Surprise hero lifts No. 12 Maryland men’s lacrosse in OT win over No. 9 Ohio State
· Yahoo Sports
COLLEGE PARK — The most important victory of the season for Maryland men’s lacrosse was cemented by a senior defenseman who had not scored a goal in four years with the team and made only the third start of his career.
Visit turconews.click for more information.
Riley Reese collected a pass from graduate student attackman Eric Spanos and scored from the doorstep to lift the No. 12 Terps to an 8-7 victory with 2:40 left in overtime over No. 9 Ohio State on Saturday night before an announced 5,183 at SECU Stadium.
Maryland (5-4, 2-1 Big Ten) won for the fourth time in its past five games and kept pace with No. 16 Johns Hopkins (7-3, 2-1) and No. 6 Penn State (6-4, 2-1) atop the conference standings.
Reese — the oldest of four children born to former All-American defenseman Brian and former All-American attacker Cathy — called the emotional aftermath of his game-winning goal “surreal.”
“To be able to win the game in general, win a Big Ten game, that’s always the goal at the end of the day, and it was harder than we wanted it to be, but hey, we fought hard,” he said. “Our offense fought hard. The defense fought hard. We fought hard in the middle of the field, and that’s what it was all about. That was a team win.”
Reese’s heroics capped an evening when he and 15 of his classmates celebrated senior day with their families on the field afterward. Cathy Reese, who has guided the women’s program to five NCAA championships, was all smiles.
“How awesome is that?” she asked rhetorically. “Riley is such a smart player and put himself in the right position, and Spanos found him, and it was nice to finish the game that way.”’
Reese benefitted from the presence of Spanos, who, despite going scoreless on eight shots, continued to draw the attention of the Buckeyes defense as he carried the ball into the offensive zone. Reese floated to a gap in the middle of the defense, and Spanos found his teammate to set off a wild celebration.
Coach John Tillman, who has a reputation as a conservative overseer, could have called a timeout to bring in his offense. But he noted that the offense wasn’t very productive in settled six-on-six scenarios.
“So it’s like, ‘Let’s let it play out a little bit, and if they don’t have everybody organized, could we be organized?’” he recalled. “And we do a lot of the unsettled stuff. Riley actually was open last week, and we just overthrew him on one. He got an assist last week to Eric in transition. So games like this, it’s like, ‘Well, if we can let it play out, even if we didn’t get anything, we’d eventually get that next one.’”
For Reese, this spring has been an epiphany of sorts. The former Glenelg Country and St. Mary’s High standout missed the 2023 and 2025 seasons because of major knee injuries, according to his father. And he became a starter after All-American defenseman Will Schaller suffered a season-ending right knee injury in a 13-12 triple-overtime victory over Virginia on March 14.
“He had to take that spot, and how he’s playing now, he’s just doing his thing,” Brian Reese said. “He’s not trying to be Will. He’s doing what Riley does best, and he’s a smart player and a tough player.”
Related Articles
- Mike Preston: Men’s lacrosse title race is open as Maryland falters | COMMENTARY
- Locksley wants Maryland football to ‘work more and talk a little less’
- Maryland’s Okananwa explains viral moment between Coach Frese in loss
- Maryland women fall to North Carolina, 74-66, in NCAA Tournament 2nd round
- Former ACC rivals Maryland, North Carolina women clash for spot in Sweet 16
That his opportunities have come at Schaller’s expense chafes Riley Reese. But he credited his teammates with entrusting him to fill the void created by Schaller’s absence.
“For the last four years, I’ve gotten better, and they built me into the person I am today, and I hope I’ve done the same to them, and that’s how a team works,” he said. “So just kind of keep driving that way.”
The win spoiled a sparkling performance by Buckeyes junior goalkeeper Caleb Fyock, who made a game-high 14 saves and befuddled the Terps shooters for much of the night. After surrendering four goals in the first 5:50 of the game, Fyock gave up four in the final 55:30, but Ohio State (8-3, 1-2) dropped its second game in a row.
“The way we played defensively and certainly the way Caleb played in the second half gave our offense enough opportunities,” Buckeyes coach Nick Myers said. “Unfortunately, we just couldn’t close.”
Have a news tip? Contact Edward Lee at [email protected], 410-332-6200 and x.com/EdwardLeeSun.