COLLEGE PARK, MD — The No. 11 Terps dropped a tough 11-8 contest to the No. 1 Fighting Irish on Saturday afternoon at SECU Stadium. Maryland fell to 1-3 on the 2026 season despite a two-goal games from Elijah Stobaugh and Leo Johnson.
A low-scoring first quarter featured a pair of Maryland goals as the Terps claimed a 2-1 lead after 15 minutes of action. Stobaugh got Maryland on the board before Leo Johnson netted his team-leading 10th goal of the season to give the Terps their first advantage of the ranked clash. Biran Ruppel made five key saves in the ice-breaking quarter.
Chris Lyons, the nation's active leader in career goals, got on the board in the second quarter and Stobaugh scored his second of the day, but a five-goal frame from the Fighting Irish saw Notre Dame take a 6-4 lead into the break.
The Fighting Irish hot streak continued into the third quarter. Notre Dame used a 7-0 run to build a 10-4 lead and put the game away. Luke Miller and Brock Behrman both recorded hat tricks as the Fighting Irish moved to 4-0 on the season.
Henry Doge dominated Notre Dame on faceoff draws, winning 12 of 14 draws at the X.
Will Schaller was tasked with guarding Josh Yago, Notre Dame's leading scorer. Yago entered the day with 13 points and three multi-goal games, but Schaller held him to a lone goal on Saturday.
How it Happened:
1st Quarter:
- Notre Dame opened the scoring just over a minute into the game.
- Brian Ruppel made a series of key saves midway through the quarter.
- Stobaugh's seventh goal of the season got Maryland on the board nine minutes in.
- Maryland took its first lead on Johnson's 10th goal of the season.
- Ruppel made five saves in the opening quarter as Maryland took a 2-1 lead into the second.
2nd Quarter:
- The Fighting Irish tied the game up three minutes into the frame.
- Ruppel made his eighth save to keep the game tied six minutes in.
- Lyons got on the board, netting his sixth of the year to give Maryland a 3-2 lead.
- Notre Dame found the equalizer midway through the period.
- Stobaugh's second of the game and Notre Dame's third of the quarter brought the game to a 4-4 tie.
- The Fighting Irish took their first lead of the second quarter with 4:37 to play.
- A 3-0 run from Notre Dame led to a 6-4 lead at the half.
3rd Quarter:
- Notre Dame opened the scoring in the third quarter to take a 7-4 lead.
- Miller's hat trick put the Irish ahead 8-4.
- The Fighting Irish' 7-0 run put them ahead 10-4.
- AJ Larkin snapped the Notre Dame run with a goal with 1:16 to play.
- Notre Dame led 10-5 after three.
4th Quarter:
- Notre Dame scored the first goal of the quarter nearly five minutes in.
- Johnson's second goal of the game came with 8:03 to play.
- Ruppel made his 11th save midway through the quarter.
- Aidan Aitken scored his first goal of the season with 5:27 to play.
- Braden Erksa got on the board with 2:29 to play, cutting the lead to three goals.
- The Fighting Irish closed out their 11-8 win.
Multi-Point Terps:
- Johnson (two goals, two assists) logged his 32nd-career multi-goal game, his 45th-career multi-point game, and his fifth straight multi-point game.
- Stobaugh (two goals) tallied his sixth-career multi-goal game and extended his scoring streak to five games.
- Lyons (one goal, one assist) recorded his 39th multi-point game of his career.
John Tillman's Takeaways:
- "We had some good opportunities and some good looks, but we didn't capitalize."
- "I felt like they had the ball a lot in the second quarter, and our defense got worn down."
- "We struggled to get looks in the second half."
- "We played three very very good teams over the last three weeks. They were competitive games, but not good enough."
- "Our guys' effort was there. I certainly feel they're invested. We've just got to get better and we can't keep making the same mistakes."
Numbers to Know:
- 11: Maryland held Notre Dame to a season-low 11 goals.
- 11: Ruppel made 11 saves.
- 12: Doge went 12 for 14 on faceoff draws.
- 16: Maryland grabbed 16 ground balls.
- 20: Saturday was the 20th all-time meeting between Maryland and Notre Dame.
- 112: Johnson's 112 career goals rank eighth nationally amongst active players.
- 134: Lyons extended his nation-leading active career goal tally to 134.
- 187: Johnson's 187 career points rank fifth in the nation amongst active players.
Up Next:
- Maryland heads on the road to face Delaware on Mar. 6. The game is set for 7 PM and will air on ESPN+.
