The most anticipated lacrosse game of the spring turned into a dud.
Top-ranked Maryland outshot #2 Virginia 53-34 and dominated on faceoffs on the way to a 23-12 win in a rematch of the 2021 national title game.
Maryland (7-0) led 5-3 at the end of the first quarter, then went on a 4-0 run to close out the first half to go into the break up 12-6.
Griffin Schutz netted the first goal of the second half for Virginia (6-1), but the Terrapins quickly responded with three scores of their own take a commanding 15-7 lead midway through the third.
Payton Cormier and Moore rang up the final two goals of the third as Virginia found itself down 15-9 heading into the fourth.
Cormier and Connor Shellenberger found the back of the net within the first four minutes of period No. 4, which cut the Terrapins’ lead to 15-11, but Maryland piled on eight of the last nine goals of the contest to win it handedly.
“There is no question who the number one team in the country is right now. John Tillman, his staff, his team proved it from the opening whistle throughout the four quarters,” Virginia coach Lars Tiffany said. “They got us early. Matt Nunes made some big saves for us early … We just couldn’t match them shot for shot, ground ball for ground ball. And so, tremendous effort by the Terrapins. And they certainly exposed a lot of things we need to work on.
“We talk about often – as a team – it’s easier to learn from losses than wins. But we’ve been trying to learn from the victories, and we have improved, but John Tillman and his crew did a fantastic job preparing their men and then they made incredible plays over, and over, and over again. And so, we have a lot to learn.”
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Chris Graham
