COLLEGE PARK — If the kryptonite for Maryland men’s lacrosse has been Big Ten rival Michigan, then the argument could be made that Penn State has been a remedy.
The No. 2 Terps sprinted to a huge lead in the first half, weathered a mini comeback in the third quarter and completed a wire-to-wire 13-8 victory over the No. 6 Nittany Lions on Saturday afternoon before an announced 5,023 at SECU Stadium.
Fifth-year senior attackman Daniel Kelly and senior midfielder Matthew Keegan compiled a game-high four points each on two goals and two assists for Maryland (8-1, 1-1 Big Ten), and senior attackman Eric Spanos and junior attackman Braden Erksa scored three goals each to power the team to a much-needed win after last Saturday’s shocking 11-10 triple overtime setback to the Wolverines.
While Michigan has defeated the Terps in the past four matchups, the latter has owned Penn State. Maryland boasts a 42-2 record against the Nittany Lions and collected its sixth consecutive regular-season victory in the series.
Graduate student long-stick midfielder Jack McDonald said he and his teammates didn’t make any grand changes to their strategy in their first game since that setback to the Wolverines.
“I think it was fixing the kinks and stuff,” he said. “We knew that there were certain things we needed to get better at. But in the grand scheme of things, we just realized that we needed to get back to work. There was nothing really more to it. It’s a long 12 games in the regular season. We knew at some point, you take a setback every now and then, but it was just getting right back up and getting back on track and just getting to the little things.”
Penn State might have hoped that the Terps had prevailed against the Wolverines. Under coach John Tillman, Maryland is now 34-8 after losses, and Keegan, a Binghamton transfer, acknowledged that conference games have a certain gravitas to them.
“You could feel the intensity even after last week,” he said. “Coach said it: The league games, they do have a different feel to them. These teams know each other a lot, and playing in an environment like that, even though it’s my first year, that’s what you want as a player.”
The ball gets by Maryland goalkeeper Logan McNaney as Penn State scores in the first half of a Big Ten men’s lacrosse game at SECU Stadium. (Kim Hairston/Staff) Maryland’s Eric Kolar takes a shot in the second quarter to score against Penn State in a Big Ten men’s lacrosse game at SECU Stadium. (Kim Hairston/Staff) Maryland’s AJ Larkin scores against Penn State in a Big Ten men’s lacrosse game at SECU Stadium. (Kim Hairston/Staff) No. 2 Maryland’s Jonah Carrier and Penn State’s Colby Baldwin, battle for a loose ball in a Big Ten men's lacrosse game at SECU Stadium. (Kim Hairston/Staff) Maryland’s Eric Kolar celebrates his second-quarter goal against Penn State on Saturday at SECU Stadium. (Kim Hairston/Staff) Show Caption1 of 6Maryland’s Matthew Keegan scores against Penn State in a Big Ten men's lacrosse game at SECU Stadium. (Kim Hairston/Staff)ExpandAn offense that was held to just 25% shooting in that setback to Michigan was much more effective against the Nittany Lions. The Terps converted 50% of their shots and turned in three three goals in transition, including a fastbreak strike from junior long-stick midfielder AJ Larkin with 5:57 left in the first quarter and a pair of assists from junior short-stick defensive midfielder George Stamos.
“During the week, we knew we were going to be able to hit in transition,” McDonald said. “We wanted to pick our spots when we would go in transition because playing in the Big Ten is really hard. You don’t want to ...
