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University of Maryland Athletics

MLAX Celebration Photo
11
Winner Maryland UMD 5-0
10
Notre Dame ND 3-1
Winner
Maryland UMD
5-0
11
Final
10
Notre Dame ND
3-1
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 3 4 F
Maryland UMD 2 2 4 3 11
Notre Dame ND 3 2 1 4 10

Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse |

No. 2 Terps Take Down No. 1 Notre Dame In National Championship Rematch, 11-10

ATLANTA – No. 2 Maryland men's lacrosse defeated No. 1 Notre Dame, 11-10, in a national championship rematch at Bobby Dodd Stadium on Saturday in front of a crowd of 10,137. The Terps improved to 5-0 with three straight wins over teams ranked in the top-five at the time. This was their fourth win over a ranked team overall.  

Eleven second-half saves by Logan McNaney and a four-point effort by Eric Spanos keyed the Terrapin victory. Overall, four Terps scored multiple points, including Georgia native Braden Erksa.

Maryland trailed 3-1 late in the first quarter but scored three straight to take a 4-3 lead midway through the second quarter. Spanos scored his second goal of the game with seven seconds left in the first to give the Terps momentum heading into the second quarter.

The Terrapins got goals from Jack Schultz and Daniel Kelly to take their first lead of the game, 4-3, with 6:50 left in the second. Notre Dame answered quickly with two goals in 40 seconds to retake the lead at 5-4 with 5:25 left in the half, which is how the game would head into halftime.

Maryland came out of the break and used some defensive stops and a pair of Bryce Ford goals to retake the lead midway through the third quarter. After an amazing blocked shot by Will Schaller and a McNaney save, Kelly took a feed from AJ Larkin to put the Terps up 7-5 at the 4:02 mark. Schultz scored with 2:07 left to give Maryland an 8-6 lead.

After Notre Dame got to within one, a failed clear led to a quick score by Erksa to push the lead back to a pair, 9-7, at the 13:15 mark. Spanos' third of the game gave Maryland its largest lead of the day, 10-7, with 11:41 remaining. The Irish wouldn't go quietly with Chris Kavanagh scoring two of his four goals on the day to make it a one-goal game, 10-9, with just over six minutes left.

Kelly scored Maryland's first man-down goal since Feb. 5, 2022, from a feed from LSM Jack McDonald, to push the lead back to two with 5:22 left in the fourth quarter. Jordan Faison's second goal of the day made it a one-goal contest with 1:33 remaining, but McNaney came up with his 16th save of the game on a try by Kavanagh in the waning seconds to preserve the win.

McNaney made 16 saves in the game, his fifth straight game to begin the season with double-digit saves. 

Notre Dame came into the game averaging 19.0 goals per game, but the Terrapin defense held the Irish to their lowest goal total since April 30, 2023. Jackson Canfield led the defense with three groundballs and a caused turnover.

Kavanagh led Notre Dame (3-1) with four goals, while Jake Taylor added a hat trick.
 
Breaking Down The Action
  • Notre Dame led at the end of the first quarter, 3-2, with Eric Spanos tallying both scores for the Terps, the second coming with just seven seconds remaining on the clock.
  • Each squad scored twice in the second quarter, with Maryland picking up the first two goals and the Irish answering back with the final two tallies.
  • A pair of Bryce Ford goals and scores by Daniel Kelly and Jack Schultz gave the Terps a 4-1 edge in the third to take an 8-6 advantage into the fourth quarter. Logan McNaney made four stops in the quarter for the Terps.
  • Braden Erksa, Spanos and Kelly scored for the Terps to answer three goals by Chris Kavanaugh. McNaney made seven of his 16 saves in the fourth quarter.
Multi Terps Update
  • Eric Spanos (3 goals and 1 assist) had the 19th multi-point game of his career. It was his 15th multi-goal game and sixth multi-assist game. It is the seventh hat trick of his career.
  • Daniel Kelly (3 goals) had the 24th multi-point game of his career. It was his 19th game with multiple goals and ninth hat trick.
  • Bryce Ford (2 goals and 1 assist) recorded his fourth multi-point game as a Terp after transferring from Fairfield. It was his 45th overall, including his 33rd multi-goal performance.
  • Jack Schultz (2 goals) posted the second multi-point game of his career. Both were while recording multiple goals.
  • Braden Erksa (1 goals and 1 assist) had his 29th multi-point game in his three years as a Terp.
Celebrating 100 Seasons 
  • The Terps boast a record of 898-290-4, dating back to the first varsity team in 1924 (a team was not fielded in 1944 and 1945 due to World War II). Maryland has finished with a .500 or better record in all previous 99 seasons. The program reached the 800-win milestone with a 12-6 victory on April 12, 2017, at Albany.
  • Maryland finished the decade of the 2010s 134-42 for a .761 winning percentage, making it the winningest decade in Terrapin lacrosse history. Nine of those seasons came under the direction of head coach John Tillman, who has posted a 122-38 record and a .763 winning percentage at the helm for Maryland.
  • During the decade of the 2000s, Maryland went 111-49 for a .694 win percentage. In the decade of the 1990s, Maryland posted a 95-47 record. The .669 winning percentage matched Maryland's win percentage of the 1980s when the Terps went 83-41 and also compiled a .669 win percentage.
McNaney On The Charts
  • Logan McNaney is third on the all-time saves list. With 16 in the game, he now has 646 for his career. Second on the list is Brian Dougherty (1993-96) with 658 saves. 
  • McNaney is back for his sixth season. The 2022 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player is wearing the program's historic No. 1 jersey this season. He's the first goalie to wear the number since Melvin Stephens (1989-91).
Get To 10 And Win
  • Since John Tillman took over the program in 2011 Maryland has won 165 of the 187 games in which it has scored 10 or more goals.
  • Maryland is also 126-19 since 2015 when scoring at least 10 goals. 
Series History 
  • This is the two programs' 19th meeting. The first came in 1995, and every other matchup came in the 2000s. Maryland now holds a 10-9 advantage, as each team had won nine games entering the game. 
  • The Terps broke a three-game losing streak in the series. Notre Dame beat Maryland 15-5 in last season's national championship in Philadelphia on May 27. 
Numbers To Know   
  • 2: The Terps are ranked No. 2 in the Men's Division I Media Poll.
  • 3: The Terps have three wins over top-five teams. 
  • 3: McNaney is third on Maryland's all-time saves list. 
  • 4: This was Maryland's fourth win over a ranked team this year. 
  • 7: Spanos recorded his seventh career hat trick.
  • 9: Kelly posted his ninth career hat trick.
  • 41: McNaney made 10 or more saves for the 41st time in his career.
  • 100: This marks the 100th season of Maryland men's lacrosse. 
  • 100: Braden Erksa reached the 100-career point mark on Saturday in his home state.
  • 165: Since Tillman took over the program in 2011, Maryland has won 165 of the 187 games in which it has scored 10 or more goals. 
Up Next 
  • Maryland hosts Delaware at SECU Stadium on March 8. The game will start at 12:30 p.m. and air on Big Ten Plus.  
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