland (2-0) endured 18 turnovers, shot under 26 percent and struggled to find passing lanes and angles for looks throughout the majority of the game. But its offense awoke after the first 45 minutes.
“Early on … the ball movement was slow,” Keegan said. “Definitely wanted to bump the tempo in the second half and not let them get set in their defense. That definitely helped us a lot, getting the ball moving side to side. It just really opened the field for us and let us make more plays.”
The Terps moved the ball with much more precision to rattle off four goals within the first six minutes of the fourth period, including a hat trick from senior attacker Eric Spanos. Open shots started to come, a result of decisive moving and passing from their overall unit.
After Loyola (0-2) evened the score with less than six minutes remaining, fifth year attacker Daniel Kelly came free in the middle of the field to strike for his fifth goal of the season, putting Maryland back in front.
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But sophomore attacker Kenan Everhart scored with only two seconds left in regulation to force overtime, aggressively driving around the cage to find a small angle and fire a rapid strike past goalkeeper Logan McNaney.
McNaney didn’t need to make a save in overtime — the Greyhounds’ offense never gained possession.
The graduate student, who allowed 12 goals and tore his ACL in Baltimore two years ago, starred early before allowing a four-spot in the second quarter. He responded with an admirable finish, totaling a .588 save rate.
McNaney’s counterpart, junior Max Watkinson, excelled through the first three quarters with nine saves and only two goals allowed for Loyola. But he struggled to close, faltering as the Terps’ offense improved.
Seven of Watkinson’s saves came in the first quarter. Maryland’s tenacious attack eventually delivered, though, scoring the lone goal of the frame over 11 minutes in when Kelly drilled a look into the bottom right corner of the net.
The Terps’ lead didn’t last long. The Greyhounds struck less than four minutes into the second quarter en route to a three-goal spurt.
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Sophomore attacker Kenan Everhart patiently maneuvered around the cage before swiftly turning to drill a high shot toward the net. Sophomore attacker Matthew Minicus rode a defender toward the side of the cage before scoring on a dive in front of the crease only a few minutes later. Minicus fed junior midfielder Luke Murphy shortly after.
Maryland’s defense looked lost as Loyola got numerous shots inside the circle, a contrast from last week when it dictated possessions in a blowout win. The Greyhounds’ offensive approach changed, going down the middle and around the cage successfully.
The Terps scored to snap the run, but endured a defensive disaster right before the end of the first half.
Junior attacker Henry Haberman struck from a few feet outside the cage with only nine seconds left out of a timeout. The score gave Loyola a 4-2 lead at the break as the Terps couldn’t match their first first-half shutout since 2015 from last week.
“They did a great job with long possessions, milking the clock down, working us down,” coach John Tillman said. “It does gas your defense, so great strategy. And then when you get a goal at the end of the clock, like one of the ones they got, it’s just such a confidence boost. Obviously puts a lot of stress on your defense.”
Junior midfielder Brady West steered around the X before cutting toward the cage and drilling a shot into the corner of the goal to extend the advantage midway through the third quarter as the lone score of the frame.
Then, Maryland went on its huge run in the fourth to ultimately steal the win after regulation — its fourth overtime victory since the start of last season.
“We just kept trying to grind. Early season lacrosse, that’s kind of how it is, like you’re not going to be the same team in May,” Tillman said. “To go on the road and just kind of find a way to win definitely will help us. But a lot we can learn from.”
