No. 2 Maryland men’s lacrosse rapidly fell into a hole against No. 5 Princeton. The Terps, who endured first-half deficits in each of their last two games, needed another spurt to continue their series dominance with the Tigers.

Coach John Tillman’s team did just that.

Matthew Keegan and Aidan Aitken evened the score before the first quarter ended. Daniel Kelly followed with a strike just over two minutes into the next frame, the extension of a six-goal run that took control of the outing as Maryland topped Princeton, 13-9, at Class of 1952 Stadium on Saturday.

“Kind of methodically, it wasn’t one thing, it was a play here and a play there,” Tillman said. “The defense settled in. As the faceoff guys got better it gave our defense a little more of a break, our offense guys got more rhythm.”

Senior attacker Eric Spanos scored only once after notching eight goals against the Tigers last season. He didn’t need to star this time around, though, as eight different Terps scored in the victory en route to a season-high 13 goals.

Maryland’s domination in last season’s series, a pair of comfortable wins, largely came through the faceoff game — Luke Wierman won 40 of 49 bouts at the X. Without the former All-American, sophomore Sean Creter and senior Shea Keethler each saw time and combined to win 16 of 26 faceoffs.

[Maryland men’s lacrosse’s Logan McNaney’s path to No. 1 came through a steadfast attitude]

The duo improved after losing six of the first seven faceoffs, which let the Tigers (1-1) get off to a 4-3 lead just under 10 minutes in. There was little defensive resistance from either side early.

After Maryland (4-0) scored on its opening possession, Princeton responded with three scores within two minutes, the first time the Tigers led in the series since the 2004 NCAA quarterfinals. Senior attacker Coulter Mackesy, a Tewaaraton Award watch list honoree, scored one goal and assisted another.

“I think it was more of a mental check in,” goalkeeper Logan McNaney said. “We’re going to be fine, we’re going to come back, we’re going to get hit with things, we’re going to go on runs, they’re going to go on runs — trying to stay neutral in that process.”

Junior attacker Braden Erksa, the Terps’ leading scorer from a season ago, answered Princeton’s spurt with an agile move from the X to find a short angle to the net. That started the three-zero run to end the quarter, as Maryland’s on-ball pressure increased and its offense controlled the tempo with rapid passes around the cage.

The shift intensified in the second quarter. It worked in unison with strong Terps defense.

The Tigers didn’t hold much possession in the period. The few times they effectively pushed toward the cage, McNaney anticipated with precision to keep Princeton scoreless in the frame. The graduate student finished with 12 saves in another strong effort.

[Maryland men’s lacrosse proved its contender status in Syracuse win]

“He’s the best in the business, he’s unbelievable,” Kelly said. “He leads that group down there, he does a great job. We knew he was going to settle in.”

Maryland’s offense took advantage of McNaney’s excellence, starting with Kelly’s eighth goal of the season, Erksa’s sixth and two more from freshman Jack Schultz and senior Zach Whittier.

Sophomore attackers Colin Burns and Nate Kabiri both struck shortly into the second half to end the Tigers’ drought as the start of the third quarter looked similar to the beginning of the game. But the Terps responded again with multiple scores to maintain a comfortable lead.

Schultz, a New Jersey native, added another goal late in the fourth to cap the offense’s outing and the best showing of his young career.

Maryland secured a second consecutive top-five victory, improving Tillman to 8-0 against Princeton. The Terps have another test up next, facing No. 1 Notre Dame next weekend in a national championship rematch.

“We definitely look at this film, kind of clean some things up, but to go on the road and beat a really good team, I’m proud of our guys,” Tillman said.