Schutz proved to have a significant say in the latest edition of the border rivalry. He finished with a game-high four goals and added two assists, and the Cavaliers scored nine in a third straight triumph that kept them perfect on the road this season.
“We really tried to keep him around us, do the things we can do well, and I think that really helped us,” said Schutz, who at 6-foot-3, 220 pounds made a physical impact on the smaller Terrapins midfielders. “Obviously the result is great. It’s nice to get the monkey off our back now, for sure.
The decisive part came late in the third quarter and early in the fourth when Virginia (6-1) scored three straight to extend its lead to 12-7 with 13:21 left in regulation. The last of those goals came when midfielder Chase Yager, a graduate transfer from Harvard, rebounded off his initial miss and buried the rebound past Maryland goalie Logan McNaney (10 saves).
Graduate forward Connor Shellenberger also scored in that flurry for the 276th point of his decorated career. Shellenberger, who became the program’s all-time leader in assists last weekend, needs two points to pass Matt Moore for the Cavaliers’ career points leader.
Goaltender Matt Nunes kept Maryland (5-2) at bay early and finished with nine saves on 19 shots on goal. His close defense was also superior, especially Cole Kastner. The senior captain helped limit Terrapins forward Eric Spanos to two goals, both early in the first quarter. The junior entered as the Maryland leader with 15 goals this season.
The Cavaliers collected 16 fumbles and committed just eight. They were also 19-for-22 on clearances and finished behind in faceoffs 16-12, with a rotating lineup of specialists.
Maryland cut the deficit to 12-10 with 11:04 left in the fourth quarter, but the Cavaliers withstood the surge as freshman McCabe Millen, the nation’s top-rated prospect, and graduate forward Peyton Cormier each closed out the game with one goal.
“They create a lot of problems and I thought they did a really good job of just executing the things they do,” Terrapins coach John Tillman said of Virginia. “They do a good job of putting pressure on you, whether it’s in the clearing game or in their early attack, going from attack to defense. They are truly unique. They keep all their offensive guys on, which forces you to play defense.
Behind a 5-0 run spanning the first and second quarters, Virginia went into halftime up 7-5. Schutz completed a first-half hat trick, highlighted by an underhanded shot that went into the top corner of the net for a 6-2 lead, the Cavaliers’ largest to date, with 7:55 left in the second quarter.
The Terrapins responded with three straight goals, the last two of which went low off Nunes’ stick. Senior forward Kelly and graduate midfielder Ryan Syracuse fired in small windows to get Maryland within 6-5, but a bad clearing pass by McNaney a minute later set up the final goal for the Cavaliers.
Cormier intercepted the ball near midfield and passed to Milon, who beat McNaney inside 15 yards with 2:49 to play in the first half. Milon finished with three goals.
“He’s a big guy and what he did today — that’s what we’ve been encouraging him to do, begging him to do,” Cavaliers coach Lars Tiffany said of Schutz, who had just seven goals on the weekend. “Maryland’s game plan was to win a lot of games. We weren’t winning many games against short-stick defensive midfielders, so we basically said, “Schutz, I know you’ve got a long pole, but it looks like someone’s got to win a game,” and we challenged him, and boy, did he step up.
