Since 1924, Maryland has secured numerous national championship honors, including four NCAA tournament championships, eight Wingate Memorial Trophy titles and one United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association championship.[2] They have reached 29 NCAA tournament semi-finals since 1971. Maryland is the only major college lacrosse team to have never finished a season with a losing record.[3] The team is currently coached by John Tillman.
Johns Hopkins, located in nearby Baltimore, are considered the Terrapins' biggest rivals. The two schools have played more than 100 times since the series began in 1895,[4][5][6] although Maryland does not officially recognize games that occurred prior to lacrosse becoming a varsity sport at Maryland in 1924. In 2015, the rivalry became a conference game, as Hopkins joined the Big Ten Conference as an associate member in lacrosse. The Terps have had the Blue Jays number since joining the Big Ten, boasting a 10–5 head to head record and having won 6 of 7 meetings dating from 2021–2023. Maryland holds a 3–0 record vs. Hopkins in the conference tournament during that time period as well. Other rivals include Virginia, Navy, Towson, and UMBC.
History
The Maryland program started as a club team in 1895. During its early years, Maryland teams competed against the best in lacrosse with games on record against Johns Hopkins, Penn State, Navy, Harvard, Cornell and others.
The team was elevated to varsity status in 1924. Since then, Maryland has never finished with a losing record, a feat unmatched by any other major college lacrosse team.[3] The Terrapins have finished four seasons with a winning percentage of .500.
Under the guidance of coach R. V. Truitt, Maryland entered the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse League (USILL) in 1924. In its first contest in the association, it snapped Navy's 46-game winning streak and then beat undefeated Johns Hopkins, the Southern Division championship team, 4–2.[7] The following season, Maryland captured the Southern Division title by beating the Doug Turnbull-led Hopkins squad, 3–1.[7]
In 1926, the USILL was succeeded by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA), which did not have a limitation on the number of member schools.[8] For the next five decades, Maryland remained a national power, alongside Johns Hopkins, Navy, and St. John's.[8] The dominance of these four schools located in the state of Maryland was due in large part to the high caliber of the sport at the interscholastic level. Lacrosse was the preeminent spring sport at the public Baltimore Polytechnic Institute and Baltimore City College, as well as the city's private high schools.[8] The importance of lacrosse was magnified by the lack of any major professional teams in Baltimore until the creation of the Colts in 1947 and the return of the Orioles in 1954.[8]
Maryland finished the 1928 season with a 9–1 record, the loss coming at the hands of Johns Hopkins. Three other association members finished with one loss: Hopkins, Navy, and Rutgers. The four squads were awarded Gold Medals as the best teams in the nation.[8] That year, arrangements were made for the inclusion of a lacrosse exhibition at the 1928 Summer Olympics. American Olympic Committee president General Douglas MacArthur established a committee to organize the country's participation in the lacrosse event. Representation of the United States was determined by a tournament of intercollegiate and amateur teams that involved Maryland, Johns Hopkins, Rutgers, Army, Navy, and the Mount Washington Lacrosse Club. Maryland advanced to the final, where they were defeated by Hopkins in front of 15,000 spectators.[9] In 1929, the undefeated St. John's Johnnies handed Maryland its first homefield loss in thirteen years.[10]
Before the 1932 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, lacrosse proponents arranged for another exhibition tournament. To decide the representative for the United States, the American Olympic Lacrosse Committee held an eight-team single-elimination tournament featuring Maryland, Johns Hopkins, Syracuse, St. John's, Rutgers, Crescent Athletic Club, Mount Washington Lacrosse Club, and an all-star team composed of American Indian players from the Six Nations. Maryland defeated Mount Washington at Baltimore Stadium in front of 6,000 spectators in a doubleheader that also featured Johns Hopkins narrowly beat St. John's. In the semifinals, a small crowd of 500 watched Maryland beat the Crescents and Hopkins beat Rutgers in foul rainy weather. Hopkins defeated Maryland in the final before a crowd of 5,000 to secure their place as the United States representatives for the Olympics.[11]
In 1936, Maryland coach Jack Faber guided the undefeated Terps to secure the inaugural Wingate Memorial Trophy, awarded to the USILA champions.[10] The next year, Maryland finished undefeated again and shared the national co-championship with William F. Logan's Princeton.[10] Faber led Maryland to back-to-back outright USILA titles in 1939 led by Jim Meade and Rip Hewitt, and in 1940 led by Milton Mulitz and Oscar Nevares.[12]
The undefeated 1955 Maryland lacrosse team
In 1955 and 1956, co-head coaches Faber and Al Heagy guided the Terrapins to two more undefeated seasons and consecutive national championships.[13] Maryland split the USILA championship with two other one-loss teams, Army and Johns Hopkins, in 1959.[13]
In 1967, Maryland suffered one loss to Navy, that decade's dominant team, but Hopkins in turn defeated the Midshipmen which resulted in a three-way tie for the championship between the trio.[13]
Maryland (white jerseys) in action against Denver in 2006.
On March 29, 2009, the Maryland–Virginia regular season match resulted in the longest lacrosse game in NCAA history, extending into seven overtime periods. An unintentional whistle by the officiating staff negated what would have been a game-winning goal by Terrapins attackman Grant Catalino in the first overtime. Virginia went on to win with a goal in the seventh overtime, 10–9, and preserved its perfect record, 11–0, while Maryland slid to 6–3.[14]
In 2011, Maryland defeated first-seeded Duke to recapture the ACC tournament championship after a six-year hiatus. Attackman Grant Catalino was named the tournament MVP.[15]
On May 29, 2017, Maryland defeated 3rd-seeded Ohio State to win its third NCAA national championship (12th overall) and end the national title drought that began after its last championship in 1975.
On May 30, 2022, Maryland defeated 7th-seeded Cornell to win its fourth NCAA national championship (13th overall). Finishing the season at 18–0, the Terrapins became the third undefeated champions since the NCAA tournament expanded to 16 teams and the first since 2006.[16]
Players
Since 1922, a total of 124 first-team All-American honors have been bestowed upon Maryland players. Six Terrapins have received All-American honors each of their four years: Charles Wicker (1953–56), Frank Urso (1973–76), Bob Ott (1976–79), Bob Boniello (1977–80), Peter Worstell (1977–81), and Joe Walters (2003–2008).[17] Frank Urso is one of just four college men's lacrosse players to be named a first-team All-American all four years.[2]
In 2017, Matt Rambo was the first Maryland men's player to receive the Tewaaraton Award for the best men's collegiate lacrosse player in the country. In 2021, Jared Bernhardt became the second Maryland men's player to win the award. In 2022, Logan Wisnauskas became the third Maryland men's player to win the award.
The Atlantic Coast Conference has held a men's lacrosse tournament since 1989. The Big Ten Conference began hosting a men's lacrosse tournament in 2015.
National championPostseason invitational champion Conference regular season championConference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season championDivision regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion
John Edgar Faber Jr. was an American microbiologist and college football and lacrosse coach at the University of Maryland. Faber served as the Maryland lacrosse coach from 1928 to 1963, during which time he compiled a 249–57 record and secured numerous national and conference championships. Faber was inducted into the National Lacrosse Hall of Fame in 1963. He coached the Maryland football team in 1935 and again, as a co-head coach alongside Al Heagy and Al Woods, from 1940 to 1941. He compiled a 12–13–4 record in football.
Frank Urso is a former American lacrosse player and current high school lacrosse coach, best known for his collegiate career at the University of Maryland from 1973 to 1976. During those four years, Maryland won two national championships, in 1973 and 1975, and reached the final in 1974 and 1976. Urso received the Tewaaraton Legend Award in 2016.
The 1971 NCAA lacrosse tournament was the first annual tournament hosted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the team champion of college lacrosse among its members in the United States.
College lacrosse is played by student-athletes at colleges and universities in the United States and Canada. In both countries, men's field lacrosse and women's lacrosse are played at both the varsity and club levels. College lacrosse in Canada is sponsored by the Canadian University Field Lacrosse Association (CUFLA) and Maritime University Field Lacrosse League (MUFLL), while in the United States, varsity men's and women's lacrosse is governed by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA), National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) and National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). There are also university lacrosse programs in the United Kingdom sponsored by British Universities and Colleges Sport (BUCS) and programs in Japan.
The 2007 NCAA Division I lacrosse tournament was the 37th annual tournament hosted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the team champion of men's college lacrosse among its Division I programs, held at the end of the 2007 NCAA Division I men's lacrosse season. The tournament was held from May 12–28, 2007.
The 1973 NCAA lacrosse tournament was the third annual tournament hosted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the team champion of college lacrosse among its members in the United States.
The 1972 NCAA lacrosse tournament was the second annual tournament hosted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association to determine the team champion of college lacrosse among its members in the United States.
The United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association is an association of member institutions and organizations with college lacrosse programs at all levels of competition, including the three NCAA divisions and non-NCAA schools, at both the varsity and club levels for men and women. The association traces its history through predecessor organizations back to 1882, although it received its present name and became a governing body with unlimited membership in 1926. The association is based in Louisville, Kentucky.
The Wingate Memorial Trophy was the award given to the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) national champion in men's college lacrosse from 1936 to 1970, and the NCAA Men's Champion in 1971-1972.
The Johns Hopkins Blue Jays men's lacrosse team represents Johns Hopkins University in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I college lacrosse. Since 2015, the Blue Jays have represented the Big Ten Conference.
The Syracuse Orange men's lacrosse team represents Syracuse University in NCAA Division I men's college lacrosse. The Orange have won 15 national championship titles and currently compete as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference men's lacrosse conference. Syracuse plays its home games at the JMA Wireless Dome in Syracuse, New York.
Lacrosse has been played in Pennsylvania since the 19th century. There are many amateur programs at the club, college, and high school level, as well as several past and present professional teams in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) and Major League Lacrosse (MLL).
The Johns Hopkins–Maryland lacrosse rivalry is an intercollegiate rivalry between the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays, which represent Johns Hopkins University, and the Maryland Terrapins, which represent the University of Maryland. The most prominent event has been the men's lacrosse series, which is widely regarded as one of the greatest rivalries in the sport. More than 115 contests in the series have been played since the schools first met in 1895. The competition is intensified by each program's status as a traditional lacrosse powerhouse. As such, the game has often held national championship implications, and twice the teams played to represent the United States in the Olympics.
The Navy Midshipmen men's lacrosse team represents the United States Naval Academy in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's lacrosse. Navy currently competes as a member of the Patriot League and play their home games at Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland. During the 20th century, the Midshipmen secured 17 national championships, including 2 United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association titles and 15 Wingate Memorial Trophy awards. During the 1960s, a period of dominance for the Midshipmen, they won eight consecutive titles. The program's main rivals include Army, Maryland, and Johns Hopkins.
The Duke Blue Devils men's lacrosse team represents Duke University in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's lacrosse. Duke currently competes as a member of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and plays its home games at Koskinen Stadium in Durham, North Carolina. The principal rivalry of Duke is their all-sports nemesis North Carolina.
The Virginia Cavaliers men's lacrosse team represents the University of Virginia in National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I men's lacrosse. The Cavaliers compete in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) and plays home games at Klöckner Stadium, or occasionally Turf Field or Scott Stadium, in Charlottesville, Virginia. The team is coached by Lars Tiffany, who led the team to back-to-back national titles in the 2019 NCAA Lacrosse Championship and 2021 NCAA Lacrosse Championship.
William Christian Schmeisser, known widely as "Father Bill", was an American lacrosse player, coach, and patron. He served as the head coach of the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays for ten non-consecutive years, and won eight national championships. He was also an active patron of the sport and promoter of its development. He helped found the highly successful amateur Mount Washington Lacrosse Club. Schmeisser viewed his role in the sport as altruistic, and he never received monetary compensation for coaching.
Scott Marr is an American lacrosse coach. He is currently the head coach for the University at Albany Great Danes men's lacrosse team. He previously served as the offensive coordinator at the University of Maryland and University of Delaware. Marr led the Great Danes to the school's first ever NCAA tournament appearance in 2003. In 2007, Albany won its first NCAA tournament game, and the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association named Marr the Coach of the Year.
The NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship tournament determines the annual top men's college lacrosse team in the NCAA Division I. This tournament has determined the national champion since the inaugural 1971 NCAA Division I Men's Lacrosse Championship. From 1936 through 1970, the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) awarded the Wingate Memorial Trophy annually to the collegiate champion based on regular season records.
The Johns Hopkins–Navy lacrosse rivalry is an intercollegiate lacrosse rivalry between the Johns Hopkins Blue Jays and Navy Midshipmen. While historical rivals in football, the lacrosse series has been the headlining competition between the two universities. The Maryland programs were both national powers prior to NCAA sponsorship of the sport, with 35 national titles for the Blue Jays and 17 for the Midshipmen. They both continue to rank one-two in the most total national championships of any program in collegiate lacrosse. While both mainstays on the national stage in the modern era, Hopkins has dominated Navy head-to-head, winning 36 consecutive from 1975 to 2009. The series, annual since 1950 was halted in 2017 due to scheduling issues from conference realignment, as the longtime independents joined the Patriot League and Big Ten Conference respectively in the last decade. A 2020 renewal was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and was instead renewed in 2022. As of 2024, Johns Hopkins leads the series 63–29–1.
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