Logan McNaney has played in 61 games at Maryland and only two contests have gone worse for the star goalkeeper than last season’s national championship game against Notre Dame. The Terps’ goalie allowed the third most goals in his career during Maryland men’s lacrosse 15-5 loss.
Nearly 10 months later, McNaney dominated No. 1 Notre Dame in the rematch on Saturday. The graduate student saved 16 shots and held the Fighting Irish offense to just 10 goals in the Terps’ 11-10 win.
McNaney entered the rematch allowing 7.25 goals per game, the eighth-best mark in the country. His best showing came against Notre Dame, when he notched a season-high 16 saves. The Terps became the second team to beat the Fighting Irish since the beginning of last season.
“He’s very competitive, yet he’s not an emotional roller coaster,” coach John Tillman said. “Good things are going to happen, bad things are going to happen, it doesn’t really change his outlook.”
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But McNaney struggled in the opening minutes for the second straight week. His anticipation improved as the game progressed — a common theme so far this season.
He was under constant duress in the first quarter as Notre Dame commanded possession time and attempted multiple shots near the cage.
McNaney remained composed, forcing attackers to attempt perfect shots. The former All-American held Notre Dame scoreless for more than 10 minutes in the first period.
“One of my biggest attributes is that I stay calm, cool, poised,” McNaney said. “Letting off body language that exemplifies that can help guys … kind of reassuring guys that we’re going to be okay, we’re going to come back, we’re going to win this game.”
He’s had dominant stretches in Maryland’s last three games, each wins against top-five opponents. He held Syracuse to two goals in the second half, kept Princeton scoreless in the second quarter and slowed the Fighting Irish’s fast start on Saturday.
“Every time, you know Logan McNaney is going to play great,” graduate long-stick midfielder Jack McDonald said. “Every time he gets a couple saves, he steals a couple, it always gets the bench up.”
[Maryland men’s lacrosse’s Logan McNaney’s path to No. 1 came through a steadfast attitude]
McNaney surrendered only one goal in the third quarter as the Terps’ defense clogged lanes in the middle, granting him more time to react. Maryland also won the faceoff battle in the frame, 4-2, after winning 18 percent of clashes at the X in the first half.
Notre Dame had just seven shots in the third, struggling to create breakaway chances without leverage in the faceoff game.
But the Fighting Irish won the face-off battle in the fourth quarter. They controlled the ball for a majority of the period, putting immense pressure on McNaney.
The goalie allowed four goals in the frame, but also saved seven shots. His final save was the biggest.
Notre Dame attacker Chris Kavanagh received the ball near the front of the cage with only 23 seconds left, looking to tie the game. The All-American, who scored 13 goals this season, fired a shot at point-blank range.
McNaney rotated over and remarkably stuck out his right foot to block the attacker’s shot, sealing the Terps’ victory.
Maryland hopes to have a real shot at its second national championship in four years with its goalie returning to an elite level after playing through multiple injuries last season.
