Making Their Mark

Maryland is often the first state to come to mind when many people think of lacrosse in the U.S. Others would go further and refer to Maryland as the lacrosse capital of the world. Still, it's a topic that causes debate among the lacrosse community, especially for those on the East Coast.

What one cannot deny, though, is the history of accomplishment that the University of Maryland men’s lacrosse program holds. The university has produced 45 conference titles, 29 NCAA Final Fours, 522 All-Americans, and 13 national championships in its 99 seasons, and its success attracts many student-athletes from the area.

Of the 50 players on its roster, 15 hail from the state of Maryland, which is by far the most of any state. However, there’s a state with significant representation among the few that aren't on the East Coast. Ryan Siracusa, Eric Malever, and Braden Erksa make up a trio of offensive starters from Georgia.

Siracusa (Alpharetta), Malever (Atlanta), and Erksa (Marietta) are not only from the same state, but they also grew up living no more than 30 minutes away from each other. 

 “I feel like I've just known them forever,” Siracusa said. “There aren’t that many big names in the Atlanta area, and you sort of just get a sense of who's going to play at the college level, and you start interacting with them more.”

Siracusa, a graduate student, and Malever, a senior, played lacrosse together when they were young. Both student-athletes later befriended Erksa, a sophomore, when they both entered high school. Erksa attended Lassiter High School and Siracusa attended its rival, Centennial High School.

“It's a tight-knit community, and we had those rivalries,” Erksa said. “You play summer with these guys, and in the spring when you go back to your high school teams, you want to win so you have something to brag about over the summer. I even still brag to this day about never losing to Ryan Siracusa.”

The trio would become much closer when they all played for LB3 Thunder, one of the top lacrosse clubs in Georgia. They played on separate teams as all were a grade apart. but interacted with each other through the program.

Siracusa, Malever, and Erksa say their relationship with each other was one of the driving forces in their decisions to become a Terp. Now, they share the field and are representing an area of the country that is often overlooked for its lacrosse talent.

“It's really cool because we all love Atlanta, and we take pride in where we’re from,” Malever said. “I think it's really cool to represent that area knowing lacrosse is not as big of a sport there as some of these East Coast cities. It's almost like saying, hey, we can do this too.”

Georgia loves its football. When football is out of season, it's baseball and basketball that take over. The Atlanta area is traditionally not known for lacrosse, but the trio says it's a rapidly growing sport in nearby communities. Maryland’s head coach, John Tillman, has capitalized.

All three received coaching from big names in the lacrosse industry. It all started with many of them moving south and developing the sport in local communities.

Andy Pons, a Baltimore native, is the director of Thunder Lacrosse and has an extensive background coaching lacrosse in the Atlanta area. His son, Mac Pons, played lacrosse at Maryland from 2014-17 and won a national championship.

Liam Banks played at Syracuse and founded LB3 Lacrosse (later merged with Thunder Lacrosse). Bryan Wallace is the director of Thunder Lacrosse and serves as a coach. He coached at Lassiter (Erksa’s high school). Scott Ratliff is also a coach for Thunder Lacrosse. He attended Loyola and played in the Premiere Lacrosse League. T.J. Kemp played at North Carolina and later professionally. He was previously a coach with LB3 Lacrosse.

Lastly, John Zulberti was one of the biggest influences in each student-athlete’s development. He was a four-time All-American, two-time attackman of the year, and two-time national champion at Syracuse. He coached high school and youth lacrosse for more than 30 years, and for nearly a decade, he coached lacrosse in the Atlanta area with Thunder LB3. He passed away in August 2021.  

“[Zulberti] really took me under his wing and gave me a lot of private lessons and just taught me everything about lacrosse,” Malever said. “He is a legend in lacrosse, but he's also a legend in the state of Georgia for just how amazing of a coach he was.”

“All those guys had a role in my style of play, and they've all taught me things that I still use to this day,” Erksa said. “I know that they've worked with Eric and Ryan, so I think that all contributes to the way we play today and why we found success at the next level.”

Erksa has stood out since he first took the field as a freshman for the Terps. He was the 2023 Big Ten Freshman of the Year and became the first Terp to win the award. He was also named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team that same season and has continued that success this season, leading the team with 39 points on 24 goals and 15 assists.

Malever has been a key contributor every year and has steadily improved. He played in all 16 games as a freshman and was named Big Ten Freshman of the Week three times. He finished the season fifth in scoring on the team as a sophomore before missing the 2023 season due to injury. The senior has rebounded this season and currently leads the team with 20 assists and is tied for second in points with 34. 

Siracusa waited for his time. He scored just eight goals in his first four seasons but has been a revelation since carving out a starting role this season. He is fifth on the team with 19 goals and has added nine assists for 28 points. Siracusa's three-goal, four-point effort was monumental in the comeback win over the Blue Devils in the quarterfinals.

Malever and Siracusa were both a part of the 2022 national championship team.

The trio acknowledges that lacrosse in the state of Maryland is embraced differently. Malever even said that lacrosse in Maryland is like Georgia’s football. Still, they have all seen an unprecedented growth of lacrosse in their home state—something they are all very proud of.

“Every team now [in Georgia] has guys going to play lacrosse in college,” Siracusa said. “It's definitely grown a lot. I'd say the top 30-40 teams in the Atlanta area have multiple guys going to Division I schools, which is really impressive.”

Siracusa, Malever, and Erksa may not have been born and raised in the lacrosse capital of the world, but they’re from an area that is leaving its mark on collegiate lacrosse. As Terps, they’re able to represent their hometowns at one of the most accomplished lacrosse programs in the U.S. 

“The sport has really grown into something that I'd never imagined it would, especially in the South,” Erksa said. “I think that it's becoming much more popular. …Especially in my time going through the whole process and playing down there. I'm looking forward to the future.”