COLLEGE PARK, MD – No. 4-ranked and No. 2-seeded Maryland men's lacrosse advanced to the NCAA Tournament Quarterfinals after defeating Air Force, 13-5, in the first round at SECU Stadium on Sunday. The Terps are now 12-3 overall and 33-7 all-time in NCAA Tournament First Round games.
Maryland will play Georgetown in the quarterfinals on May 18. The game will be played at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis. It will be streamed on ESPNU.
Maryland boasted a lead for the entirety of the contest after scoring the game's first two goals. It then outscored Air Force (9-8) 4-1 in the second frame to lead 7-2 at the break. The Terps scored eight unanswered goals through the second, third and fourth quarters to put the game away. They held Air Force scoreless for 23:10 during the run.
Maryland's goal scorers included Eric Spanos (6 goals), Daniel Kelly (2 goals), Braden Erksa (1 goal & 2 assists) Zach Whittier (1 goal & 2 assists), Bryce Ford (1 goal & 1 assist), Matthew Keegan (1 goal & 1 assist) and Noah Armitage.
Spanos recorded a first-quarter hat trick and finished with a career-high in goals. He also recorded a career high in points. It was his ninth career hat trick and fourth of the season. The last Terp to score six goals in an NCAA Tournament game was Jared Bernhardt against Vermont in 2021.
Goalie Logan McNaney finished the game with 10 saves between the pipes. It was his 13th time this season making double-digit saves. Backup goalie
Brian Ruppel took over in the fourth as Maryland held a large lead.
Jack McDonald (two), Zack Goorno (two), Eric Kolar, AJ Larkin and Trace Davidson caused turnovers defensively. This was the 12th time the Terps held an opponent to single-digit goals this season.
Shea Keethler (8 wins) and
Jonah Carrier (4 wins) led the Terps from the faceoff dot. As a team, the Terps combined to win 14 of 22 faceoffs. Keethler and McDonald led Maryland with three ground balls apiece.
Maryland is 74-42 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. Under head coach John Tillman, the Terps have made every tournament since 2011, going 32-11. This is Maryland's 47th tournament appearance and an NCAA-best 22nd straight appearance.
Hat Trick Terps
Multi-Terps Update
- Eric Spanos (6 goals) had the 30th multi-point game of his career. It was his 22nd multi-goal game.
- Daniel Kelly (2 goals) had the 30th multi-point game of his career. It was his 25th game with multiple goals.
- Braden Erksa (1 goal & 2 assists) had his 39th multi-point game in his three years as a Terp. It was his ninth career multi-assist game.
- Zach Whittier (1 goal & 2 assists) recorded his 12th multi-point game. It was his eighth multi-assist game.
- Bryce Ford (1 goal & 1 assist) recorded his 10th multi-point game as a Terp after transferring from Fairfield. It was his 51st overall.
- Matthew Keegan (1 goal & 1 assist) recorded his 10th multi-point game as a Terp after transferring from Binghamton. It was his 35th multi-point game overall.
NCAA Tourney Time
- Maryland is 74-42 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, with 29 Final Four trips and 17 Championship game appearances.
- Under Coach Tillman (since 2011), the Terps have made every tournament, going 32-11 and earning 10 championship weekend appearances.
- The Terps are 33-7 all-time in NCAA Tournament first-round games.
- This is Maryland's 47th appearance in the NCAA Tournament and its NCAA-best 22nd straight appearance.
- This season marks just the fourth time since the tournament began in 1971 that Maryland is the No. 2 seed.
McNaney On The Charts
- Logan McNaney is Maryland's program's career record holder for saves. With 10 in the game, he now has 753 for his career. He surpassed Kevin O'Leary's 705 from 1981-84, a record that stood for over 40 years, in his outing at Ohio State on April 12.
- He's also the program's all-time wins leader with 58.
- McNaney is back for his sixth season. The 2022 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player wears the program's historic No. 1 jersey this season. He's the first goalie to wear the number since Melvin Stephens (1989-91).
- The goalie, recently named First Team All-Big Ten, is a member of the Top 25 Tewaaraton Watch List and has a chance to become the first-ever goalie on the men's side to win the prestigious award.
Single Digit Defense
- Maryland is 137-13 since Tillman took over the program in 2011 when it allows nine goals or less. It includes a 51-game winning streak when holding foes to less than 10 goals from 2017 to April 20, 2024.
- Maryland has held its opponents to single digits in 12 games this season, surrendering three goals to Delaware; six goals to No. 18 Virginia; seven goals to No. 18 Richmond, Loyola and No. 2 Syracuse; eight goals to No. 7 Penn State (twice), Rutgers, No. 2 Ohio State and Johns Hopkins; and nine goals to No. 5 Princeton.
- It's 11-1 this season when holding opponents to single digits.
- The Terps went 6-1 when holding opponents under 10 goals in 2024. The wins were over Loyola, Princeton, Ohio State, Rutgers, Princeton and Virginia in the NCAA Tournament.
Get To 10 And Win
- Since John Tillman took over the program in 2011, Maryland has won 172 of the 196 games in which it has scored 10 or more goals.
- Maryland is also 134-21 when scoring at least 10 goals since 2015.
Numbers To Know
- 1: McNaney is Maryland's all-time saves leader.
- 1: Armitage scored his first goal in a Maryland uniform.
- 2: Maryland is ranked No. 2 in NCAA Men's Lacrosse RPI.
- 4: The Terps are ranked No. 4 in the Men's Division I Media Poll.
- 6: Spanos netted a career-high six goals.
- 7: Maryland is 7-0 all-time against Air Force.
- 9: Spanos recorded his ninth career hat trick.
- 12: Maryland has held opponents to fewer than 10 goals in 12 games this season.
- 15: Erksa has goals in all 15 games this season.
- 16: Maryland has 16 hat tricks this season.
- 22: Maryland leads the nation with 22 straight NCAA Tournament appearances.
- 33: The Terps are 33-7 all-time in NCAA Tournament first-round games.
- 47: This is Maryland's 47th appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
- 49: McNaney made 10 or more saves for the 49th time in his career and the 13th time this season.
- 100: This marks the 100th season of Maryland men's lacrosse.
- 137: Maryland is 137-13 since Tillman took over the program in 2011 when it allows nine goals or less.
- 172: Since Tillman took over the program in 2011, Maryland has won 172 of the 196 games in which it has scored 10 or more goals.
- 904: This was Maryland's 904th win as a program. It is one of three programs with 900 or more wins.
Up Next
- Maryland will play Georgetown in the quarterfinals on May 18. The game will be played at Navy-Marine Corps Stadium in Annapolis. It will be streamed on ESPNU.
