Death, taxes and John Tillman.
In a season predicted to be, well, unpredictable, Maryland’s head coach reminded us that he has a formula in College Park that just flat out works, predictably.
A loaded Syracuse team with tons of returning firepower seemed on paper to be too much for Maryland to try and keep up with. But Maryland, averaging just 10.3 goals per game this year, dialed up its usual recipe – solid goaltending (Logan McNaney made 12 saves), stout defense and a ball-control offense that limited Syracuse to 41 shots (well below its 50.3 average) and just 19 on cage.
The result was an 11-7 win to move the Terps to 3-0 this season.
Maryland plays a style that sometimes feels like a boa constrictor, they just keep putting on more and more pressure, tightening their hold, while watching teams get out of their normal flow as they begin to get anixous.
Syracuse’s Joey Spallina scored twice late in the first half to give the Orange a 5-4 halftime lead. That would be the last time they were in control.
Maryland completely controlled the tempo from there and a Syracuse team that whips the ball around to create offense, and beautiful goals, relied too much on 1-on-1 dodging as they began to feel the pressure.
So, while Syracuse was a heavy favorite, it’s hard to be surprised to see such success from the Terps. Maryland has now beaten Syracuse seven straight times and Tillman improved to 7-0 in his coaching career against the Orange.
There was some unpredictability this weekend though, notably Richmond beating Virginia 13-10.
The Spiders, who opened the season with a 12-7 loss at Maryland, knocked off the Cavaliers for just the second time in the 12-year history of their program and for the first time ever in Charlottesville.
Virginia head coach Lars Tiffany called out the energy-level of his team in a postgame interview and that played a role in Richmond jumping out to a 4-0 lead.
Richmond sophomore Lucas Littlejohn had two of those four goals and the Canadian finished the game with a team-leading four.
Read below for more from the first full weekend of lacrosse as we welcomed the Ivy League to the party.
Random Observations
Reigning two-time NCAA champion Notre Dame opened its season this week with blowout wins over Cleveland State (24-6) and Marquette (22-9). That’s 46 goals in two games with some key offensive players yet to play. First-line midfielder Jordan Faison (30 points in 2024) and Matt Jeffery, the No. 1 recruit in the country, have yet to play following their extended football seasons.
Returning stars Chris Kavanagh (6g, 7a) and Jake Taylor (10g) are leading the way while freshman Brady Pokorny (3g, 5a) is following up on his strong fall. The title chase looks like it will run through South Bend once again.
The delayed start for the Ivy League had some mixed results. Princeton picked up a huge road win at Penn State, beating the Nittany Lions 11-10 on Colin Burns’ overtime goal. Tiger goalie Ryan Croddick made 21 saves, indoors, in his first career start. Cornell, Dartmouth and Harvard also picked up wins, but Brown, Penn and Yale lost some tough early-season challenges.
Cornell’s offense looked as lethal as expected with the Big Red assisting on 14 of 18 goals in an 18-10 win at Lehigh. Dartmouth handed Bucknell its first loss of the season, winning 13-11, behind five goals and two assists from Colorado College transfer Thomas Power. Big Green goalie Mason Morel made 16 saves. Harvard was plenty tested by Providence in a game that featured six lead changes, but the Crimson won 12-10, giving the Friars their first loss.
Jon Torpey’s Brown debut was an 11-5 loss to Fairfield, Penn lost a tough road Top 20 matchup at Georgetown, falling 8-6, while Yale committed 21 turnovers in a 13-11 loss at Villanova.
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Family Legacy
Delaware’s Brendan Powers had a career-high six goals as the Blue Hens came from behind for the second straight game, beating St. John’s 17-10 after falling behind 5-2 and trailing 9-7 at the half. His father, Randy Powers, graduated as the school’s all-time leading scorer and his 241 career points still ranks No. 4 in school history.
UNC highly-touted sophomore Dom Pietramala has taken his game to a higher level. In his second year back from an injury that delayed the start of his college career, Pietramala scored five goals in a game where every goal was a dogfight – a 9-4 victory over Stony Brook. The five goals matched his career-high and he has now scored at least four goals in his last three games dating to the 2024 season finale against Duke.
Johns Hopkins, which went 2-4 in one-goal games in 2024, is now 2-0 in one-goal affairs this year after surviving the short trip up University Parkway to beat Loyola 9-8 on Saturday. Russell Melendez had four goals in his bounce-back season, including the game-winner with 41 seconds left. Loyola, meanwhile, fell to 0-3 with its second straight heartbreaker. The Greyhounds lost 8-7 to Maryland in overtime last week.
Virginia showed worrisome trends in its season-opening victory over Colgate last week, including 20 turnovers. High turnovers isn’t always a bad thing for a Virginia team that likes to push the tempo and press creative situations, but Saturday’s 19 turnovers it its loss to Richmond included seven failed clears – two for offsides calls. The Cavaliers are clearing at just a 76 percent success rate this season.
There were absolute scenes in Denver as the Pioneers beat Utah 10-8 amid heavy snow conditions. After Utah scored three goals in the opening two minutes of the game, Denver coach Matt Brown turned to freshman goalie Grayson Manning and the rookie made 16 saves the rest of the way to help the Pioneers come back for the win.
ABSOLUTE SCENES. ❄️ @DU_MLAX and @UtahLacrosse battling in a blizzard. pic.twitter.com/f09qADYklY
— USA Lacrosse Magazine (@USALacrosseMag) February 15, 2025
UMass senior transfer Trace Hogan, a three-year starter at Merrimack, is settling in nicely with the Minutemen. He had six goals and two assists in a 19-5 win over Quinnipac, following up on a one-goal, three-assist effort against Army. For a team that lost its top seven scorers, he’s been a big addition.
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Family Legacy: Part Two
Navy freshman William Goers set career-highs with four goals and six points as the Mids moved to a perfect 3-0 with a 14-10 victory over Towson, his father's alma mater. Mark Goers was one of Towson’s all-time greats, earning All-America honors and setting the NCAA single-season faceoff record in 1994. The elder Goers has been a part of the Navy staff for more than two decades, currently serving as director of lacrosse operations.
By the Numbers
14 • Number of the Top 20 teams in the USA Lacrosse Top 20 that were scheduled to be in the middle of playing or starting their games at 1 p.m. on Saturday. For a sport that wants more visibility, this isn’t the answer.
3 • Consecutive goals by Colgate’s Jack Turner to open up a 19-14 win over UAlbany. Turner finished with career-highs in goals (6), points (8) and caused turnovers (3) as the battle-tested Raiders helped force the Great Danes into 19 turnovers and five failed clears.
7 • Days UMass Lowell had to wait between victories this season after going more than 1,000 days between its previous two wins. The River Hawks bounced back from a Tuesday loss to Holy Cross by beating Mercyhurst 15-7 behind three goals and three assists from freshman Danny Burke to improve to 2-1.
6 • Goals by Boston U’s Jimmy Kohr in a 15-6 win over Monmouth as the Terriers moved to 2-0. Kohr, a junior with one career start before this season, combined for six goals in his first two seasons, but is thriving in his bigger role.
2008 • The last time Sacred Heart started the season 2-0 before Saturday’s 11-7 win over Holy Cross put them at that mark. The Pioneers head on the road Tuesday to face another 2-0 team, Fairfield.
4 • Goals for Virginia LSM Ben Wayer through two games. He’s tied for second on the team in goals.
22 • Saves for VMI goalie Damian Levin in a 14-11 win over Mercer. The Keydets won despite getting outshot 52-35 and losing the faceoff battle 22-7. Levin, a first-year senior starter, has made 55 saves while allowing just 30 goals in a 2-1 start.
8 • Goals Jacksonville trailed Marist by before staging the largest comeback victory in school history, a 15-12 win over the Red Foxes. Marist led 10-2 early in the third quarter before the Dolphins rallied.
584 • Career faceoff wins for Towson’s Matt Constantinides, breaking Alex Woodall’s career record of 583. Constantinides broke the record with 1:39 left in the Tigers 14-10 loss at Navy on Sunday.
1 • Number of NCAA Division I teams that have yet to play a game this season. LeMoyne hits the turf on Tuesday to play its season-opener against Canisius.
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10
Goals for Michigan in the final 20 minutes of the game in a 15-9 comeback win at Hobart. Jack Jenkins and Aidan Mulholland (pictured) each scored three of their four goals during the game-closing run.
