The stage is set at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta for a battle between the nation’s two best teams. Notre Dame and Maryland have dominated the last decade of men’s lacrosse, accounting for four of the past eight national championships, including the last three from 2022 to 2024. Saturday’s matchup will be a rematch of last year’s title game, where the Irish cruised to a 15-5 victory to secure their second straight championship. That victory tied the all-time series at 9-9, with Notre Dame winning the last three matchups. In their 100th season in program history, head coach John Tillman’s Terrapins will look to break that streak and take the No. 1 ranking from the Irish.
State of the Irish
Notre Dame regained the No. 1 ranking in week seven of the 2024 season after bouncing back from an early-season loss to Georgetown. The Irish have not surrendered it since. Their 3-0 start to the 2025 season has included demolitions of Cleveland State and Marquette and a competitive road win over No. 10 Georgetown. Their meeting with Maryland, however, will pose their toughest test of the season thus far, and potentially of the entire regular season.
Despite the absences of Tewaaraton winner Pat Kavanagh and all-time great goalkeeper Liam Entenmann, the Irish have hit the ground running on both sides of the ball. Pat’s superstar brother Chris, a candidate to keep the Tewaaraton award in the family, has already tallied a team-high 17 points between nine goals and eight assists. Graduate attacker Jake Taylor has picked up where he left off as well, scoring a team-high 10 goals in his first three. The attack expected to have talent to reload, but the bigger question was always in goal. Junior Thomas Ricciardelli has answered that question for head coach Kevin Corrigan through three games, allowing only six goals per game with a .600 save percentage. He made 16 stops to help the Irish outlast the Hoyas last weekend, including multiple timely ones down the stretch in the fourth. Should he continue to perform at this level, Notre Dame’s chances at a three-peat look much better.
A reloaded No. 2 Maryland
In 2024, Maryland put together an unlikely Memorial Day run in a season marked by ups and downs. Despite graduating key pieces of that core, including defensive stalwart Ajax Zappitello and star face-off man Luke Wierman, the Terrapins have rebuilt their foundation once again to remain at the top of the college lacrosse world. Senior midfielder Eric Spanos and junior attacker Braden Erksa return after leading Maryland’s offense last season. The two combined for 49 goals and 31 assists in 2024 and have the versatility to contribute in both attack and the midfield.
With several midfield departures including Jack Koras, Ryan Siracusa and Owen Murphy, the Terrapins have leaned on Erksa and Spanos to fill the gaps. During their 4-0 start to the season, the two have already combined for 20 points on 13 goals and seven assists. Three-time All-American and Midfielder of the Year at Salisbury Jack Dowd has also been a welcome addition in the transfer portal to further bolster the new-look midfield. Maryland also added Matthew Keegan, a senior transfer from Binghamton, who has hit the ground running in red with seven goals and three assists in his first four games. Veteran attacker Daniel Kelly, who led the team in goals as a junior and featured on last season’s NCAA All-Tournament Team, has started hot with a team-high nine goals.
Arguably the most valuable returnee for Maryland, however, is graduate goalkeeper Logan McNaney, one of the most talented netminders in the nation. Coming off of a bit of a down year statistically, McNaney looks back to his 2021-22 form to start 2025, allowing only 7.25 goals per game with a .623 save percentage. The Terrapins have already asserted themselves as legitimate title contenders once again with their impressive undefeated start, which has included wins over No. 14 Richmond, No. 11 Syracuse and No. 8 Princeton, all by four or more goals. They narrowly escaped Loyola in an 8-7 overtime victory as well. Overall, Maryland has already been battle-tested in its first few games and will carry lots of confidence into the Saturday matchup.
Face-off is set for Saturday, March 1, at 1 p.m. with ACC Network providing the broadcast.
