No. 10 Maryland men’s lacrosse’s postseason chances hang in the balance

Photo by Lauren Epstein/Testudo Times

It was always going to be an uphill battle for No. 10 Maryland men’s lacrosse to earn an NCAA Tournament bid following the program’s worst start since 1993.

A three-game losing streak during nonconference play left the Terps practically playing with their backs against the wall for the remainder of the regular season. While it navigated one of the premier lacrosse conferences with a winning record, the margin for error remained small.

Maryland suffered road losses to then-No. 9 Penn State and then-No. 13 Johns Hopkins during Big Ten play, hurting its chances of an at-large selection. Still, the Terps picked up a pair of ranked wins to close out the regular season.

The path for Maryland’s postseason berth remains straightforward: a conference tournament title would slot it as one of the 10 automatic qualifiers.

But if Maryland fails to run the table with three victories in eight days, it hopes to accomplish a feat that hasn’t been done since 2019. No team has secured an at-large bid with six losses over the last five tournaments.

While the Terps have positioned themselves firmly in bubble consideration — projections have Maryland as one of the last two teams in — their resume lacks a marquee win to separate them from the rest of the field.

It’s not like the Terps haven’t had the opportunities either; they’ve faced half of the current top ten teams. Maryland dropped games to No. 1 Notre Dame, No. 2 Princeton and No. 6 Syracuse during nonconference play by a combined six goals.

Maryland’s best victory came against No. 8 Virginia, though the Cavaliers were unranked at the time. It was far from a statement win. The Terps blew a three-goal fourth-quarter lead and needed heroics from Leo Johnson with 39 seconds left to force overtime. Zach Whittier’s game-winner in the third extra period rescued Maryland’s home victory.

That head-to-head win could factor into the selection committee’s decision when they sort through the at-large candidates. The Terps were slotted ahead of Virginia in the committee’s initial top ten reveal on April 18.

Maryland currently boasts the fourth-highest strength of schedule and 10th-best RPI, which is ahead of bubble contenders Harvard, Penn State and Yale.

The Crimson’s recent form doesn’t help their case — they’ve lost four of their last five games after an 8-0 start. Still, a top-five win over Syracuse and defeats to only ranked opponents strengthen Harvard’s claim as a tournament-worthy team.