The Terps fall to the Scarlet Knights for the first time in 45 years.
Down a goal with six minutes to go, the Terps could have hardly asked for a better chance.
Maryland had caught Rutgers in transition with two Scarlet Knight attacking midfielders forced into playing defense. The Terps had 60 seconds to work a shot.
After working the ball around the perimeter of Rutgers’ area, freshman Jack Schultz forced a pass inside to Eric Spanos, but the senior’s stick was not in the right place. With time ticking off the clock, the ball rolled to the feet of Elijah Stobaugh.
The sophomore scooped it up, but the ball never nestled into his pocket, flying loose for Rutgers to pick up an easy turnover. On the ensuing possession, the Scarlet Knights potted a goal to stretch their lead to two.
The fundamentals escaped Maryland all evening long, as the Terps slumped to an 8-6 defeat in a rock fight against Rutgers. The result marked Rutgers’ first win over the Terps since 1980 and first-ever home victory over Maryland, as well as the program’s highest-seeded victory ever.
On the rain-soaked field at Rutgers’ SHI Stadium, the matchup began sloppily. The game’s first three possessions produced three turnovers, as both sides struggled to string together passes.
The Terps were the first to capitalize with the ball, with Daniel Kelly getting inside and firing. From there, they fell apart.
Maryland gave up five consecutive goals in the opening quarter, its most in a period since a dead-rubber opening-day fourth quarter against Richmond. The Terps were beaten in set defense on every occasion, with a Rutgers team that entered averaging 9.8 goals per game getting open looks time and again.
Entering the second quarter, the Terps needed a break. Will Schaller, Jack McDonald and Jackson Canfield grabbed back-to-back-to-back turnovers to stall the Scarlet Knights’ momentum, but Rutgers’ defense was suffocating. After two fruitless possessions, Zach Whittier finally converted at the 9:38 mark to break a 17-minute goal drought.
The Terps were afforded second and third chances throughout the second quarter, but they struggled to convert. Rutgers was kept from attacking for eight straight minutes, but six saves from Cardin Stoller held Maryland to a solitary goal through that run.
Coming out of the half, Logan McNaney woke up. The graduate goalie, who had just three saves in the first half, made two early to give his lethargic offense time to heat up.
But the Terps stayed cold. Maryland simply could not find the net, putting just two of their eight shots on target and stumbling to another drought — for 20 minutes this time.
Rutgers had been running on a 28-minute scoreless streak of their own, but JJ Aiello converted for the Scarlet Knights with 2:01 remaining in the third quarter.
Jonah Carrier won the ensuing faceoff and found Spanos dashing down the field. The senior snuck the ball past Stoller to give Maryland a response in just eight seconds, ending his and the team’s respective barren runs. The Terps had countless counter-attacking opportunities, and finally they converted against an unsettled Rutgers defense.
The Terps found a shred of momentum. Maryland forced a turnover and ran down the other end again. Aidan Aitken picked up a loose ball to create a second-chance opportunity; Schultz found Erksa, and miraculously for Maryland, it was only a one-goal contest with fifteen minutes to go.
Rutgers drained clock with every opportunity they found, forcing Maryland into defending for the full 80 seconds and not threatening the net.
But Maryland could not break through. At every opportunity, the Scarlet Knights’ back seven won their matchups. Stoller, in particular, was lights-out — the redshirt sophomore from Owings Mill, Maryland, finished with 14 saves on 20 shots and was clearly the best keeper on the field.
Maryland finished with more turnovers (5) than shots on goal (4) in the final frame, including Stobaugh’s back-breaker that helped Rutgers push the advantage to two goals with four minutes left.
And to wrap up the embarrassing showing for Maryland, Stoller scored the final goal, spotting McNaney out of his net picking up a man and firing home from 75 yards out.
Spanos scored a goal afterward that was mere consolation. Maryland still sits at 8-2 and will be favored to make the playoffs, yet the Terps face more questions than ever with two games to go in the regular season.
Three things to know
1. Droughts doom Maryland. On three separate occasions, the Terps went more than 14 minutes without scoring a goal. This is far from the first time Maryland has hit a slow patch on offense this season, but hitting three in the same game killed the Terps.
2. Second-line struggles. The Terps’ young second-string attacking midfield of Stobaugh, Schultz and Aitken contributed a solitary point to the proceedings today. Their lowest output of the season put a greater burden on the Terps’ starters to get the job done; they did not deliver.
3. The Terps were troubled by a 10-man ride. Throughout the game, Rutgers ran a 10-man ride in order to make things difficult, with Stoller running around and adding pressure. Maryland unsuccessfully resorted to several cross-field pot-shots to try to beat the press, and generally struggled to clear. When the Terps tried the strategy themselves, Stoller made them pay.