Maryland men’s lacrosse entered Friday on two separate regular-season losing streaks, to unranked opponents and Johns Hopkins, respectively. There were no concerns about the Terps’ motivation, though: they needed a win to earn a bye in the Big Ten tournament and a victory in “The Rivalry” results in a crab-shaped trophy.
No. 3 Maryland (10-2, 3-2 Big Ten) snapped both skids against its rival. The Terps defeated the Blue Jays, 11-8, at SECU Stadium, rebounding from a five-goal showing against Johns Hopkins last season.
“I thought our guys did a good job of spacing, trying to kind of get everybody involved, make the extra pass,” Maryland coach John Tillman said. “We don’t have one unselfish dude on this team … that’s one of the things I love about this group, is everybody’s so selfless.”
Attacker Braden Erksa led the Terps with a season-high four goals. The junior — who scored four times against Johns Hopkins during his freshman campaign — has struggled with shooting and ball-handling. He entered the season on the Tewaaraton Award Watch List as one of the top players in the nation, but didn’t make the final 25 honorees.
Friday was a reminder of how talented Erksa — and Maryland’s offense — is when it’s clicking. Erksa’s biggest score came on his signature acrobatic-jumping shot to extend the Terps late fourth-quarter lead.
“These are the games you come here for,” Erksa said. “It’s awesome to make those kinds of plays in games like that and put your teammates in a position to win.”
[Maryland men’s lacrosse seeks another key win against rival Johns Hopkins]
But even Erksa was held scoreless in the team’s matchup last season. Former All-American Chayse Ierlan stifled the Terps, as he saved over 70 percent of shots on goal in his best performance of the year.
And against unranked teams, Maryland’s offense has struggled. It has scored nearly two less goals per game against unranked opponents compared to ranked teams.
But with Ierlan graduating, Johns Hopkins (6-7, 0-5) has transformed from the best defense in the Big Ten to the worst.
Junior Oran Gelinas entered with a record of 1-4 in the cage, allowing nearly 11 goals a game. The transfer notched a career-high 20 saves against Maryland, but was under constant duress as the Terps’ offense attacked him in multiple ways.
Fifth-year attacker Daniel Kelly opened scoring for the third straight game with a goal just outside the crease. Then, freshman Jonah Carrier won a bout at the X before firing a shot for Maryland’s next score — the first of his career and the Terps’ third from a faceoff specialist this season.
[Maryland men’s lacrosse plays its best against elite opponents]
Maryland’s offense consistently used quick passes to keep the Blue Jays’ defense off-balance, akin to last week’s win over Ohio State. Six different players scored, helping compensate for uncharacteristic Logan McNaney’s struggles.
The new leader in all-time saves at Maryland stopped only half of shots on goal. Many of Johns Hopkins’ scores came near the crease, an area McNaney has defended at an elite clip this season. But the Terps surrendered only one fourth-quarter goal, allowing their offense to take command.
“[Preventing] back-to-back goals is a big deal to us,” junior defensive-midfielder Eric Kolar said. “Talking about the offense, like we just have faith if we’re going to get a stop, we’re gonna get them the ball and they’re gonna score.”
Maryland’s attack was inconsistent much of last season before picking it up late en route to a national championship appearance. Now after two impressive victories, this season is following a familiar script.
