No. 1 Terps Fall 11-9 In Clash With No. 2 Syracuse

Friday, February 13

Syracuse, NY

6 PM

Maryland

1-1, 0-0

Syracuse

3-0, 0-0

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Maryland	2	2	4	1	9
Syracuse	4	3	3	1	11

2/13/2026 6:00:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score Photo Gallery

Four Terps tallied multi-goal nights in their first loss of the season.

SYRACUSE, NY — No. 1 Maryland battled with No. 2 Syracuse on Friday night in a marquee matchup, but the Orange escaped with an 11-9 victory to earn their first-ever win against the Terps in the John Tillman era.

Elijah Stobaugh netted his first-career hat trick while Eric Spanos netted a pair of goals against the Orange, pushing his point-scoring streak to 20 games, dating back to last season. They were two of four Terps to record multi-point nights in Maryland's second contest of 2026.

Following his five-goal performance in Maryland's season-opening win over Loyola Maryland, Leo Johnson stayed hot with a two-goal game against the Orange. He scored the night's opening goal and recorded his 43rd-career multi-goal game on Friday night.

A four-goal third quarter helped the Terps pull closer as Braden Erksa scored his first two goals of the season, but Syracuse outlasted Maryland on its home turf. Brian Ruppel made a game-high 10 saves in net on Friday night.

Henry Dodge led the charge on faceoffs for the Terps, snagging a team-high 11 while Will Schaller grabbed a team-high four ground balls on defense. The Orange got a game-high four goals from Jake Spallina as they moved to 3-0 on the season.

How It Happened:
1st Quarter:

Ruppel made a save in the opening minute.
Johnson blasted a shot past Syracuse for the first goal of the night.
Syracuse tied the game three minutes into the contest.
Spanos' third goal of the season built a 2-1 Maryland lead in the fifth minute of action.
The Orange found the equalizer midway through the quarter.
Syracuse's third goal of the opening quarter gave the Orange their first lead of the night.
The Orange scored in the final minute to take a 4-2 lead into the second quarter.

2nd Quarter:

Syracuse used a 4-0 run to open a 6-2 lead.
Stobaugh netted the Terps' first goal of the quarter four minutes in.
Stobaugh's second of the quarter cut the Syracuse lead to 6-4.
Syracuse took a 7-4 lead seven minutes in.
The Orange lead held through the end of the second quarter.

3rd Quarter:

Johnson opened the second-half scoring with his second goal of the night.
Syracuse's first goal of the half reopened a three-goal lead.
Erksa's first goal of the season brought Maryland within two early in the quarter.
Spanos scored again to cut the deficit to 8-7.
Syracuse quickly responded with its ninth goal of the night halfway through the quarter.
Spallina's fourth of the night for Syracuse pushed the Orange into double digits.
Erksa netted his second of the night with three minutes to play.
Syracuse led 10-8 with a quarter to play.

4th Quarter:

Stobaugh clinched his hat trick as Maryland came within a goal in the opening minutes.
Syracuse took an 11-9 lead midway through the quarter.
Ruppel made a big save with 2:30 to play.
The Orange held on for the 11-9 win to move to 3-0.

Multi-Point Terps:

Stobaugh (three goals, one assist) recorded his first-career hat trick and his fifth-career multi-goal game.
Spanos (two goals) recorded his 26th-career multi-goal game and his 35th multi-point game.
Erksa (two goals) netted his 26th-career multi-goal game and his 43rd-career multi-point game.
Johnson (two goals) recorded his 30th multi-goal game of his career and his 43rd with multiple points.

Tillman's Takeaways:

"Great environment tonight. We expected a big showing and the environment was terrific. It was a great experience for our guys to come up here and play them. We knew it would be a challenge."
"We wish we would have executed some things better, but with so many new guys, being right there with them, I really like where this team can go."
"I believe in Ruppel. I think there's a couple he'd like to have back, but I think we can do a better job supporting him. We're lucky to have him and we're excited about the rest of the year with him."
"We're disappointed we didn't win, but there's a lot of optimism. There's a lot more in front of us and a lot of things to work on. I'm excited about our future."

Numbers to Know: