Jordan Viener
East Hartford, CT – The 1927 New York Yankees, the 1985 Chicago Bears, the 1996 Chicago Bulls, the 2001 Miami Hurricanes, the 2022 Maryland Terrapins. The Maryland Terrapin’s men’s lacrosse team (18-0) claimed their 13th national championship Monday at Rentschler Field, taking down Cornell 9-7.
The game was something new for this year’s Terps. For the first time this season, the other team largely controlled the pace of play. The contest started exceptionally slow, with no shots on goal in the first seven minutes. The Big Red struck first over halfway into the opening frame. For the second straight game, goalkeeper Logan McNaney played a critical role in the first quarter. The junior racked up six saves in the first frame, keeping the Terps in it while the offense found its footing. The Terps were trailing for their longest stretch of the tournament, down for nearly two minutes before Eric Malever tied it up. Anthony DeMaio scored the next three to give Maryland a 4-1 advantage at the end of the quarter.
The second quarter opened up with a bang. Long pole defender Owen Prybylski scored a huge energy goal for the Terps on a fast break, Cornell soon countered with a score of their own. This was the last goal scored for nearly eight straight minutes of play, one of the longest droughts of any Maryland game this season. The quarter ended with two straight goals for the Terps to stretch the lead, 7-2 going into the half.
The third quarter picked up where the second left off. Maryland scored with two impressive scores from Logan Wisnauskas and former Cornell midfielder Jonathan Donville. The scoring then came to another crashing halt, with over eight minutes scoreless before Cornell finally ended the drought to put the tally at 9-3, Terps. Only three goals were scored in the frame.
Cornell controlled the entire final quarter. The Big Red outscored the Terps 4-0 in the final 15 to make the game interesting. Thanks to a tremendous showing from the Terps defense, highlighted by some standout plays from graduate defender Matt Rahill, Maryland stood strong. Without question though, the player of the game had to be McNaney, who made two massive saves in the final part of the quarter to stop the Cornell run and give Maryland the victory. The Big Red had a final gasp with 3:40 remaining. It looked as though Cornell had trimmed the lead down to two, but the goal was called back due to a crease violation, sealing the victory for the Terps.
With this victory, the Terps cement themselves as perhaps the greatest NCAA Division I men’s lacrosse team in history. There will be some debate on the topic of course, there always is when the term “best ever” comes into play. Some other teams in the conversation that come to mind include 2006 Virginia, 1991 North Carolina, and 1988 Syracuse, but that debate is best saved for another time. Now is the time to celebrate what we as Maryland and lacrosse fans have had the chance to witness this season.
#BeTheBest
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