Three keys to a deep 2025 postseason run for Maryland men's lacrosse

With the Terps coming off their 11-8 win over rival Johns Hopkins, the team now gears up for postseason play where the team will look to make a long run for a second year in a row. The Terps have made it to the final four in three of the last four seasons including 2022 when they went undefeated and won the national championship. While they are not undefeated this year, the Terps are 10-2 and are looking like a team that has a good shot at winning it all. Today we will be taking a look at three keys for the Terps to make a long run in the tournament and potentially hoist that national championship trophy.

Winning the save battle

In both of the Terps losses, they dominated the box score and had an advantage in at least six of the eight team stat categories. The only stat they did not have the advantage in during both losses was saves. Against Michigan, the Terps only had ten saves while Michigan had 12. Against Rutgers, the Terps only had seven saves while Rutgers had 14. In 2022, Logan McNaney as a junior won the NCAA tournament Most Outstanding Player award and was a massive reason the Terps held on to the 9-7 win over Cornell in the national championship. This year, as a six year senior, the Terps will once again need McNaney to find his groove and be the brick wall in the cage everyone knows he can be. Since the start of Big Ten play this season, McNaney has yet to make more than ten saves in a game including the two losses where he had a save percentage below 50%. If McNaney has an off game, the Terps will need to rely on their offense to win games. But when the offense has yet to score 15 goals or more in a game this year, it is hard to know if the offense can be up to that task.

Earning extra possessions

One thing is for certain about the Terps squad in 2025, they have one of the best defenses in the country. The Terps defense is ranked in the top five in the country in scoring defense at second with just 7.67 goals against, man down defense at third with 82.4%, and clearing percentage at fourth with 90.7%. Another important stat for the Terps is the offense is sixth in the country in turnovers per game with just 13.83 turnovers per game. The more possessions the Terps offense can have over their opponents, the easier it will be for the defense to keep getting their stops and for the offense to pull ahead. The one stat that the Terps do struggle at when it comes to winning the possession battle is face-offs. Since the second half of the 2021 national championship game, the Terps were able to rely heavily on Luke Wierman at the face-off dot who had a career face-off win percentage of 60.9%. This year, the Terps have had a much different approach with doing it by committee. Shea Keethler, Jonah Carrier, and Sean Creter have all taken most of the face-offs this season for the Terps but have not been able to replicate Wierman’s success winning just a total of 51.7% this season. If the Terps are not able to win the face-off battle in the postseason, it will make it very hard for the team to pull away and will lead to closer games.

Taking advantage of opportunities

This season, the Terps have been one of the better teams in transition. It feels like at least two or three goals a game come in transition for the Terps. A big reason for their success in transition is how well their defensive guys are able to handle the ball. Every single player on defense is trusted with the ball in their stick, however the main fast break initiators this season have been long stick midfielders Jack McDonald and AJ Larkin. McDonald and Larkin both have three points on the year and have been the person that passes to the assist man several times as well. When the Terps are able to consistently get out in transition and take advantage of those unsettled chances, they are a very hard team to beat. However, one advantage the Terps have not taken much advantage of this season is when they go man up. The Terps have only converted on man up opportunities at a 34.6% clip this season. According to Lacrosse Reference, the Terps have an EMO Efficiency of 29.2%. This is the lowest it has been for the Terps since 2017. If the Terps are not able to take advantage of their man up opportunities in postseason play, it could play a massive factor in the difference between a win and a loss.

The Terps earned the two seed in the Big Ten tournament which has earned them a bye week and has sent them straight to the semifinals. The Terps will play the winner of this Saturday’s game between Penn State and Johns Hopkins on Thursday May 1st in Ann Arbor. It has been three years since the Terps have won the Big Ten tournament, their longest streak since joining the Big Ten.

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