No. 7 Maryland Moves On To B1G Title Game With 14-9 Win Over No. 5 Hopkins - University of Maryland Athletics (2024)

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Game Recap: Men's Lacrosse | 5/4/2023 3:30:00 PM

BALTIMORE, MD – Maryland is returning to the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game for the third year in a row and sixth time in history after beating host Johns Hopkins, 14-9, on Thursday at Homewood Field. Third-seeded and seventh-ranked Terrapins (10-4) will take on No. 4-seeded and No. 15-ranked Michigan (8-6) in the title game on Saturday, May 6 at 5:30 p.m. That game will air on Big Ten Network.

In the 119th meeting between long-time rivals, Owen Murphy recorded his 11th career hat trick while Jack Brennan, Braden Erksa, Ryan Siracusa and Zach Whittier all scored two goals.

Whittier set his career-high with four points on two goals and two assists. For Siracusa, it was the first multi-goal game of his career.

Jack Brennan again!

Terps lead 14-9 with less than five minutes remaining!#BeTheBest pic.twitter.com/8pklluYG1N

— Maryland Lacrosse (@TerpsMLax) May 4, 2023

Eight different Terps scored goals in the game with Daniel Kelly, Jack Koras and Eric Spanos also netting tallies. Overall, 10 players had points. Kyle Long handed out two assists.

After Hopkins opened the game scoring the first three goals, Maryland scored six of the seven goals in the remainder of the first half to lead 6-4 at halftime.

Luke Wierman became the second Terp to ever win 600 face-offs in his career as he won 13 face-offs against Hopkins. He now has 609 to stand second all-time to Maryland in face-off wins with only Andy Claxton winning more with 648 from 1989-92. He also scooped up fivegroundballs in the game adding to his 321 career total.

On defense, Brian Ruppel made 11 saves. Will Schaller, who had his first-career point on an assist, had three groundballs and finished Jacob Angelus to one assist. Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Brett Makar had three groundballs and fellow starting close defender Colin Burlacehad four GBs. Nick Redd caused two turnovers. After the Blue Jays' three early goals, Maryland allowed just six goals over the final 54:41.

TERPS IN TRANSITION

First career assist for Will Schaller! Murph with a hat trick!

8 saves for Ruppel. Terps lead 11-7#BeTheBest pic.twitter.com/GE4PufMtat

— Maryland Lacrosse (@TerpsMLax) May 4, 2023

The Terps are now 11-3 all-time in the Big Ten Tournament, the best record of any program since the conference formed in 2015. Maryland has won four Big Ten Tournament titles (2016, 2017, 2021, 2022), going for a fifth this Saturday. This was the fifth time Maryland and Hopkins met in the Big Ten Tournament with Maryland winning three of the five games, with the three wins coming in the last three years.

The second-seeded and fifth-ranked Blue Jays are now 11-5 heading into the NCAA Tournament. Garrett Degnon each had three goals for Hopkins while Matt Collison had three points on a goal and two helpers.

From Coach Tillman

"Really happyfor our guys to get another win in the tournament against a really good team. A lot of respect for Pete and his group,I think those guys have done a great job. We knew we were going to have our hands full. We certainly didn't start great, but proud of the way our guys fought and battled. It certainly wasn't a work of art and it wasn't necessarily clean, but the guys competed and they stuck together when things didn't go well early. I thought Luke got better as the game went on and that really helped us....Happy to have a chance to play again on Saturday. We'll have a quick turnaround and then start prepping for another really good team."

Breaking Down The Action

• Hopkins scored the first three goals of the game before Jack Koras broke the ice for the Terps near the end of the first quarter.
• Maryland came out firing in the second quarter, outscoring the Blue Jays 5-1 in the second quarter to lead 6-4 at halftime. Erksa scored the final two goals of the period, including a tally with 16.9 seconds left in the first half. Five different Terps scored in the first half. Maryland allowed just one goal over the final 24:19 of the first half.

BIG-TIME MOVE AND FINISH ZACH WHITTIER

His second of the afternoon #BeTheBest pic.twitter.com/vFkfZAumNJ

— Maryland Lacrosse (@TerpsMLax) May 4, 2023

• In the third quarter, the teams alternated the first five goals with Murphy, Spanos and Whittier scoring for the Terps as the score stood at 9-7. Murphy had a hat trick in the third quarter alone to push Maryland's lead to 11-7 with 2:27 left in the quarter. Siracusa added his second goal of the game for a 12-8 Terps' advantage after 45 minutes.
• Brennan scored twice in the fourth quarter for the 14-9 final.

Terps In The Big Ten Tournament

• The Terps are a conference-best 11-3 (.786) all-time in Big Ten Tournament games.
• Maryland has won six straight games in the Big Ten Tournament. The Terps' last loss in conference tournament play came in the 2019 semifinals to Johns Hopkins.
• This was the first time Maryland and Hopkins met at Homewood Field in the Big Ten Tournament.
• The only other time the conference tournament was played at Homewood was in 2016. That year, Maryland captured the tournament title, besting Penn State in the semis, 16-9, and beating Rutgers, 14-8, in the championship game.
• Maryland and Johns Hopkins have played five times in the Big Ten Tournament. The Blue Jays won the first two (2018 & 2019), while the Terps have now won the last three (2021-2023).

The Rivalry

• Maryland is now 50-68-1 against Johns Hopkins all-time, dating to when Maryland started its varsity team in 1923. The Blue Jays count seven more games than the Terps from the 1895-1923 before the Terps were varsity.
• The Terps have now won six of the last seven games in the series against Hopkins, winning all three games against the Blue Jays in 2021 and then two games last season. Maryland has beaten the Blue Jays in each of the last three Big Ten Tournaments.
• Since Johns Hopkins and Maryland both joined the Big Ten prior to the 2015 season, the Terps are now 10-5 vs. the Blue Jays, winning six of the nine in-season conference games.

Multi-Terps Update

• Kelly (one goal, one assist) 10th multi-point game this season as he extended his goal-scoring streak and points streak to 16 games he's played in. He has 11 multi-point games in his career.
• Erksa (two goals) had his 11th multi-point game, sixth multi-goal game of his inaugural college season.
• Whittier (two goals, two assist) posted his fifth multi-point and third multi-goal game this season, hisfirst of action with the Terps.
• Long (two assists) had his seventh multi-assist and 10th multi-point game this season. In his career, he now has 26 multi-assist games and 45 multi–point games.
• Murphy (three goals) had his eighth multi-point game this season and 23rd in his career. He had his fourth multi-goal game this season and 16 in his career. For Murphy, it was his third hat trick this season and 11th in his career.
• Brennan (two goals) had his sixth-career multi-goal game and 16th all-time multi-point game.
• Koras (one goal and one assist) had his 13th career multi-point game with seven coming this season.
• Siracusa (two goals) had his first-career multi-goal game and second multi-point game ever.

Another one for the Big Ten Freshman Of The Year!

Erksa with his second of the game to put us up two!#BeTheBest pic.twitter.com/L62QQAMaZv

— Maryland Lacrosse (@TerpsMLax) May 4, 2023

Scoring Streaks

• Kelly has goals and points in the last 16 games he has played dating to last season.
• Erksa has points in the last 12 games.
• Long has points in 32 of the last 33 games.

Record Book Update

• Wierman became the second Terp to ever win 600 career face-offs with 13 in the game, giving him 609 for his career. Andy Claxton holds the record with 648 from 1989-92.

The second Terp to win 600 career faceoffs ever: Luke Wierman#BeTheBest pic.twitter.com/L8CJXDUPTG

— Maryland Lacrosse (@TerpsMLax) May 4, 2023

• Wierman also holds steady at third in career groundballs with 321 after scooping five in the game. Next up is No. 2 Brian Haggerty, who had 380 from 1996-99. Andy Claxton holds the record with 451 from 1989-92.
• Long holds steady in 28th place in career points with two assists in the game to give him 146 points. Next on the list at No. 27 Mike Hynes (151 points from 1974-77).
• With his two assists vs. the Blue Jays, Long moved to a tie for 13th in career assists with 91. He passed Ed Mullen (89 from 1972-76). Long is tied with 91 with Mike Hynes from 1974-77. Next up is No. 12 Mike Mollot (95 from 2000-03).
• On the single-season lists, Wierman (13 wins) now has the second-most faceoff wins in a year with 224, second only to his record of 298 last season. He passed Curtis Holmes (222 in 2011) and Andy Claxton (214 in 1991).
• He moved to seventh on the single-season list for groundballs with five in the game to give him 118 He passed Charlie Raffa (114 in 2014). Next up with 127 groundballs in a tie for fifth are Claxton (1992) and Haggerty (1997).

Another game with double-digit saves for Brian Ruppel 💪#BeTheBest pic.twitter.com/y3XeyYUnll

— Maryland Lacrosse (@TerpsMLax) May 4, 2023

By The Numbers

• 6: This is the Terps sixth time advancing to the Big Ten
• 9: Maryland is 120-11 when holding opponents to less than 10 goals since 2011.
• 11: Maryland is now 11-3 all-time in Big Ten Tournament games, the best record in conference history.
• 10: The Terps are now 151-19 in games they score 10 or more goals since John Tillman took over in 2011.
• 35: Wierman won double-figure faceoffs for the 35th time in his career with 20 wins.
• 47: The Terps have won 47 games in a row when holding opponents to 10 goals or less.
• 50: Maryland has now beaten Johns Hopkins 50 times in history.
• 70: Maryland has recorded a hat trick in 70 of its last 71 games.

✅ Rivalry win
✅ B1G Semifinal Win

On to the Big Ten Championship!!

📰 https://t.co/14tqAHheNs#BeTheBest pic.twitter.com/WH5hG2Ycqc

— Maryland Lacrosse (@TerpsMLax) May 4, 2023

Up Next

• Maryland takes on Michigan in the Big Ten Tournament Championship Game on Saturday, May 6 at 5:30 p.m. at Homewood Field in Baltimore. The game airs on Big Ten Network.
• NCAA Tournament Selection Show airs live on ESPNU on Sunday, May 7 at 9:30 p.m.