Maryland men’s lacrosse was locked in a tie with Princeton after a back-and-forth opening quarter. A tight contest between the top-five teams seemed likely.
Then coach John Tillman’s squad held the Tigers scoreless in the second quarter, paving the way for a comfortable 13-9 win in New Jersey. The victory kept Tillman undefeated in eight matchups with Princeton.
The shift began in the face-off game.
Sean Creter fought for the ball to give the Terps opening possession of the quarter. The sophomore won his next clash a few minutes later off a Princeton violation. Creter and senior Shea Keethler combined to win 80 percent of faceoffs in the second after winning just three of nine in the previous quarter.
“Early on, I thought they took it to us and then the kids settled down,” Tillman said. “They were just a step faster, and then face offs were really kind of taken to us a little bit and our guys responded.”
[Maryland men’s lacrosse’s Logan McNaney’s path to No. 1 came through a steadfast attitude]
While Maryland didn’t score right after winning bouts at the X, it did control possession. That allowed the Terps’ defense — which was frequently late to the ball under constant pressure in the opening quarter — time to prepare as the Tigers had less breakaway opportunities.
Princeton had only four shots on goal in the second, following seven in the inaugural quarter.
Maryland didn’t pressure much, instead strategically keeping the ball funneled away from the middle of the field. The Terps kept high sticks in passing lanes and stayed in position, forcing the Tigers to attack from the outside, unlike the first quarter.
Goalkeeper Logan McNaney’s anticipation improved as shots came from further and at more difficult angles. The graduate student came back from a rocky start, saving 12 of Princeton’s 21 shots on frame.
“We’re a little bit of a more experienced group this year now on the defensive end, so we kind of know each other’s tendencies,” McNaney said. “They know what I like to see… kind of play around that, according to what the other team is going to do. [The defense] make my job a lot easier.”
[No. 2 Maryland men’s lacrosse tops No. 5 Princeton in top-five clash, 13-9]
Maryland’s offense capitalized on the chance to build a lead with its defense dominating.
Four Terps scored in the frame as Maryland relentlessly attacked the cage. The first two goals both came close to the net — fifth-year attacker Daniel Kelly followed a save with a shot at point-blank range, then junior attacker Braden Erksa rebounded a ricochet and easily scored from just outside the crease.
Maryland’s last two goals of the quarter showed its offensive versatility.
New Jersey native Jack Schultz dashed toward the middle of the field and beat his defender before firing a strike for his first goal. Senior midfielder Zach Whittier notched the final score of the quarter after looping around the cage, dusting his defender and receiving a perfect pass from graduate student attacker Bryce Ford.
The Terps, yet again, found themselves in a back-and-forth battle early. But with a commanding second quarter, they proved their ability to pull away from top opponents at any point.
