There wasn’t much debate about this one. The Maryland men’s lacrosse team put together one of the finest seasons in college lacrosse history, posting an 18-0 campaign. The undefeated championship season washed away the heartbreak from a year prior, when the Terps fell to Virginia, 17-16, in the national championship for their only loss of the season.
Maryland great Jared Bernhardt (202 career goals) moved on after that 2021 loss, but the Terps returned a star-studded lineup and dipped into the transfer portal, setting the stage for a special 2022.
Maryland outscored its opponents, 318-162, in 18 games. The Terps defeated Vermont, Virginia, Princeton and Cornell by a combined score of 61-29 during the NCAA Tournament, but they did have to withstand a 5-0 run by Big Red to end the national title game. Maryland held on to defeat Cornell, 9-7, to cap the historic season and give head coach John Tillman his second title.
Best Player
On a team full of stars, no one shined brighter than attackman Logan Wisnauskas, who finished his five-year career at Maryland as the program’s all-time leader in points (340) and goals (205). He led the Terps in points (103), goals (61) and assists (42) in 2022 en route to the Tewaaraton Award. Wisnauskas recorded 13 goals and 6 assists during the Terps’ NCAA Tournament run. The Sykesville native and Boys’ Latin grad actually intended to begin his lacrosse career at Syracuse in 2017, but he redshirted and transferred to Maryland ahead of the 2018 season. And Terps fans are certainly glad he did.
Best Championship Performance
Logan McNaney was as steady as any goalie in the country in 2022. Both his 8.43 goals-against average and .597 save percentage ranked third in Division I. But fans can be forgiven if they were distracted by Maryland’s offensive firepower and didn’t notice McNaney until the national championship game against Cornell, when the goalie turned away 17 shots and carried the Terps to the finish line. Maryland’s nine goals were its lowest output of the season, but because of McNaney, it didn’t matter. The Terps truly had everything.
Best Improvement
In hockey, possession changes rapidly enough that the importance of faceoffs can be overstated. In lacrosse, a faceoff specialist can dictate the run of play. That was the case for Maryland in 2022 thanks to Big Ten Specialist of the Year Luke Wierman, who won 66.1 percent of his faceoffs and 298 total draws, both second in Division I. It marked a third-year leap for Wierman, who won just 45.3 percent of his draws as a sophomore in 2021. It was also his shot that Virginia goalie Alex Rode turned away in the final seconds of the ’21 national title game to deny the Terps a chance at overtime. We’re thinking Wierman was a man on a mission in 2022.
Best Transfers
Jared Bernhardt’s departure following the 2021 season left a sizable void, considering he scored 71 goals that season. Terps head coach John Tillman went to work during the offseason, bringing in transfers Keegan Khan (Villanova) and Jonathan Donville (Cornell). The two combined for 66 goals and 50 assists. Donville even scored a goal against his former team in the championship game.
Best Unselfishness
Bubba Fairman came to Maryland ahead of the 2018 season as a highly regarded recruit out of Sandy, Utah. He started all 57 games as a midfielder in his first four years as a Terp, racking up 114 points. But Maryland needed Fairman to fill a different role than offensive playmaker in his fifth year. He came off the bench as a short-stick defensive midfielder … and all he did was pick up 36 groundballs (tied for fourth on the team) and cause 17 turnovers (second). The switch didn’t hurt Fairman’s draft stock, either. He was picked No. 11 overall in the 2022 PLL Draft.
Best Indoor Game
Have you ever walked through or seen photos of Jones-Hill House in College Park and thought, “That’d be a cool place for an indoor lacrosse game?” Well, apparently Mother Nature thought the same thing. Weather forced Maryland’s March 12 game against UAlbany inside, and the Terps put on an offensive show in front of an announced crowd of 220. Maryland scored 24 goals, with seven players posting multi-goal efforts. We’ll never know how often the Terps would have scored outside that day. (Probably still a lot, though.)
Photo Credits: Courtesy of Maryland Athletics
For more Best Of, visit PressBoxOnline.com/BestOf.
Plus: Check out PressBox’s 2022 Mo Gaba Sportsperson of the Year, Adley Rutschman.
