It’s safe to say Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year Ajax Zappitello has his work cut out for him when Maryland men’s lacrosse takes on Duke in the NCAA quarterfinals in Hempstead, N.Y., on May 18.
The second-ranked Blue Devils are led by senior Brennan O’Neill, a 6-foot-2, 250-pound attackman who has scored 51 goals and dished out 27 assists so far in an encore to last year’s Tewaaraton Award campaign. Zappitello will be tasked with slowing down O’Neill and the rest of a formidable Duke attack, which also includes graduate attackmen Josh Zawada (33 goals, 44 assists) and Dyson Williams (55, 4).
The Terps are familiar with the challenge at hand against considering defensive coordinator Jesse Bernhardt played with O’Neill at the 2023 World Men’s Lacrosse Championship and Maryland scrimmages Duke every fall.
“We definitely know what we’re going up against,” Zappitello said on Glenn Clark Radio May 15. “[O’Neill is] obviously a really talented player, but at the same time it just boils down to following Jesse’s game plan and playing Maryland defense, which is something that we really pride ourselves on. It’s obviously going to be a really competitive game. You ask anybody, it’s going to be the place to be on Saturday.”
Maryland is coming off a 16-8 victory against Princeton in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, which pushed the Terps’ overall record to 9-5. Maryland has lost five of its last 10 games, dropping contests to Notre Dame, Virginia and Michigan in March, Johns Hopkins in April and Penn State in May.
However, the Terps landed an at-large bid in the NCAA Tournament, giving them a second chance at beating the high-end opponents they’ve struggled with this year. Zappitello credited head coach John Tillman for a tough nonconference schedule that helped prepare the team for May.
“It’s something that you want, especially for looking at your resume when it comes to selection time on Sunday,” Zappitello said. “That’s why you come to a school like this — to play in tough games, to play in competitive games. You’re playing on national television almost every week, which is awesome. It gives us a lot of confidence moving forward. Obviously, we’ve kind of been harping that we know what this group is capable of since we got on campus in the fall.”
Drafted No. 3 overall by the Maryland Whipsnakes in the 2024 PLL Draft, Zappitello is in his final stretch as a Terp. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound defenseman has picked up 29 ground balls and caused 23 turnovers as a senior. The matchup against Duke will mark his 60th game and 45th start of his career.
Zappitello is wearing the prestigious No. 1 jersey, given every year to a veteran player who represents everything the Terps are about. Before the season, Tillman explained that Zappitello fit the description due to his character, toughness and relentlessness.
Zappitello has worn the jersey well.
“Obviously, that was never the end goal when I was coming here, but it’s such an honor and such a privilege,” Zappitello said. “You look at the long list of guys that have worn it before me, even the guys that I’ve played with alone in Jared Bernhardt, Logan Wisnauskas and Brett Makar. All those guys were great lacrosse players, but at the same time they’re all just great dudes — guys that you wanted to be around. They truly embodied be the best in every single way, so just to even be in that list of names is an honor and a privilege.”
Zappitello, a native of Portland, Ore., took the road less traveled to Maryland. It started with his friendship with fellow Oregon native and Sunset High School graduate Chop Gallager, who just completed his senior season at Towson. Gallagher’s brother Tillman, who played at Michigan, introduced Zappitello to lacrosse.
Zappitello is the first member of his family to play lacrosse.
“It’s been really cool. I will say whenever I talk about it, it is a unique experience for me just because I get to represent an entire state when I’m playing,” Zappitello said. “… It just speaks volumes to everything the great sport of lacrosse has done for me and has done for so many other kids. It’s very cool seeing some of the other Oregon kids have great success at all the levels, even some of the guys in the pros now. It’s been fun to see.”
Zappitello also played basketball growing up. He recalled that he wasn’t the best offensive player and struggled to keep up with kids who played basketball year-round, so he had to find other ways to contribute on the court. That meant standing out on the defensive end, and as such, he looked up to former Ohio State guard Aaron Craft.
That carried over to lacrosse.
“It really just boils down to having just that mindset,” Zappitello said. “All right, I’m not going to be as big, as strong as the other guys, so what can I do really well at? For me, I’ve worked on my footwork over the years and obviously having great coaches like Jesse Bernhardt and some of my high school coaches, it definitely helps a lot when you get that experience after a few years and you’re able to just kind of hone in on it and focus on it.”
For more from Zappitello, listen to the full interview here:
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Maryland Athletics