Previewing No. 2 Syracuse’s marquee showdown against No. 1 Maryland
Syracuse has lost its last eight matchups against Maryland dating back to 2009. The Orange will look to change those fortunes Friday. Jacob Halsema | Staff Photographer
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As expected, Syracuse took care of business in its first two games of the season. The Orange dispatched then-No. 17 Boston University 13-6 before demolishing Saint Joseph’s 20-2. Both results acted as tune-ups for SU’s true challenge: a showdown with No. 1 Maryland.
The Terrapins ended the Orange’s season last year with a win in the Final Four at Gillette Stadium. UMD has been a thorn in SU’s side since John Tillman was hired in 2011. Syracuse has yet to beat a Tillman-led team, losing eight straight meetings, including the past five under Gary Gait.
Syracuse has a chance to show it’s the best team in the country with a win. A loss and it could be the same story. Maryland started its season with a 19-10 win over Loyola. It was supposed to take on No. 9 Richmond the previous weekend, but it was one of the many matchups cancelled due to cold weather across the East Coast and Midwest.
Here’s everything to know about No. 1 Maryland (1-0, Big Ten) ahead of its matchup with No. 2 Syracuse (2-0, Atlantic Coast):
All-time series
Maryland leads 16-6.
Last time they played
No. 2 seed Maryland took down No. 6 seed Syracuse 14-8 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The Orange took the lead in the first minute, but went 26 minutes without scoring and let up eight-straight goals, which all but ended SU’s hopes of making the National Championship. UMD led by six at half, ballooning to 10-2 within five minutes of the second half. Syracuse scored three goals in a row to make the game somewhat interesting. It cut the deficit to less than five goals.
Michael Leo and Finn Thomson both recorded two goals, while Joey Spallina was held to one assist, which came with three seconds left. John Mullen and Jimmy McCool had uncharacteristically bad performances as well. Mullen went 9-for-20 at the faceoff X and McCool registered a 46% save rate. Maryland’s Eric Spanos led the way with four goals, while Bryce Ford and A.J. Larkin added two.
The Terrapins Report
After defeating Syracuse on May 29, Maryland fell to top-seeded Cornell in the National Championship. Undone by a six-goal performance from C.J. Kirst, Maryland is back with a vengeance as Tillman looks for his third national championship. His squad is as well-equipped as anyone to go the distance.
Goalie Logan McNaney was the biggest loss for Maryland. He spent six years with the Terrapins, starting 73 games, winning the NCAA Tournament’s Most Outstanding Player in 2022 and setting Maryland’s all-time saves record with 789. Current goalie Brian Ruppel didn’t play much last season, but when McNaney tore his ACL in 2023, Ruppel started 13 games.
A formidable defense lies in front of Ruppel. Will Schaller has an argument for the best player in the country, Michael Alexander is an experienced graduate transfer from Yale and Peter Laake made the Big Ten’s All-Freshman Team last season. AJ Larkin is also a game-wrecker as a longstick midfielder. In 2025, Maryland led the Big Ten by allowing only eight goals per game.
Maryland’s biggest question from last season was at the faceoff X. Shea Keethler — who took 180 reps and won 55% of them — graduated. Tillman added Vermont transfer Henry Dodge, who led the country with a 71.3% faceoff win rate last year. Dodge is part of a two-headed attack with sophomore Jonah Carrier. The duo combined to win 21-of-26 faceoffs against Loyola.
Offensively, Maryland typically spreads the wealth. Spanos is its most dangerous goalscorer after a career year in 2025, while Braden Erksa is a consistent threat with 141 points in three years as a starter. Chris Lyons is another key transfer from Yale, who scored 128 goals in three seasons with the Bulldogs. He had four goals in his debut against Loyola and graduate student Leo Johnson led Maryland with five.
How Syracuse beats Maryland
Games against Maryland come down to execution. It sounds like every other game, but the Terrapins punish you for every mistake. If the Orange play a clean game, they’ll have a shot at finally taking UMD down. It starts with Spallina’s matchup against Schaller. The defenseman doesn’t allow much, so it’s possible Syracuse uses Spallina as a decoy and relies on its supplemental options for offense.
If Gait does heavily rely on Spallina, then he has to be on his A-game. The Orange go as he goes, and he needs to be a calming presence in what will be a tight game. Maryland will try to slow the game down with drawn-out possessions. To counter, Syracuse should speed things up by trying to run the Terrapins out of the Dome.
Stat to know: 9.8
Under Gait, Syracuse averages 9.8 goals per game against Maryland. By comparison, the Orange have averaged 14 goals per game since Gait took over after the 2021 season. Gait will emphasize putting together a clean offensive performance, which is easier said than done against Maryland. The Terrapins have outscored SU by 18 total goals in the last five matchups as well.
Syracuse’s best offensive output against a Tillman team came in 2024. It scored 12 goals — which it also did the previous season in a three-goal loss — and had a chance to win the game in overtime. Michael Leo scored, but it was overturned after he landed in the goal mouth, and Maryland went on to win. SU looked like it would finally solve its Maryland problem last year until it was handily beaten in both meetings. First was a rainy 11-7 defeat at SECU Stadium, then came its six-goal loss last May.
Friday’s meeting will be the first in the Dome since Leo’s controversial no-goal.
Player to watch: Eric Spanos, Attack, No. 1
Spanos is a dark horse Tewaaraton Award candidate. Schaller might be better, but a defender has never won the award. Spanos’ role has steadily increased in each year with Maryland. He registered 61 points across his first two seasons, prior to a 55-point outburst in 2025 to lead the Terrapins.
The attackman is a physical presence at 6-foot-5, 220 pounds and has a howitzer of a shot when he can step into it. Syracuse will be wary of Spanos after he lit it up for six goals and three assists across their two games last year.
