No. 7 Maryland men’s lacrosse at No. 13 Johns Hopkins preview

Players to watch

Hunter Chauvette, junior attacker, No. 91 — The Blue Jays’ offense runs through Chauvette’s stick. Inside Lacrosse’s No. 22-ranked class of 2024 prospect has excelled in his time at Johns Hopkins. Chauvette followed up a standout freshman campaign with a 23-goal, eight-assist season in 2025. He was just scratching the surface of his potential, though.

Chauvette has cemented himself among the Big Ten’s most prolific scorers this season. His 30 goals rank second in the conference and tied for 27th-most nationally. The formula to beat Hopkins is clear — Chauvette has scored five combined goals across four losses.

Matt Collison, senior midfielder, No. 16 — Collison’s 6-foot-4 frame makes him a matchup nightmare for opposing defenders. The No. 13 pick in the 2026 Premier Lacrosse League Draft has bagged at least 20 goals in every season. Collison is also third on the team with 11 assists, making him a versatile midfield weapon.

Oran Gelinas, senior goalkeeper, No. 87 — After transferring in from Ohio State, Gelinas’ path to the starting role was bumpy. But once he got his shot between the pipes, the 6-foot-4, 225-pound netminder proved to be irreplaceable. Gelinas has taken his game to the next level this season, racking up the fourth-highest save percentage (58.4%) in the country.

Strength

Producing comebacks. While Johns Hopkins isn’t an elite team in any metric, they’ve proven that no lead is safe. The Blue Jays have clawed out of seven and five-goal second-half deficits to storm back and beat Virginia and then-No. 6 Penn State, respectively. When Johns Hopkins gets on a roll, it is a tough team to stop.

Weakness

Faceoff depth. Following the departure of last season’s top faceoff specialist, the Blue Jays haven’t found much success at the X. Joe Hobot’s 54.2% faceoff win percentage isn’t bad by any means, but there is a steep drop-off after him. Without a clear second option at X, Johns Hopkins ranks 52nd nationally with a 47.8% faceoff win rate.

Three things to watch

1. Strong start. Maryland isn’t a team that likes to play from behind, and that’s been proven this season. The Terps are 5-1 when leading after the first quarter — the lone loss coming to No. 1 Notre Dame. But in the two games it trailed after 15 minutes, Maryland failed to come back.

2. Can Maryland control the X? The Terps’ biggest advantage heading into Saturday’s contest is their faceoff unit. Between Henry Dodge and Jonah Carrier, Maryland boasts the fourth-best faceoff win percentage (61.2%) in the country. If the Terps can go on a run through their faceoff domination, it’ll be a long road back for Johns Hopkins.

3. Two stout defenses. Maryland’s defense has been easily one of the hottest in the country, fueling its late-season surge. The Terps have held three consecutive Big Ten opponents to single-digit goals, leading to their top-15 scoring defense mark. But Johns Hopkins isn’t far off, conceding only 9.6 goals per game.