No. 1 Maryland men’s lacrosse notched three straight top-five wins, including over then top-ranked Notre Dame. It faced an unranked foe on Saturday, its first in exactly a month.

The Terps handled Delaware with ease. They got off to a hot start and coasted, blowing out the Blue Hens, 14-3, at SECU Stadium.

Senior Shea Keethler and sophomore Sean Creter entered the day having won just over half of their faceoffs this season in split duties, though they struggled last time out against Notre Dame.

The duo won half their bouts at the X against Delaware’s OJ Morris, who entered with a Division I leading 77 percent faceoff win percentage.

With Maryland controlling a decent amount of possessions, its offense found an immediate rhythm. Seven different players scored as the Terps recorded 12 more shots than the Blue Hens, outshooting an opponent for the first time in three weeks.

The Blue Hens focused on stopping fifth-year Daniel Kelly — who entered the day with multiple goals in every game this season — as part of their zone defense. The attacker was held scoreless but drew massive attention, allowing others to find openings with and without the ball.

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“We definitely put more into getting ready for zone,” coach John Tillman said. “They short-sticked Daniel Kelly, that was something we practiced with the guys. … Daniel does a really good job moving off the ball and setting good picks.”

The offense shined early with impressive ball movement.

Maryland struck twice in the first five minutes. It attacked all around the cage and swung the ball at a quick pace, leading to players coming free in the middle to score easily off decisive passes — a theme throughout.

Transfer attackers Matthew Keegan and Bryce Ford each scored on wide open looks in the first quarter. Keegan notched a first-half hat trick, while Ford added two scores.

“[Keegan] can go both hands, he can get to the goal, he can feed,” senior midfielder Zach Whittier said. “Him and Bryce have been great line mates for me. Just having two guys that can do so much has been really helpful.”

Delaware only faced a 3-1 deficit after the opening quarter despite being dominated in almost every stat. Graduate student goalkeeper Kevin Ellington made multiple saves at point-blank range with remarkable anticipation to bail out a flailing defense.

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Ellington’s counterpart, All-American Logan McNaney, finished with a 84 percent save rate in another strong effort as the Terps’ protector throughout the day. He wasn’t under much pressure, though, due to an offense dictating time of possession.

Whittier led the unit with a career-best five points, seemingly always making the correct call with the ball. Senior attacker Eric Spanos, recently added to the Tewaaraton Award Watch List, added three first-half assists to help the Terps build a seven-goal halftime lead.

Maryland built that advantage because its defense consistently forced the ball to stay on the perimeter.

Delaware rarely got open looks near the cage, leading to poor shots and erratic passes. The Terps were tenacious in their hustle with 12 more ground balls secured, leaving the Blue Hens little chance for extra shots to try and trim the deficit.

“I thought our wing play was great — Jack McDonald, Thomas Gravino, AJ Larkin,” Tillman said. “All those guys had some really big ground balls for us, so [faceoffs] ended up being a little bit more of a tie-up at times. That wing play was huge for us, we’ll need that going forward.”

Maryland handily improved to 6-0 for the fourth time under Tillman since he took over in 2011. The Terps enter the next matchup with rival No. 20 Virginia next week as one of the hottest teams in the country.