BIG TEN CHAMPS: No. 9 Terps Best No. 19 Rutgers 12-2 For Program’s Seventh Big Ten Title

Saturday, April 11

College Park, MD

6 PM

Maryland

6-4, 3-1

Rutgers

8-5, 1-3

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Rutgers	1	0	1	0	2
Maryland	2	6	2	2	12

BIG TEN CHAMPS: No. 9 Terps Best No. 19 Rutgers 12-2 For Program’s Seventh Big Ten Title

4/11/2026 6:00:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

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A big first-half run lifted Maryland to a historic win on Saturday night.

COLLEGE PARK, MD — No. 9 Maryland clinched its seventh Big Ten title in program history with a 12-2 win over No. 19 Rutgers at SECU Stadium on Saturday night. The Terps grabbed Maryland Athletics' 51st Big Ten Championship since joining the conference in 2015 as they moved to 6-4 (3-1 Big Ten) in 2026.

Big Ten Champions for the 11th time in program history! 🏆 #BeTheBest pic.twitter.com/SjDcouYkLD
— Maryland Men's Lacrosse (@TerpsMLax) April 12, 2026

As the only team remaining in the Big Ten with only one conference loss, the Terps have sealed at least a share of the Big Ten Championship, marking their 11th title in program history, which includes four Big Ten Tournament titles. Maryland will play for the outright title and No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament next Saturday at Johns Hopkins at 2 PM. Maryland sealed its 46th championship in program history, which includes 31 titles in the ACC that were clinched in the regular season and four ACC Tournament titles.

By holding Rutgers to two goals on Saturday, Maryland set a program record for fewest goals allowed in a Big Ten game, and marked its first time allowing two goals since an 11-2 win over Villanova in 2015.

The Terps were led by a six-goal second quarter and an eight-save performance by Brian Ruppel as Eric Spanos tallied five points (three goals and two assists) and Braden Erksa collected four points (two goals and two assists) Maryland used a 9-0 run as the defense held Rutgers scoreless for 35:45 straight minutes to barrel its way to the dominant win.

Rutgers opened the scoring on Saturday before Maryland rattled off eight straight goals to close out the first half. Spanos netted a pair of goals while Spencer Ford, Leo Johnson, AJ Larkin, Chris Lyons, Aidan Aitken, and Erksa all scored during the run.

Eric Spanos with 2 goals in first half for @TerpsMLax 😮‍💨

Maryland leads Rutgers 8-1 at the half 🙌 pic.twitter.com/DqknubZT7A
— Big Ten Lacrosse (@B1GLacrosse) April 11, 2026

Backed by the 8-0 run, Maryland took an 8-1 lead into the break, marking the program's fewest goals allowed in a first half since blanking Richmond in the opening game of the 2025 season. The two total goals allowed by Maryland marked its fewest allowed since limiting Delaware to three last season, and its fewest allowed to a Big Ten team since joining the conference in 2015.

By the time Rutgers (8-5, 1-3 Big Ten) scored again, Maryland had scored nine goals across three quarters of action. Saturday's contest was never in question as the Terps won their third straight game and improved to 37-2 all-time against Rutgers.

Henry Dodge went eight of 10 on face-offs while Riley Reese had a career-high five caused turnovers and grabbed two ground balls. Peter Laake shut down Big Ten leader in goals and goals per game Colin Kurdyla, holding him scoreless, and added two caused turnovers and two ground balls to help Maryland clinch a share of the Big Ten championship.

Career-high 5 caused turnovers and counting for Riley Reese!#BeTheBest pic.twitter.com/1zSRdg7U29
— Maryland Men's Lacrosse (@TerpsMLax) April 11, 2026

How It Happened:
1st Quarter:

Rutgers opened the scoring 89 seconds into the game.
Ford's sixth goal of the year tied the game in the fourth minute of action.
Johnson's 22nd goal gave Maryland a 2-1 lead with 5:29 to go in the quarter.
The Terps outshot Rutgers 11-4 during the first 15 minutes and took a one-goal lead into the second quarter.

2nd Quarter:

Larkin picked up a ground ball and took it 50 yards himself for Maryland's third goal of the night.
Spanos found the back of the net with a physical goal to extend the lead with his 17th of the season.
Lyons' 15th of the season gave UMD a 5-1 lead with 8:33 to go.
Aitken's fifth goal of 2026 extended Maryland's run to 6-0.
Spanos netted his second of the day with 1:20 to play in the half.
Erksa scored his 11th goal of the season with eight seconds left to give Maryland an 8-1 lead to take into the break.

3rd Quarter:

Zach Whittier opened the scoring in the second half with his eighth goal of the season as the run continued.
Rutgers scored with 7:45 remaining to end Maryland's run at nine.
Spanos' third goal of the night put the Terps in double figures.
Maryland took a 10-2 lead into the fourth quarter.

4th Quarter:

Erksa opened the scoring with his second goal of the night.
Johnny Gardiner's second goal of the season gave Maryland a 12-2 lead.

Multi-Point Terps:

Spanos (three goals, two assists) earned his 13th-career hat trick, his 39th multi-point game, his 10th multi-assist game, and his 29th-career multi-goal game.
Erksa (two goals, two assists) logged his 46th-career multi-assist game, his 13th with multiple assists, and his 29th with multiple goals.
Johnson (one goal, two assists) marked his 50th-career multi-point game.
Whittier (one goal, one assist) logged his 17th multi-point game of his career.

Big Ten's Best:

Maryland earned its 11th overall Big Ten title in program history on Saturday. The Terps have won Big Ten titles (2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2026) and have won the Big Ten Tournament four times (2016, 2017, 2021, 2022).
Since joining the Big Ten in 2015, Maryland is 47-12 (.796) in conference play.

Ruling Rutgers:

Saturday marked the 39th all-time meeting between Maryland and Rutgers, with the Terps winning 36 of the previous contests.
Maryland improved to 22-1 all-time at home against the Scarlet Knights.
The Terps moved to 15-1 against Rutgers under Tillman.
Maryland's biggest win in series history was a 15-0 victory in 1943.

Magic Number 10:

Since Tillman took over the program in 2011, Maryland has won 178 of the 203 games when scoring 10 or more goals for an .876 winning percentage.
Maryland is also 139-23 (.858) since 2015 when scoring at least 10 goals.

Defensive Dominance:

Maryland is 143-13 since Tillman took over the program, when it allows nine goals or less for a .916 winning percentage.
The Terps were 13-1 in 2025 when holding opponents to single-digit scoring, doing so in 14 of 17 games.

Home Cooking:

Maryland has won 36 of its last 44 (.818) home games, including a 4-1 2025 campaign.
The Terps are 94-21 (.817) overall in home games under Tillman.

Numbers to Know:

1: Maryland's lone goal allowed in the first half marked its fewest total allowed since shutting out Richmond in the first game of the 2025 season.
2: Maryland earned its second ranked win of the season.
2: By holding Rutgers to two goals, the Terps marked their lowest total of allowed goals in a Big Ten game in program history.
3: Maryland earned its third straight win to mark its longest winning streak of 2026.
4: Ruppel earned his third and fourth shutout quarters of the season.
4: The Terps moved to 4-2 at home this season.
8: Ruppel made eight saves.
11: Maryland clinched its 11th Big Ten title in program history when including the Terps' four Big Ten Tournament titles.
12: Maryland won 12 of 18 draw controls.
37: Maryland improved to 37-2 all-time against Rutgers.
46: Maryland sealed its 46th championship in program history, which includes 31 titles in the ACC that were clinched in the regular season and four ACC Tournament titles.
47: Maryland earned its 47th Big Ten win in program history.

Up Next:

Maryland wraps up its regular season with a road clash with No. 10 Johns Hopkins on Apr. 18. The game is set for 2 PM and will air on ESPNU. The Terps will have a chance to clinch the outright Big Ten title and No. 1 seed in the Big Ten Tournament with a win at Johns Hopkins.