The Notre Dame men’s lacrosse team traveled to College Park to take on the Maryland Terrapins in a top-10 ranked matchup and came away with an 11-8 victory. The Irish were ranked No. 2 by Inside Lacrosse heading into the matchup, and the Terrapins were ranked No. 9. With the result, the Irish could have a chance to be No. 1 across all rankings.
The Irish got started right away after the Terrapins' senior star defenseman Will Schaller was called for a penalty, giving Notre Dame a man-up situation. They took advantage of the opportunity, graduate midfielder Will Angrick capitalizing on a shot from about 15 yards out to give the Irish a 1-0 lead. However, that was their lone goal of the quarter, and with the exception of the game against Bellarmine, Notre Dame has struggled in first quarters this season. They were able to achieve some solid looks, but Maryland’s senior goalkeeper Brian Ruppel picked up five saves and was a brick wall that quarter. The Terrapins scored two goals within a minute of each other to give them a 2-0 lead heading into the second quarter.
Much like the Georgetown game, the Irish came alive once the second quarter started. After hitting the crossbar on the previous possession, sophomore attacker Luke Miller ended Notre Dame’s 16-minute scoring drought with a nice goal off a fastbreak. The teams then traded blows. Graduate midfielder Jalen Seymour scored for the Irish, with graduate attacker Chris Lyons and junior midfielder Elijah Stobaugh scoring for the Terrapins, and the score was 4-3 Maryland with about seven minutes left in the quarter.
Then, Notre Dame went on a 3-0 run, largely led by junior attacker Brock Behrman, who scored two goals in that run for the Irish. Sophomore midfielder Matt Jeffrey also put together a good dodge to score one unassisted to give the Irish a 6-4 lead heading into the halftime locker room.
The run of goals continued into the second half as Notre Dame went on a 4-0 run to start the third quarter, giving the Irish seven unanswered. Sophomore attacker Luke Miller was everywhere for the Irish, picking up the first two goals of the quarter and then assisting Behrman on the next, both notching hat tricks on the day. Freshman attacker Teddy Lally also contributed a goal in the third quarter.
Maryland long stick midfielder senior AJ Larkin got one to end the quarter, but by then it was 10-5 Notre Dame, and the damage had already been done. An impressive aspect of the third quarter for the Irish was that they only went 2-6 on face-offs, they only forced two turnovers and they only recorded two saves. The Irish defense was incredibly effective at making the Terrapins hold the ball for a long time and bleed out the shot clock, and the offense was very efficient with the possessions they got.
Graduate attacker Josh Yago, the star of the Georgetown game, made his first appearance on the stat sheet at the beginning of the fourth quarter, getting an assist from Behrman — the last goal for Notre Dame. The Terrapins went on a 3-0 run to end the game, but the Irish lead proved to be too much, and Notre Dame came away with the victory.
Behrman and Miller starred for the Irish offense, Behrman picking up 3 goals and 3 assists, and Miller picking up 3 goals and 2 assists. 5-star freshman defender Christopher Iuliano was the star defenseman for Notre Dame, causing one turnover and picking up four ground balls. The team only forced seven turnovers in the game, and senior goalkeeper Thomas Riciardelli only made seven saves.
Maryland was forced to hold the ball for long periods of time, and that lack of aggression led to their demise. The star of the game for the Terrapins was senior FOGO Henry Dodge, as he went 12-14 on face-offs, and the Terrapins as a whole went 15-23, giving them many opportunities. They just struggled to get good shots off against a strong Notre Dame defense.
Alongside North Carolina, the team is currently ranked as the best in the country by Inside Lacrosse, giving the Irish a strong chance to leap into the No. 1 spot. Notre Dame will be on the road again for their next game, traveling to Columbus for a 2025 playoff rematch against the No. 10 Ohio State Buckeyes, who are coming off a 10-9 win against the Georgetown Hoyas.
