Skip To Main Content

University of Maryland Athletics

Team
8
Princeton PRIN 11-5
16
Winner Maryland UMD 9-5
Princeton PRIN
11-5
8
Final
16
Maryland UMD
9-5
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Princeton PRIN 1 2 3 2 8
Maryland UMD 4 7 1 4 16

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse |

No. 7 Terps Advance To NCAA Quarterfinals, Top Princeton 16-8

COLLEGE PARK, MD – No. 7 seed Maryland men's lacrosse advanced to the NCAA quarterfinals by beating Princeton, 16-8, on Saturday at SECU Stadium. Maryland (9-5) improved to 32-7 all-time in NCAA Tournament first-round games.

Maryland will play No. 2 Duke on May 18 at James M. Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, New York. The time of the game will be announced later and will be televised on ESPNU. 
  The Terps' energized offense started the game hot and built a lead Princeton (11-5) could not overcome. Maryland led 11-3 at halftime, and its 11 first-half goals were a season high. It was the most the Terps scored in a first-half NCAA Tournament game since leading Vermont 12-2 in the 2022 first round. Maryland's 16 goals in the game were also a season-high. 

Eric Spanos, Jack Koras (three goals and two assists) and Eric Malever (three goals and two assists) each scored hat tricks. Spanos scored a game-high four goals, matching his scoring output from the two schools' regular season matchup on Feb. 24. Koras's two assists were also a career-high. 
  The Maryland defense, led by Ajax Zappitello, caused nine turnovers. For most of the game, Zappitello matched up with Tigers' leading scorer, Coulter Mackesy, holding him to just one goal on nine shots. Zappitello caused a team-high three turnovers. Other defensive standouts included, A.J. Larkin, who had four groundballs and a caused turnover, along with Colin Burlace and Jack McDonald, who had three groundballs apiece. 
  Daniel Kelly (two goals and one assist), Daniel Maltz (two goals) and Ryan Siracusa (one goal and one assist) were the other Terps to finish with multiple points.  

Luke Wierman was almost unstoppable from the faceoff dot, winning 20-of-26 faceoffs. His 20 wins tied Brian Haggerty for the program record of most in a NCAA Tournament game. Wierman picked up 15 groundballs, which is also a program record for an NCAA Tournament game and a career-high. 

Logan McNaney made 11 saves for the Terps at goalie. 


Breaking Down The Action
  • Maryland led 4-1 at the end of the first quarter. Daniel Kelly scored twice, and Eric Spanos and Jack Koras added scores. The first goal of the game by Kelly was scored just nine minutes in. 
  • The Terps boasted a dominant 11-3 lead entering the locker room. Spanos and Koras scored twice in the quarter, giving them hat tricks. Eric Malever added two goals in the quarter, and Ryan Siracusa netted the other.
  • Maryland netted just one goal to Princeton's three in the third stanza. The goal was scored by Spanos, his fourth of the game. The Terps led 12-6 entering the final quarter. 
  • Malever scored his third goal of the game to join the hat trick party in the final frame. Daniel Maltz scored twice, and Owen Murphy also scored in the quarter.  
NCAA Numbers 
  • This was Maryland's 46th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and an NCAA-best 21st straight appearance.
  • In the team's 46 appearances, the program is now 70-41 all-time in the tournament, with 28 Final Four trips, 16 Championship Games and four National Championships.
  • Since 2011, under Coach Tillman, the Terps have made every tournament, gone 29-10, and earned nine championship weekend appearances.
  • The Terps are 32-7 all-time in NCAA Tournament first round games.
  • This marks the sixth time since the tournament began in 1971 that Maryland is the No. 7 seed. The Terps are 6-5 all-time as the seventh seed, including 4-2 in first round games.
  • The last time Maryland was the No. 7 seed was 2014. The Terps earned a Memorial Day weekend appearance by taking out Cornell in the first round and Bryant in the quarterfinals before falling to No. 6 seed Notre Dame in the semifinals. The first time the Terps were a No. 7 seed was 1982. 
  • The Terps were also named the No. 7 seed in 2007 and 2008. Maryland also had the seed in 1991, a year in which they made a run to the Semifinals with wins over Rutgers and No. 2 Brown.
Hat Trick Terps 
  • Eric Spanos scored a hat trick in the second quarter on Saturday. It was his fifth hat trick of the career and his third of the season. 
  • Jack Koras also posted a hat trick in the second quarter. It was the eighth hat trick of his career and third of the season.
  • Eric Malever joined the hat trick party in the fourth quarter. It was the fourth of his career and his second of the season. 
  • Braden Erksa (three), Daniel Maltz (three) and Daniel Kelly have also scored hat tricks this season. 
Multi Terps Update
  • Jack Koras (three goals and two assists) recorded his 21st multi-point game of his career. It was his 15th game scoring multiple goals and his first multi-assist game.
  • Eric Malever (three goals and two assists) had his 26th multi-point game. It was his 15th game with multiple goals. It was also his 17th game scoring multiple assists.
  • Eric Spanos (four goals) had the 14th multi-point game of his career. It was his 11th multi-goal game of his career.  
  • Daniel Kelly (two goals and one assist) had his 17th multi-point game of his career and his 12th game with multiple goals. 
  • Daniel Maltz (two goals) had his 44th multi-point and 32nd multi-goal game of his career. 
  • Ryan Siracusa (one goal and one assist) recorded the 10th multi-point game of his career.    
Terps In The Record Books
  • Luke Wierman became the program's all-time faceoff winner in the Terps' season opener. With 20 wins today, he added to his career total of 829. 
  • After adding 15 today, Wierman is second in Terps history with 448 career groundballs. He is chasing Andy Claxton (1989-92), who stands alone with 451 career groundballs.
  • Logan McNaney is fourth on the all-time saves list. With 11 in the game, he now has 556 for his career. Niko Amato (2011-14) is third on the list with 625 saves in his career.
  • Ajax Zappitello is 10th on the all-time caused turnovers list. He added three on Saturday, giving him 71 in his career. Ryan Clarke (2004-07) is in ninth place with 73 caused turnovers in his career. 
  • Daniel Maltz scored two goals to increase his career total to 114. He sits at No. 13 on the all-time list and is closing in on Jim Wilkerson (1980-83) with 117 goals. 
Get To 10 And Win
  • Since John Tillman took over the program in 2011, Maryland has won 159 of the 181 games in which it has scored 10 or more goals. 
  • Maryland is also 120-19 since 2015 when scoring at least 10 goals.
Single-Digit Defense
  • Maryland is 125-12 since Tillman took over the program in 2011, when it allows nine goals or less, including a 51-game winning streak from 2017 to April 20, 2024, when holding foes to less than 10 goals.
  • The Terps are 5-1 this season when holding opponents under 10 goals with wins over Loyola, Princeton, Ohio State and Rutgers.
Dominating The Series 
  • Maryland owns a 35-12-1 advantage over Princeton and is 7-0 since John Tillman took over the Terps in 2011. 
  • The Terps and Tigers met earlier this season on Feb. 24, with the Terps coming out on top, 13-7, thanks to a four-goal effort from Eric Spanos and a 20-of-23 performance at the faceoff dot from Luke Wierman. 
  • The two teams last met in the NCAA Tournament in the 2022 semifinals when the No. 1 Terps won 13-8 over the No. 5 seed Tigers. The win brought the Terps to 17-0 on the season before they completed the perfect season and claimed the National Championship. 
  • The Terps won the series' first six games, beginning in 1927. They had a series-best nine-game win streak from 1954-62. 
Numbers To Know    
  • 2: Jack Koras recorded a career high two assists. 
  • 4: Eric Malever has four hat tricks in his career. 
  • 5: Eric Spanos has five hat tricks in his career. 
  • 7: Maryland's seven goals in the second quarter were the most scored in any quarter this season. 
  • 8: Koras has eight hat tricks in his career. 
  • 11: Maryland's 11 first-half goals was a season high. 
  • 12: Daniel Maltz has scored a point in all 12 games he has appeared in this season. 
  • 12: Daniel Kelly has 12 multi-goal games in his career. 
  • 13: Spanos has scored a point in 13 of 14 games this season.
  • 15: Luke Wierman picked up 15 groundballs, setting a new program record in an NCAA Tournament game. 
  • 16: Wierman has 16 career games with 10 or more groundballs. 
  • 16: Maryland's 16 goals scored were a season high.
  • 20: Wierman's 20 faceoff wins tied Brian Haggerty for a program record in an NCAA Tournament game. 
  • 21: This was Maryland's 21st consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.  
  • 32: Maltz has 32 multi goal games in his career. 
  • 51: Wierman won 20 face-offs to give him his 51st career game with 10 or more wins in a game.
Up Next
  • Maryland will play No. 2 Duke on May 18 at James M. Shuart Stadium in Hempstead, New York. The time of the game will be announced later and will be televised on ESPNU.
Print Friendly Version