John Tillman has thrived at beating the nation’s top teams his entire coaching career, but Saturday was one of his crowning moments.
No. 3 Maryland men’s lacrosse defeated Ohio State, who held Division I lacrosse’s longest winning streak and was ranked No. 2. The Terps are the lone squad to beat half of the top-10 teams in Inside Lacrosse’s rankings.
“What we kept reminding the guys is, you know, your recent memory is, yeah we’ve taken two losses, but let’s look big picture and you have competed with so many good teams,” Tillman said. “It’s like the NFL season, it’s rare that anybody goes undefeated.”
Maryland is averaging nearly two more goals a game against top-10 opponents compared to other teams. It scored 13 times against Ohio State, then-No. 7 Penn State and then-No. 5 Princeton, along with 11 goals against No. 2 Syracuse and No. 1 Notre Dame.
[Logan McNaney breaks Maryland men’s lacrosse saves record in 13-8 win over No. 2 Ohio State]
Tillman said the Terps had worked toward the side of the cage often in recent weeks, resulting in inferior shot angles. Maryland thrived in the middle of the field against the Buckeyes, using patient passing to create space.
Midfielders Bryce Ford and Matthew Keegan each recorded hat tricks, taking advantage of Ohio State’s limited help defense for its short-stick defenders. Ford’s biggest score broke a 15-minute scoring drought.
The graduate student sidestepped a defender before pushing toward the middle and firing a bouncing shot from well beyond the circle to stop a 4-0 Buckeyes’ scoring run.
“You gotta be able to stretch the field a little bit with your shooting [against a short stick],” Ford said back in March. “Try not to be someone who takes the same shot every single time … you gotta switch it up on goalies … I think that’s something that I try to do and try to work on.”
While the Terps’ defense hasn’t taken a statistical leap against premier teams like the offense, they shut down the Big Ten’s-top scoring unit on Saturday.
Maryland forced the ball to the perimeter, seldom allowing looks near the cage. Maryland rotated in sync and constantly kept bodies on conference-leading scorer Alex Marinier, holding the senior attacker scoreless.
[Top-ranked Maryland men’s lacrosse is off to historic start]
Goalie Logan McNaney recorded his tenth double-digit save effort this season, breaking Maryland’s all-time save record. The Terps’ defense generally funneled easy saves to McNaney, but the graduate student’s record-breaking save came on a point-blank shot.
The Terps’ 13 turnovers mostly came in their half-field offense, limiting Ohio State’s fastbreak opportunities. A dominant showing in the faceoff circle also helped McNaney.
Maryland won 60 percent of faceoffs, its highest mark in nearly two months. The Terps scored five unanswered goals in the second quarter, winning five of seven faceoffs in the frame.
“When we got on that run in the second, I felt like those guys definitely got us a lot of possessions,” Tillman said. “That can get your rhythm going, that can get your confidence and that can be huge … just gave our guys a big jolt.”
Maryland’s control in all phases against a red-hot team was a firm reminder of what it can do against the sports elites.
Despite the surprising losses they suffered recently, the Terps enter the final week of the regular season with arguably the most impressive resume in the nation, partly thanks to their elevation of play against top opponents.
