#2Â Maryland (11-3, 3-2Â B1G)Â vs. Air Force (9-7, 4-1 ASUN)
NCAA Tournament First Round
May 11, 2025
SECU Stadium
2:30 PM
ESPNU
Watch COLLEGE PARK, MDÂ --Â No. 2-seed Maryland (11-3) opens its 22nd-straight NCAA Tournament against ASUN champs Air Force (9-7) at SECU Stadium on Sunday, May 11. The game is set for an 2:30 p.m. faceoff and will air on ESPNU.
This year marks the 100th season of Maryland men's lacrosse. The program has produced 525 All-Americans, 29 Final Fours, and four NCAA National Championships. The Terps have remarkably also finished .500 or better in every season.
Where we've been...
- This season, Maryland has wins over No. 18 Richmond, Loyola, No. 2 Syracuse, No. 5 Princeton, No. 1 Notre Dame, Delaware, No. 18 Virginia, No. 7 Penn State, No. 2 Ohio State, Johns Hopkins, and No. 7 Penn State again in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals.
- The Terrapins first loss of the season came on March 22. Michigan scored the deciding goal with 1:06 remaining in the third overtime to top then-No. 1 Maryland, 11-10. Maryland lost again on April 5 at Rutgers, 8-6.
- The Terrapins' losses came at home to Michigan in 3OT, 11-10, at Rutgers, 8-6, and vs. Ohio State, 14-10, in the Big Ten Tournament finals at Michigan.
- With the Terps' 13-8 win over Penn State on March 29, Maryland joined Johns Hopkins and Syracuse as the only three schools with 900 all-time victories. The Terrapins .754 winning percentage is the best of any NCAA Division I school and far outpaces the Blue Jays (.727) and the Orange (.710).
Scouting The Falcons
- The Falcons are 9-7 this season after topping Robert Morris, 14-9, in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in Moon Township. The Falcons earned an automatic bid by winning the ASUN Tournament. Air Force was the No. 3 seed in the ASUN, but defeated 2nd-seeded Jacksonville, 15-12, in the semifinals before knocking off top-seeded Utah, 11-10, in the championship game. Air Force is making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2017.
- Offensively, the Falcons boast six 20-point scorers, led by senior attackman Josh Yago, the 2025 ASUN Offensice Player of the Year, who has 70 points on 36 goals and a team-leading 34 assists. Junior attackman Caelan Driggs is the team leader in goals with 58, while also adding 10 assists for 68 points.
- Defensively, junior LSM/D Cole Cunningham, the ASUN Specialist of the Year, leads the Falcons with 83 groundballs and 18 caused turnovers. Senior Jake Marek has started all 16 games in cage and has a 11.05 goals against average and a .502 save percentage.
- Air Force head coach Bill Wilson is in his eighth season as a head coach, all with the Falcons. He has a career record of 60-53 (.531). Wilson played his collegiate career at Loyola under former Maryland head coach Dave Cottle, who led the Terrapin program from 2002-10.
Series history
- The Terps are 6-0 all-time vs. Air Force, and 1-0 in NCAA Tournament play, with the last meeting coming at the Wounded Warrior Project's Face Off for a Cause in 2009.
- Maryland took that 2009 meeting in Jacksonville, FL, 15-4, with Junior Will Yeatman paced the Terps with six points on a pair of goals and four assists. In all, eight Terps had multiple-point games, including sophomore Ryan Young, who tallied his first-career hat trick.
- The teams hadn't met since 2001, but renewed the series in 2008 with a 16-4 Terp victory in College Park. Freshmen Ryan Young (0-4=4), Grant Catalino (2-1=3) and Travis Reed (1-2=3) led the way for Maryland with a combined 10 points.
- In the 2001 Pioneer Face-Off Classic in Denver, Maryland won 16-3 behind the combined effort of attackmen Mike Mollot and Andrew "Buggs" Combs. Mollot had a seven-point effort on three goals and four assists, while Combs scored five times.
- The Terps and Falcons met in the 1975 Hero's Classic in North Carolina, with Maryland taking a 13-6 victory. Bert Caswell led the Terrapin offense with four goals and an assist.
- The lone NCAA Tournament meeting between the two squads came in the inaugural tournament in 1971. The Terps defeated the Falcons, 10-1. Air Force took a 1-0 lead at the 6:20 mark of the first quarter, but the Terrapin defense shutout the Falcons for the final 51:20. John Kaestner paced the Maryland offense with two goals and an assist.
- The first meeting between Maryland and Air Force came in 1970 with Maryland earning a 14-3 victory in College Park. Reed and John Kaestner put on a show with Reed, a senior, tallying a goal and two assists, while John, a sophomore, had seven points of three goals and four assists.
Will Yeatman led the Terps with six points on two goals and four assists in Maryland's 15-4 win over Air Force in 2009 in Jacksonville, FL.
NCAA Tournament Notes
- This marks Maryland's 47th appearance in program history and an NCAA-best 22nd straight appearance.
- Maryland's first-ever NCAA appearance came in 1971 when the Terps lost to top-seeded Cornell and former Terp Richie Moran in the championship game.
- Throughout the team's previous 46 appearances, the program is 73-42 (.635) all-time in the tournament with 29 Final Four trips.
- Since 2011 under Coach Tillman, the Terps have made every tournament, gone 31-11, and earned 10 Championship Weekend appearances with two NCAA Championships. In addition, Tillman owns the most NCAA Tournament victories of any active coach with 31.
- The Terps are 32-7 all-time in NCAA Tournament First Round games.
- NCAA Championships (4): 1973, 1975, 2017, 2022
- Finals (16): 1971, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1979, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2011, 2012, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2022, 2024
- Final Four (29): 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1983, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1995, 1997, 1998, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2024
- Tournament Appearances (47): 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2000, 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025
As The No. 2 Seed
- This season marks just the fourth time since the tournament began in 1971 that Maryland is the No. 2 seed. The Terps are 4-3 all-time as the fourth seed.
- The last time the Terps were the No. 4 seed was 2006. The Terps breezed through Denver, 16-8, in College Park in the first round behind six-point efforts by Max Ritz (5g-1a) and Joe Walters (1g-5a). Maryland then toppled No. 7-seed Princeton, 11-6, at Towson's Unitas Stadium in the quarterfinals. Walters led the Terps again with four points (2g-2a), while the close defense of Steve Whittenberg (4GB-6CT), Joe Cinosky (3GB-3CT), and Ray Megill (4GB-1CT) held the Tigers' offense in check. Maryland's run ended with an 8-5 loss to UMass in the semifinals in Philadelphia.
- The prior time Maryland was the second seed in the tournament was in 1996. After a bye in the first round, the Terps lost to No. 7-seeded Johns Hopkins in the quarterfinals.
- The first time as the 2nd-seed was 1979. Maryland reached the championship game with wins over No. 7-seed Syracuse, 16-13, in the quarterfinals and No. 3-seed Navy, 15-10. But the Terps lost to top-seeded Johns Hopkins, 15-9, in College Park in the finals.
Steve Whittenberg led the Maryland defense in a masterful performance vs. Princeton in the 2006 NCAA Quarterfinals. The No. 2-seeded Terps advanced to their second consecutive Final Four with an 11-6 win over the 7th-seeded Tigers.
Trio of Terps Picked In PLL Draft
- Maryland men's lacrosse standouts Logan McNaney, Jack McDonald, and Bryce Ford were selected in the 2025 Premier Lacrosse League Draft on Tuesday night.
- McNaney was taken 11th overall by the Denver Outlaws, becoming the first goalie selected in the draft. McDonald followed at 16th overall in the second round, going to the Carolina Chaos. Ford rounded out the night, picked 32nd overall by the Utah Archers.
- With these selections, Maryland now boasts 76 professional outdoor lacrosse draftees and has had at least one top-12 pick in each of the last three drafts.
Consecutive 10-Win Seasons
Terps Represented in Big Ten Awards
- Will Schaller was named the 2025 Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, headlining a group of several Maryland men's lacrosse players who earned postseason honors from the conference on Wednesday, April 23.
- Schaller was also named First Team All-Big Ten, joined by graduate goalie Logan McNaney and senior attackman Eric Spanos. Graduate long stick midfielder Jack McDonald was named to the Second Team, while three freshmen, attackman Jack Schultz, faceoff specialist Jonah Carrier, and defender Peter Laake, earned spots on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.
- Schaller has anchored a Maryland defense that leads the Big Ten in scoring defense, allowing just 7.54 goals per game. A three-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week, Schaller has collected 23 ground balls and caused 19 turnovers. This marks Maryland's fifth consecutive Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honor and the seventh in program history.
- McNaney has been a steady presence in the cage, posting double-digit saves in 10 of 12 games this season and breaking Maryland's all-time career saves record against Ohio State, eclipsing a 41-year-old mark. He leads the Big Ten in goals-against average (7.56) and ranks second in save percentage (.603). McNaney was also named a Top-25 Tewaaraton Award finalist.
- Spanos has powered Maryland's offense with multiple goals in eight games this season. He leads the team in points (31) and ranks second in goals (21), placing top five in the Big Ten in both categories. He has been named Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week four times and is also a Tewaaraton Top-25 finalist.
- McDonald has been a consistent defensive force, recording a team-high 35 ground balls and causing 10 turnovers. He has also scored once this season and earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors twice.
- Additionally, senior faceoff specialist Shea Keethler was named Maryland's 2025 Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree.
100th Season of maryland men's lacrosse
- The Terps boast an all-time record of 903-294-4 (.754), 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 and became just the third school with 900 wins on March 29, 2025, with a 13-8 win over Penn State.
- 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.
- Midway through the 2020s, the Terrapins are 70-17 (.805), which is on pace for the second-best winning percentage for a decade behind only the 1950s when the Terps were 84-15-1 (.845). The only other decade with a winning percentage of .800+ was the 1970s, with a mark of 85-21 (.802).
John Kaestner had 10 points combined in two meetings with Air Force, including two goals and an assist in the inaugural 1971 NCAA Tournament.
900 Victories
McNaney: Maryland's All-Time Saves Leader
Lockdown Defense
- The Terps have been excellent defensively in the 2025 campaign, holding its opponents to 10 goals or less in 12 of 14 games (and 13 of 14 in regulation).
- Maryland held its first eight opponents in 2025 to 10 goals or less. The last time the Terrapin defense had seven straight games allowing 10 or fewer goals was the final seven games of the 2017 season, when the Terps captured the NCAA Championship.
- Maryland's scoring defense of 7.67 is the second-best mark in the nation and first in the Big Ten.
- The Terps held Delaware to just three goals. The last time the Terps held an opponent to three or fewer goals was on March 14, 2015, when they defeated Villanova 11-2.
- Maryland has held 12 of its 14 opponents to fewer goals then the opponents' season scoring average. Only Michigan (13 goals / 10.64 gpg) and Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament (14 goals / 12.69 gpg) have scored more than their season average against the Terps.
Scoring Average Differences
| Opponent |
Goals/Game |
vs. UMD |
Difference |
| Richmond |
13.81 |
7 |
-6.81 |
| Loyola |
9.29 |
7 |
-2.29 |
| Syracuse |
13.63 |
7 |
-6.63 |
| Princeton |
12.93 |
9 |
-3.93 |
| Notre Dame |
13.67 |
10 |
-3.67 |
| Delaware |
12.15 |
3 |
-9.15 |
| Virginia |
11.00 |
6 |
-5.00 |
| Michigan |
10.64 |
13 |
+2.36 |
| Penn State |
12.36 |
8 |
-4.36 |
| Rutgers |
9.00 |
8 |
-1.00 |
| Ohio State |
12.69 |
8 |
-4.69 |
| Johns Hopkins |
10.07 |
8 |
-2.07 |
| Penn State |
12.36 |
8 |
-4.36 |
| Ohio State |
12.69 |
13 |
+1.31 |
Climbing The All-Time Points List
