FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts — Maryland men’s lacrosse allowed a goal to Syracuse less than a minute in on Saturday. It looked like the Orange’s sixth-ranked scoring offense — which put up 19 goals in the previous round — may have found answers against the Terps’ defense.

Then Syracuse didn’t score for almost 27 minutes. Maryland capitalized with eight scores in the span.

The No. 2-seed Terps tallied half of the turnovers and over double the shots on goal of the Orange at halftime. They rode the dominant stretch to a 14-8 win over No. 6-seed Syracuse in the NCAA tournament semifinals at Gillette Stadium.

Maryland’s win clinched its second-straight national championship appearance and fourth in the last five seasons. The Terps face No. 1-seed Cornell on Monday, who defeated No. 5-seed Penn State on Saturday.

“If you break down that run, a lot of different hands in that scoring,” graduate student midfielder Bryce Ford said. “I think every single time we came back to the sideline, it was just, ‘Be patient, make sure we make the extra pass and get the best shot of the possession.’”

The Terps tripled the Orange’s shots on goal in the first quarter. Junior goalkeeper Jimmy McCool saved multiple open looks early, but Maryland countered with varied shot placements. 

Senior Eric Spanos looped around the cage and fought through contact, using a bouncing shot for the Terps’ opening score. The attacker finished with four goals, thriving one-on-one and in transition. 

[7 Maryland men’s lacrosse players earn All-American honors]

Spanos had help, with seven other players scoring. Ford said Maryland initially focused on shooting low, but pivoted to attacking the top right side of the cage.

Sophomore midfielder Elijiah Stobaugh followed Spanos’ score with a high shot from the outside before junior long-stick midfielder AJ Larkin drilled a shot in transition. The Orange had six first-half turnovers, including an ugly one from their star.  

A penalty left the Terps man-down for 30 seconds, but senior midfielder Geordy Holmes stole the ball from Joey Spallina on the perimeter. Junior Aidan Aitken, part of Maryland’s second-midfield unit, took advantage with a strike from the middle for his fifth goal of the season.

“We scored in a variety of ways, a lot of different guys, but that’s kind of been our identity all year,” coach John Tillman said. “We don’t really have to rely on one guy.”

The Terps’ defense had time to recuperate throughout. Maryland won four more faceoffs than Syracuse, who entered sixth nationally in that stat. 

Senior Shea Keethler bounced back from a winless performance at the X, winning 75 percent of faceoffs. The Orange’s John Mullen won under half of bouts at the X for the second-straight week, keeping pressure on Syracuse’s half-field offense. 

Schaller shuts down Spallina 

Will Schaller made only eight starts across his first two seasons, but earned a first team All-American nod this year after guarding opposing teams’ top attackers. One of his most impressive performances came against Spallina in February.

[In first meeting since 2012, Maryland men’s lacrosse tops Georgetown, 9-6, in second round]

Schaller held Spallina, Syracuse’s leader in points and a second team All-American, to just two points in the team’s first matchup. Schaller often pushed Spallina to the sides of the cage, where help defense waited. 

Saturday was a similar story. 

Spallina had three turnovers and scored his only point via an assist with under 10 seconds left. Schaller again kept him away from openings in the middle, forcing him to beat help defense on the outside to find space in front of the cage.

“That guy [Schaller] has worked so hard and he’s made so many juice plays for us this year,” Tillman said.

Graduate student goalkeeper Logan McNaney had 14 saves in another strong effort. The second team All-American had time to anticipate with the Orange’s shots coming primarily from the perimeter, similar to the team’s first clash.

McNaney never let Syracuse get within four goals in the second half. The Terps stifled top-15 attacks in consecutive weeks, but face their largest test yet next — Cornell boasts the nation’s top-scoring offense.