No. 10 Terps Dealt 8-6 Loss By No. 15 Penn State In Big Ten Tournament Semifinals

Thursday, April 30

Piscataway, NJ

6 PM

Maryland

7-6, 3-2

Penn State

8-5, 3-2

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Maryland	1	0	2	3	6
Penn St.	2	1	2	3	8

Maryland takes the field to face Penn State in the Big Ten Tournament

No. 10 Terps Dealt 8-6 Loss By No. 15 Penn State In Big Ten Tournament Semifinals

4/30/2026 6:00:00 PM | Men's Lacrosse

Box Score Photo Gallery

Leo Johnson and Eric Spanos both scored a pair of goals on Thursday night.

PISCATAWAY, NJ — Defense was king in Thursday night's Big Ten Tournament semifinal clash between No. 10 (third-seeded) Maryland and No. 15 (second-seeded) Penn State. The Nittany Lions outlasted the Terps 8-6 to advance in the tournament and drop Maryland to 7-6 (3-2 Big Ten) in 2026.

Eric Spanos opened the game's scoring in the initial minutes, but the Nittany Lions netted each of the rest of the first half's three goals. The Terps outshot Penn State 17-14 in the opening half, but trailed by two at the break.

Spanos gets things started for the Terps!#BeTheBest pic.twitter.com/QIiEJE2L56
— Maryland Men's Lacrosse (@TerpsMLax) April 30, 2026

Maryland was held off the board for 29 minutes after Spanos' ice-breaking goal, but Leo Johnson scored early in the third quarter to snap Penn State's scoring run. Johnson scored a pair of goals in the third quarter, but Maryland still trailed by two heading into the fourth quarter.

Leo Johnson buries it#BeTheBest pic.twitter.com/p7DmjzsLyl
— Maryland Men's Lacrosse (@TerpsMLax) April 30, 2026

Jack Schultz and Braden Erksa both scored in the fourth quarter before Spanos netted his second of the day, but the Nittany Lions held on to record just their fourth win in program history over Maryland. Brian Ruppel made some key saves in the closing minutes, but Maryland was unable to climb out of the early hole.

Spanos to Schultz! pic.twitter.com/IeMMeYccyu
— Maryland Men's Lacrosse (@TerpsMLax) April 30, 2026

Penn State was led by a three-goal effort from Hunter Aquino as the Nittany Lions advanced in the Big Ten Tournament and improved to 8-5 (3-2 Big Ten) in 2026. The Terps will find out their NCAA Tournament fate during the NCAA Tournament Selection Show on May 3rd.

How It Happened:
1st Quarter:

Spanos opened the scoring with his 23rd goal of the season.
Ruppel made his first save early in the game.
Penn State got on the board with five minutes left in the quarter.
The Nittany Lions took their first lead late in the quarter and led 2-1 after 15 minutes of action.

2nd Quarter:

Ruppel kept PSU off the board for the first 11:02 of the quarter.
Aquino's second goal of the day gave Penn State a 3-1 lead.
Ruppel made a pair of saves in the quarter, but PSU led 3-1 at halftime.

3rd Quarter:

Johnson's team-leading 28th goal of the season opened the scoring in the second half and brought Maryland within a goal.
Penn State scored early in the quarter to reclaim a two-goal lead.
Aquino scored his third as PSU took a 5-2 lead.
Johnson's second goal of the quarter made it a two-goal game with 5:37 to go.
Penn State took a 5-3 lead into the fourth quarter.

4th Quarter:

The Nittany Lions opened the scoring to take a three-goal lead with 11 minutes to play.
Schultz scored his third goal of the season to keep the Terps in the game with 8:42 remaining.
Erksa's 14th goal of the year made it a one-goal game with 6:27 to play.
Penn State scored its seventh goal.
Spanos' second goal of the day brought Maryland within a goal with 2:40 left.
The Nittany Lions took an 8-6 lead with 1:29 left to ice their win.

Multi-Point Terps:

Spanos (two goals, one assist) logged his 41st-career multi-point game and his 29th multi-goal game.
Johnson (two goals) marked his 53rd multi-point game of his career and his 39th with multiple goals.
Chris Lyons (two assists) logged his 43rd multi-point game.

Numbers To Know:

3: Penn State was held to single-digit scoring for just the third time this season.
26: The Terps collected 26 ground balls.
32: Maryland outshot PSU 32-27.
47: Thursday marked the 47th all-time meeting between Maryland and Penn State.

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