BALTIMORE –
Luke Staudt made 19 saves to lead a Loyola University Maryland men's lacrosse defense that held the University of Maryland to seven goals, and the Greyhounds' offenses scored 12 times on 26 shots during a 12-7 season-opening win by the Greyhounds over the No.1-ranked Terrapins.
Staudt made 10 of his saves during the second half, and seven in the fourth quarter, as Loyola (1-0 overall) outscored the Terrapins (1-1), 7-3 after halftime. The Greyhounds scored on seven of their 10 second-half shots, while Maryland was 3 of 23.
Evan James scored three goals, while
Adam Poitras,
Matthew Minicus and
Henry Haberman each had two for the Greyhounds.
Seth Higgins and
Davis Lindsey matched James' three points with a trio of their own as they both put up a goal and two assists.
The Greyhounds forced 22 Maryland turnovers, half of which were caused by Loyola.
Diego Roman caused three, while
Payton Rezanka and Staudt each had two.
Matt Hughes and
Alex Bean both picked up five ground balls for Loyola.
Loyola jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first quarter after Poitras put the Greyhounds on the board with a bouncer that found the net off a Higgins feed at 12:47. James then tallied the first of his three unassisted goals with 2:30 to play in the frame before the Terrapins struck for the first time at 1:14.
Higgins added a goal as the shot-clock expired with 12:36 on the second-quarter clock, but Jack Brennan and Daniel Kelly had back-to-back goals for Maryland, tying the score at 3-3 with 7:11 left in the half.
Loyola would not allow the Terrapins to take the lead as James tallied a second goal with 1:50 to play in the half, but Kyle Long came back to even the score at 4-4 with a Terrapins goal 41 seconds later.
Haberman scored his first collegiate goal with seven ticks left in the first half, using his defender as a screen to send the Greyhounds to the locker room up, 5-4.
Daniel Maltz evened the score for Maryland 4:51 into the second half with an unassisted goal, but Lindsey fed a pair of Loyola shooters for goals over the course of 70 seconds to give Loyola a 7-5. Minicus was the first beneficiary of a Lindsey feed, and Poitras then finished another at 7:25.
Kelly made it a 7-6 Loyola lead as he scored with seconds left in an extra-man opportunity at 5:28, but Haberman found the net with an unassisted goal off the left side at 3:03, kicking off a 5-0 Greyhounds run.
A clean Staudt save and outlet to Rezanka led to a Greyhounds' transition opportunity, and
Mustang Sally scored his first goal in a Loyola uniform at 12:44 in the fourth quarter.
James followed up with an unassisted goal 45 seconds later, and he took a late hit that drew a flag on Maryland, putting Loyola on extra-man without a faceoff. Higgins threw to Lindsey at left point, and Lindsey converted the shot to push the lead to 11-6 with 11:18 to go.
Maryland began to 10-man ride the Greyhounds, but Loyola took advantage after a couple of failed clears. Following a Staudt save and outlet, Hughes threw a pass over the top of the defense to Minicus in the deep right corner of the field. Minicus caught it there and immediately drove to the goal, finishing as he dove in front of the crease to score at 9:17.
The Terrapins continued to press on offense with 13 shots in the fourth quarter, but only one found the net, a Kelly goal in transition.
Loyola's win was its first over a team ranked No. 1 in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) poll since an 8-7 victory over Duke University on Saturday, March 10, 2007, in San Diego, California. It also snapped a 19-game Terrapins winning streak.
The Greyhounds will return to Ridley Athletic Complex on Saturday, February 18, to host Johns Hopkins University in a men's and women's lacrosse doubleheader. The schools' men's teams will start the games at 12 noon with the women's teams following at 3 o'clock.
Gallery: (2-11-2023) Men's Lacrosse vs. No. 1 Maryland
