This year’s rivalry game carries increased stakes for the Terps.
After 11 long weeks of lacrosse, and with conference tournaments right around the corner, teams around the country may begin to feel burnt out. But for No. 3 Maryland men’s lacrosse, coming up with motivation Friday is far from difficult. The Terps play host in this rendition of ‘The Rivalry’ with Johns Hopkins in their final game of the regular season.
Maryland head coach John Tillman likened Big Ten lacrosse to the NFL’s AFC North division. The two schools, located just 30 miles apart, fight back and forth to lay claim to the state’s proud tradition. Maryland has had the edge this decade, but Johns Hopkins won last time out. With Maryland set to host, fans are ready to cheer on their team in what is potentially its final home game of the year.
The 119th presentation of ‘The Rivalry’ will come under the floodlights of SECU Stadium with massive Big Ten Tournament implications for Maryland. Friday’s game will begin at 8 p.m. and broadcast on Big Ten Network.
Johns Hopkins (6-6, 0-4 Big Ten)
Head coach Peter Milliman has lost six of the eight games he has coached John’s Hopkins against Maryland. Despite that blemish, Milliman’s tenure has brought improvement to the Blue Jays, who went 4-9 his first season but have been regular season Big Ten champions and reached the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals in each of the last two years.
Johns Hopkins started the 2025 season with momentum. The Blue Jays soared as high as No. 4 in the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association top-25 poll on the back of four consecutive wins. From there, though, the season has collapsed.
A competitive loss to North Carolina was forgivable, but in the following game against Virginia, star attacker Russell Melendez left with an injury. Melendez returned briefly two weeks later against Navy, but has not played since. The Navy game sunk Hopkins’ goalkeeping situation as well — graduate keeper Luke Staudt was injured and has missed six straight games.
Without two key players, the turnaround efforts for Johns Hopkins have gotten that much harder. Six losses in eight games have the Blue Jays staring down the barrel of another sub-.500 season, back where Milliman began.
Players to know
Charlie Iler, sophomore midfielder/attacker, No. 29 — After missing his entire freshman season with an injury, Iler played a handful of garbage-time minutes through four games before earning his first meaningful action against Virginia on March 1. After tallying two goals and an assist against the Cavaliers, Iler has become a mainstay for the Blue Jays, with his 2.4 points per game tied for 11th in the conference.
Matt Collison, junior midfielder, No. 16 — Collison remains a bright spot on the season for Johns Hopkins. The 2024 third-team All-American is a massive presence in the midfield both literally — at 6-foot-4 — and figuratively. Collison leads the Blue Jays with 29 points (18 goals and 11 assists) and is riding a 14-game point streak.
Oran Gelinas, junior goalkeeper, No. 87 — With Staudt’s injury, Gelinas was thrust into action against Navy for his first game time since March 2023. The junior has been serviceable for the Blue Jays, saving exactly half of the shots he has faced. Blame for the four conference losses can hardly fall at his feet.
Strength
Faceoffs. Led by Logan Callahan’s 164 faceoff wins — the fifth-most nationally — the Blue Jays are 11th in the country with a 58.3% win rate from the X. In two of their last three games — against No. 6 Ohio State and No. 12 Michigan, the top teams in the Big Ten — Johns Hopkins won the faceoff battle by double digits.
Weakness
Scoring. Johns Hopkins’ offense has depth, with seven players notching at least three goals in Big Ten play. But none of them have scored more than five; the Blue Jays lost their attacker with the power to single-handedly take over a game with Melendez’s injury. The team’s leading goalscorer, Hunter Chauvette, has only scored three goals against Big Ten opponents.
In conference play, Johns Hopkins averages just 7.5 goals per game, including a four-goal effort against Penn State last week.
Three things to watch
1. Daniel Kelly deserves his flowers. Logan McNaney’s program record for saves was the dominant numbers story for the Terps after they beat Ohio State last week. However, with a man-up assist to Eric Spanos in the third quarter, Daniel Kelly hit his own major milestone. The graduate attacker now has 100 career points for Maryland and is just the 63rd Terp to ever achieve the feat.
Look for Kelly to continue his steady production Friday.
2. Injured Blue Jays returning? Per Inside Lacrosse’s Kevin Brown, Melendez and Staudt were considered day-to-day as of April 5th. The speculation about two key players for the underdogs will follow both teams as they gear up for the pivotal matchup.
3. Major playoff implications for Maryland. If the Terps defeat Johns Hopkins, they will guarantee at least fourth place in the Big Ten Tournament. From there, it’s an incredibly complicated process that depends on other results, but Maryland could finish as high as second. Read here for an in-depth look at its potential outcomes.