#7 Maryland (6-4, 3-1 B1G) at #12 Johns Hopkins (7-4, 2-2 B1G)
April 18, 2026
Homewood Field
2 PM
ESPNU
Watch
COLLEGE PARK, MD- No. 7 Maryland (6–4, 3–1 B1G) will wrap up the regular season on the road against No. 12 Johns Hopkins (7–4, 2–2 B1G) in the 120th meeting of the two teams in "The Rivalry." Opening faceoff is set for 2 p.m., with coverage on ESPNU and the Maryland Sports Radio Network.
The 2026 campaign represents the 101st season of Maryland men's lacrosse. The program has produced 532 All-Americans, appeared in 30 Final Fours, and captured four NCAA national championships. The Terps have finished .500 or better in every season.
Where we've been ...
- The reigning national runner-up Terrapins are coming off an NCAA-best 22nd consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and their 30th Final Four overall, the most of any program. Maryland advanced to the NCAA Championship game for the ninth time in the last 14 tournaments and the 18th time in program history, beating Syracuse 14-8 in the NCAA Semifinal. The Terps finished 14–4 and recorded double-digit wins for the 22nd straight season, the longest active streak in NCAA Division I men's lacrosse.
- Maryland heads into its final regular-season matchup of the 2026 campaign following a dominant 12–2 victory over No. 19 Rutgers, clinching a share of the Big Ten title — the program's 11th and the University of Maryland's 51st overall. The two goals allowed set a program record for fewest conceded in a Big Ten game and marked the first time Maryland has allowed just two goals since an 11–2 win over Villanova in 2015.
- Eric Spanos led the offense with three goals and two assists, while defensively, Peter Laake earned Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors after holding Big Ten leader in points and points per game Colin Kurdyla scoreless and adding two caused turnovers. At the faceoff, Henry Dodge and Jonah Carrier went 12-for-18 for the Terps
Maryland-Johns hopkins History:
The Terps and the Blue Jays will meet for the 120th time in program history.
Series history
- This will be the 120th meeting between the Terps and the Blue Jays (two previously counted games in 1928 and 1932 were not official games for Maryland). However, officially, Maryland is 51-67-1 against Johns Hopkins all-time. The Blue Jays list this as the 129th game between the two rivals. In addition to the unofficial games in 1928 and 1932, Hopkins also counts seven more games in the series (1895-23) before men's lacrosse was an official varsity sport at the University of Maryland.
- Since 1924 Maryland and Johns Hopkins have met on the lacrosse field every year (except for 1944 & 1945 due to World War II and 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
- In 2025, in College Park, No. 3 Maryland used a four-goal run spanning the first and second quarters to turn a 3–2 deficit into a 6–3 lead, then held a narrow edge throughout as Johns Hopkins continued to battle back. The Blue Jays pulled within one multiple times and eventually tied the game at 8–8 early in the fourth quarter. Maryland responded with three straight goals to close the game, including the go-ahead score from Daniel Kelly at 10:01, before Braden Erksa added two late tallies to secure the 11–8 win.
- In 2024 at Homewood, No. 3 Hopkins opened up a 6-3 lead at the half with three straight goals to close the first half scoring. Maryland pulled to within one at 6-5 with 8:51 left in the third, but the Blue Jays tacked on an insurance goal before the end of the third to make it a 7-5 game. The game would end that way after both schools failed to score in the fourth with each team only managing three shots on goal in the final 15:00.
- In 2023, the two teams met twice, first in the regular season finale in College Park and then in the Big Ten Tournament Semifinal at Homewood Field. The two teams split those games.
- In the 2023 Big Ten Semifinals, third-seeded Maryland bested second-seeded Johns Hopkins, 14-9, in Baltimore behind a hat trick from former Blue Jay Owen Murphy and a career-high four points from Zach Whittier. Ten Terps had points in the game and eight scored goals. Hopkins scored the first three goals of the game but Maryland rebounded with six of the next seven and never looked back after that. Luke Wierman won 13 face-offs in the game and became just the second Terp to ever eclipse 600 career wins. True freshman Brian Ruppel made 11 saves. Maryland allowed just six goals over the final 54:41 of game action.
- In the 2023 regular season finale, 6,594 fans gathered to watch the greatest rivalry in college lacrosse. The game was tied at every score from 0 to 10 and featured eight lead changes with Johns Hopkins prevailing 12-11. Freshman Braden Erksa had a career-high five points on a career-high tying four goals and an assist. Hopkins captured a share of the Big Ten Championship with the win and was led by Russell Melendez who scored two goals including the game-winner with 3:51 left to play.
About the coaches
- John Tillman is in his 19th season as a head coach and his 16th with the Terps, owning a 221-79 career record for a .737 winning percentage, the highest among all active Division I coaches. Highlighted by an undefeated 2022 campaign, Tillman is 201-60 (.770) as Maryland's head coach.
- Peter Milliman is in his sixth season as head coach of the Johns Hopkins men's lacrosse team in 2026, having led the program since 2020. He has guided the Blue Jays to back-to-back NCAA Quarterfinal appearances in 2023 and 2024, two Big Ten regular season titles, and a Big Ten Coach of the Year honor in 2024.
John Tillman is in his 19th season as a head coach and his 16th with the Terps.
Man-Down Defense Success
- The Terps' man-down unit currently leads the country and the Big Ten with a 94.7% success rate in killing opponent penalty opportunities.
- Maryland has allowed just one man-down goal this season on 19 opponent attempts
Maryland's defense has allowed just one man-down goal so far this season.
SUCCESS at face-offs
- The Terps' face-off unit, featuring Henry Dodge and Jonah Carrier, is one of the most successful in the country, boasting a .613 win percentage, that ranks fourth nationally and first in the Big Ten.
- Senior face-off specialist Dodge is fourth in the country and leading the Big Ten winning 68.4% of his draws.
Pro Terps
- Five Maryland standouts, Will Schaller, Eric Spanos, Leo Johnson, Eric Kolar, and Braden Erksa, were selected in the 2026 Premier Lacrosse League Draft, tying Syracuse for the most picks by any school in this year's draft. Schaller (17th, Utah Archers) and Spanos (22nd, Carolina Chaos) were both taken in the third round, while Johnson (25th, Utah), Kolar (28th, Maryland Whipsnakes), and Erksa (32nd, Maryland) were selected in the fourth round.
- With the five selections, Maryland has now produced 81 professional outdoor lacrosse draft picks, the most of any college program.
Active Career Leaders
- Terp newcomers Leo Johnson, Chris Lyons, and Henry Dodge all rank on the national active career leaderboards in several categories.
- Lyons is currently fourth in the nation in career goals and third in the the nation in goals per game, totaling 143 career goals and averaging 2.80 goals per game.
- Johnson ranks among the top five nationally in total points with 213 and is also ninth in career goals with 123.
- Dodge is third among active players nationally in career faceoff win percentage, having won 63.3% of his draws.
B1G Leaders
- Several Terps rank among the top five in the Big Ten in key statistical categories.
- On offense, Leo Johnson is second in total points (41) and leads the conference in points per game (4.1). He also ranks second in total assists (19) and first in assists per game (1.9).
- Attacker Eric Spanos is tied for first in the conference in goals per game (2.7). In goal,
- Brian Ruppel ranks second in the conference in goals-against average (8.89). This mark is also ninth best in the country.
