Maryland-Notre Dame Lacrosse: Terps get huge 12-8 win over Irish

The Terps were in need of a big win as they went on the road to Arlotta Stadium to take on Notre Dame to re-ignite a sputtering season after indifferent displays in a win over UVA and a very rough loss to arch-rival Johns Hopkins. They did just that, jumping out to a quick start and getting one of the biggest wins in their season, beating the Irish 12-8.

Uniforms:

Maryland: All Black

Notre Dame: All White "Shamrock Series"

1st Quarter

Maryland won the opening face-off and were called for a timer on, before Henry West buried a jump shot to put Maryland up 1-0. The Terps increased their lead on their next possession with Mike Chanenchuk ripping a shot top shelf from distance. Maryland was called for an apparent delay of game even though no violation had occurred. The Irish took advantage as Conor Doyle attacked from behind the cage and finished. Both teams held lengthy offensive possessions for the next couple minutes, with Maryland turning it over after a good save by Kelly in the ND cage, and the Irish not getting slapped with a timer on. The Terps would force a TO despite that and go on offense with under 6 minutes left.

The Terps turned it over however, their 4th turnover on 4 straight possessions. After forcing a ND TO on the Irish's next possession, Maryland again chose to slow it down and play the substitution game. After not gaining any traction, John Tillman chose to call time-out. The Terps drew a penalty on a cross check and after milking some clock, Rambo forced a save from Kelly as UMD went to the Man-Up. Chanenchuk cashed in after getting too much space to let it rip. Maryland played solid defense for the final few seconds of the half and took a 3-1 lead to the 2Q.

2nd Quarter

Raffa won the opening FO to push his advantage at the X to 5-6. After a patient possession, Chanenchuk gave a beautiful feed to Rambo who finished with the quick stick to put Maryland up 4-1. After Cannizzaro tested Kelly on the Terps next possession, the Irish went on offense and soon the Man-Up after an illegal body check on Ikeda. Maryland committed another illegal body check 34 seconds into the EMO and Notre Dame went 6-on-4. Amato was up to the task and saved from Kavanagh. Maryland countered quickly but called for an offside.

Amato again made a big save and as Cooper looked to clear he got hacked by Kavanagh for a penalty. Kavanagh then clearly shoved Cooper into Conor Doyle but for some reason Cooper was ridiculously called for the penalty. The Irish cashed in on a horrible call from the officials to cut the lead to 4-2.

Both teams struggled for TO's on their next few possessions before Maryland went to the EMO with 5:38 left for an unnecessary roughness penalty. After some beautiful ball movement, LoCascio fired a wrister from the left alley to put Maryland up 5-2. Both teams traded empty offensive possessions, but an effective ride by ND on Rotanz gave them the ball back with under 3 minutes left and two Maryland penalties sent ND to their second 6-on-4 advantage of the day. Amato saved on the EMO, but ND scored soon after with 1:07 left as Perkovic ripped a step-down past Amato.

Raffa won another FO and Maryland held for the final shot. After running the clock down to under 10 seconds, Chanenchuk rifled a shot under the bar to put Maryland up 6-3, giving him a first half hat-trick.

At the end of the half, Maryland had already matched their output from the Hopkins game last weekend and looked noticeably better and sharper on offense. The defense also was very energetic and forced multiple ND turnovers. Raffa was a key with his dominant play at the X, and it was an all-around very sharp first half for Maryland.

3rd Quarter

Maryland opened the half with Raffa winning his 10th face-off of the day. After a lengthy offensive possession, West looked for a pass to Cole inside, but the ball bounced past a confused Kelly to put Maryland up 7-3. Raffa won another FO, and after some patient offense, the Terps were called with a timer on. They forced a save by Kelly and won a GB to keep the pressure on. Bryant slipped and put his hand in the crease soon after and Notre Dame went to work on offense. Kavanagh took advantage with a fantastic individual goal, splitting the defenders and finishing.

Maryland restored the 4 goal lead, with Rambo attacking the short stick match-up from behind the cage and finishing. The Terps defense would raise their level after the Kavanagh goal, with fantastic stick checking and pressure as the Irish left with multiple empty possessions. That wouldn't be the case after a lengthy possession with the quarter running down for the Irish, with Kavanagh the man again. Raffa would win the FO, but took a poor shot directly off it and the Irish went back on offense and cashed in with Brennaman burying a shot to cut the lead to 2.

Maryland won another FO but quickly turned it over, giving ND the ball back again. The Irish held for the final shot and Amato made a huge save from Kavanagh to preserve the 2 goal lead heading to the 4Q.

4th Quarter

Maryland turned it over on their first possession of the 1Q, their 15th, and Notre Dame went right and scored to cut the lead to 8-7. Conor Doyle tied the game at 8 soon after and Maryland was completely falling apart. The Terps forced multiple saves by Kelly, who was locked in for the Irish in the cage. Joe LoCascio got arguably Maryland's biggest goal of the game, burying a wrister top shelf to put Maryland up 9-8. After another FO win by Raffa, his 17th, Cannizzaro cashed in with a beautiful drive to the cage and finish to restore the 2 goal lead.

Maryland's defense stepped up their game down the stretch forcing multiple ND turnovers and not giving any opportunities for the Irish shooters.

Connor Cannizzaro was the man on the offensive end with 2 fantastic goals that put the nail in the coffin and sealed a massive win for Maryland, 12-8.

This was a huge win for Maryland. It was their biggest game of the year so far, and they came through with flying colors. The offense doubled their production from last weekend, and the defense was sharp all day. They needed to get momentum back on their side, and they did so as they head into the ACCT.

This seals the ACC Regular Season Championship and the #1 seed in the ACCT for the Terps, where they will again take on Notre Dame. But for now, this win is all that matters. The confidence and momentum is back, and that's a big thing, as we reach the final weeks of the regular season.