No. 3-seed Maryland men’s lacrosse fends off No. 6-seed Rutgers with 13-10 win, advances to Big Ten semifinals

“I thought [Brian] started super hot tonight. That was huge for us because he kind of bailed us out early,” head coach John Tillman said. “Offensively, we got 14 shots in the first. … We just didn’t can shots.”

Maryland’s near 15-minute scoring drought ended in the final moments of the first quarter. After a strong defensive stand, Trevor Owens heaved the ball across the field. Eric Spanos outmuscled his defender for the loose ball and buried a shot with three seconds remaining.

That goal propelled the Terps to a 2-0 lead at the conclusion of the first quarter.

After being held scoreless for 22 minutes, Rutgers’ offense awoke. The Scarlet Knights’ leading goalscorer, Colin Kurdyla, notched his first goal in three games, and Rutgers added a trio of second-quarter goals.

But Maryland’s supporting cast helped it keep pace. Jack Schultz recorded just his second goal of the season before AJ Larkin and Spencer Ford scored to keep the Terps’ two-goal advantage intact. Still, the 6-4 halftime lead was far from comfortable.

While the Terps rattled off three unanswered goals in the third quarter to open up a commanding lead, Rutgers didn’t waver.

Kurdyla and Scarlet Knights attacker David Carroll sparked the comeback with a trio of goals in a nine-minute span early in the fourth quarter. With just over four minutes remaining, Maryland’s lead was suddenly trimmed to two.

When the Terps needed an answer, Johnson stepped up, logging his ninth multi-score game of the season to halt Rutgers’ momentum.

Just 69 seconds later, Johnny Gardiner swung the ball to Braden Erksa behind the cage. Erksa wrapped around the crease and fired the close-range effort into the near post.

Those two goals stamped Maryland’s victory. Despite the Terps conceding double-digit goals for the first time since March 21, nine different goalscorers helped them survive Rutgers’ five-goal fourth-quarter.

“The fourth quarter [was] a little spotty there at times. Definitely some things you want to clean up, giving up five there,” Tillman said. “For the second quarter, some self-inflicted wounds that we just got to clean up.”

Three things to know

1. Extra possessions fuel Maryland. While the Terps’ offense has been far from efficient this season, it generated more looks through a dominant faceoff unit and extra effort. Maryland secured 20 of the game’s 27 faceoffs and added 29 ground balls to keep Rutgers pinned in its defensive half.

2. Spanos runs the show. During his time on the field this season, Spanos has typically operated as the team’s premier attacker. But on Saturday, the Tewaaraton Award nominee facilitated Maryland’s offense, dishing out a season-high three assists alongside two goals to guide the Terps to victory.

3. Redemption opportunity. Maryland suffered just two losses during conference play, and its first came in convincing fashion. The Terps’ four-goal loss to Penn State was its worst defeat of the regular season, despite a late-game comeback effort. Maryland gets its shot to avenge that loss on Thursday in the semifinals.