All-American Chris Kavanagh received the ball near the front of the cage, preparing to fire a shot to tie the game against No. 2 Maryland men’s lacrosse with only 23 seconds remaining.
But the Terps had their own All-American as the anchor of their defense. Goalkeeper Logan McNaney, a two-time honorable mention, shifted his body to remarkably block Kavanagh’s shot with his right foot. No. 1 Notre Dame’s final chance for overtime ended.
The Terps, whose three-goal fourth-quarter lead was trimmed to one within the final two minutes, defeated the Fighting Irish, 11-10, at Bobby Dodd Stadium on Saturday. The win for Maryland avenged its national championship loss last season and snapped its series skid.
“The whole environment felt like a Final Four environment which is pretty special,” coach John Tillman said.
McNaney, who had a poor 40 percent save rate in the title game, initially struggled in the second straight neutral-site clash. But he drastically improved as the game went on, finishing with 16 saves — including the effective win-sealer.
The entirety of the Maryland (5-0) offense, which scored only five goals in the last meeting, joined McNaney with an improved outing.
Senior attacker Eric Spanos led the offense with four points, after not scoring in the national championship, including a hat trick. He frequently drew multiple defenders and seemingly always made the correct call on whether to pass or seek his own shot.
[Maryland men’s lacrosse thrives with balanced, unselfish attack]
Fifth year attacker Daniel Kelly matched Spanos with a hat trick of his own. He’s scored multiple goals in every game this season.
While Maryland ended the game strong, it got off to a lethargic start for a second straight game.
Graduate student Jake Taylor put Notre Dame (3-1) up instantly with a backhanded shot. Senior Chris Kavanagh, who scored five times in the national championship, struck from just outside the crease on the next possession. The attacking duo scored a third of the Fighting Irish’s goals this season over their first three games.
Notre Dame continued to get looks near the cage as it dominated time of possession, winning all six faceoffs in the opening quarter. Former honorable mention Will Lynch dominated throughout the outing against the Terps’ duo of senior Shea Keethler and sophomore Sean Creter.
Despite the possession disparity, Maryland’s one-on-one play helped it keep close.
Spanos notched two scores in the first quarter, including one unassisted with just seven seconds remaining. Freshman attacker/midfielder Jack Schultz dashed past All-American midfielder Ben Ramsey and crushed a shot to tie the game four minutes into the second quarter. But the Terps still trailed 5-4 at halftime.
[Maryland men’s lacrosse’s second quarter dominance led to top-5 win over Princeton]
Maryland’s offense picked up its pace to begin the second half, peppering passes around the field and dictating possessions in a shift from the start of the inaugural half. A variety of players got involved as a result.
“We just needed to clean some things up,” Tillman said. “Better decisions, playing faster, being a little cleaner. Felt like the guys did that in the third quarter.”
Graduate student attacker Bryce Ford scored two straight goals to start the third quarter, once off a rocket cross-field pass from Spanos with the shot clock dwindling. Spanos added a fastbreak goal in the fourth off a Braden Erksa feed, which came shortly after the Atlanta native scored.
The Terps’ defense corroborated their offense for much of the third, keeping Notre Dame on the outside and forcing shots from tough angles. The Fighting Irish eventually broke through, as Kavanagh found openings in the middle of the field en route to three fourth-quarter scores.
But Maryland’s final score with just over five minutes left made the difference, when graduate student long-stick midfielder Jack McDonald sprinted down the middle and found a dashing Kelly dashing beside him.
The Terps became just the second team to defeat the Fighting Irish since the start of last season. They’ll likely move into the No. 1 spot in the newest release of the rankings with one of the most impressive wins of the campaign.
