Leading The Charge: Will Schaller Anchors Terps in NCAA Championship Showdown

The Terps simultaneously threw their helmets and sticks into the air and rushed the field as the clock hit zero in East Hartford, Connecticut, on Memorial Day, May 30, 2022.  

Maryland men’s lacrosse had defeated Cornell in the NCAA title game, becoming just the 15th undefeated team of all time. The win earned Maryland its fourth and most recent national championship victory. It was also the last time Maryland and Cornell — two storied lacrosse programs — faced off. 

Maryland’s 2022 roster featured several student-athletes on its 2025 team, including Eric Spanos, Zach Whittier, Shea Keethler, Logan McNaney, Colin Burlace and Jack McDonald. They will all play pivotal roles as No. 2 seed Maryland and No. 1 seed Cornell find themselves on opposite sidelines for a 2022 championship game rematch three years later on May 26.  

Junior defenseman Will Schaller is one player who was not yet a Terp in 2022 but will play a massive role in Maryland’s 18th NCAA title game appearance.  

“When you think of leadership and culture, you look at where Will is now,” Maryland’s head lacrosse coach John Tillman said. “I give a lot of credit to Jesse [Bernhardt], the other defensemen, the guys that live with him, obviously his parents. But man, you see so much of Ajax [Zappitello] and Brett [Makar].”

Ajax Zappitello, then a sophomore, and Brett Makar, then a senior, were two Terps on the defensive end who were also on Maryland’s 18-0 team in 2022. They’re also the two most recent Terps — outside of Logan McNaney this year — to wear the team’s heralded No. 1 jersey. 

Schaller, who joined the Terps as a freshman in 2023, overlapped with Zappitello for two seasons (2023-24) and Makar for one year (2023). Since both have graduated, the junior has assumed a duty that each boasted as the leader of Maryland’s defense — shadowing the opposing team’s best offensive player. 

Makar became the first player in Big Ten history to win back-to-back Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honors, while also named a back-to-back First Team All-American in 2023-24 while possessing the duty. 

Zappitello recreated similar success in the role, being named the first close defenseman since 1993 to win the Lt. Raymond Enners Outstanding Player of the Year award as a unanimous First Team All-American in 2024. Not to mention the previously mentioned, each has a national championship ring to show for their successes. 

Schaller is following in their footsteps and creating his own legacy, as he already has an All-American nod to go along with Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year and First Team All-Big Ten selections. Now he’s chasing the ring as the backbone of Maryland’s defense. 

“Having Will be as fundamentally sound as he is, and being one of our backbones of our defense, us being able to have confidence in a guy like him is super important for us,” AJ Larkin, Schaller’s teammate, said. “Being able to have a guy like Will guard dudes like that, and us being able to roll with our game plan or roll with the punches is super important and helps us a lot.”

Schaller also won Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week three times during the regular season. The first came due to limiting 2024 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Chris Kavanagh to one goal through three quarters in an 11-10 win over then-No. 1 Notre Dame on March 1. The second was after holding Virginia's McCabe Millon, a preseason All-American, to no goals and just one point in a 12-6 win over then-No. 18 Virginia on March 15.

The final honor came after anchoring a Maryland defense that held then-No. 2 Ohio State to its lowest scoring output in Big Ten play (8 goals). Schaller led the Terps with three caused turnovers and a ground ball in a 13-8 win. 

“That guy has worked so hard, and he's made so many juice plays for us this year,” Tillman said. “That all being said, he's about as bright, articulate and thoughtful a guy that you'll find. … He's a guy that whatever he's doing, he's doing it really well and really hard.”

Maryland clinched its bid back to the championship with its 14-8 win over No. 6 seed Syracuse on May 24. Schaller was a major contributor to the win, shutting down the Orange’s leading point scorer, All-American Joey Spallina. Schaller held Spallina scoreless on a season-low tying four shot attempts. He also caused a turnover and picked up a ground ball. 

“He's getting the recognition that he deserves,” Jesse Bernhardt, Maryland’s associate head coach and defensive coordinator, said. “I obviously have bias, but I think he's playing about as good as any defenseman there is in the country. That’s just from a technical standpoint.” 

“If anybody had the time in their day or week to find the amount of hustle and effort plays that kid has, he would definitely be First Team All-American in terms of effort and hustle,” he continued. “He's made some plays I haven't seen in my career, playing or coaching.”

Schaller will likely shadow another top opposing player on Memorial Day — Cornell’s four-time All-American and USILA Player of the Year CJ Kirst. It’s a challenge he’s undoubtedly built for as Maryland pursues its fifth NCAA title in program history and first since downing Cornell in 2022, when Kirst was a freshman. 

But just as Maryland’s past alpha defensemen were, Schaller is a team-first type of guy, and his attitude reflects that. 

“I give a lot of credit to all the guys around me,” Schaller said. “I think what makes this group really good this year is how cohesive our unit is and how much we can play off each other.”