Much of the University of Maryland’s lacrosse success can be traced to senior goalie Logan McNaney. And if he gets hot in the Final Four of the NCAA Division I tournament in Foxborough, Massachusetts, this weekend, the Terps will win a second championship in the past four years.

Of all the goalies in the semifinals that includes No. 1 seed Cornell, No. 5 Penn State and No. 6 Syracuse, McNaney is the great equalizer — even against the Orange, who will face No. 2 Maryland at Gillette Stadium in the second game of Saturday’s doubleheader.

Syracuse has dynamic attackmen such as Joey Spallina (35 goals, 54 assists) and Owen Hiltz (45 G, 27 A), but Maryland has great defensemen such as Will Schaller and long-pole midfielders like Jack McDonald and Al Larkin. But it all starts and ends with McNaney.

“I think, first off, Maryland is built on defense,” Georgetown coach Kevin Warne said after a 9-6 loss to the Terps on Sunday. “Coach (John) Tillman will always make sure that they’re a very, very good group on the defensive end of field, and (associate head coach and defensive coordinator) Jesse Bernhardt does an unbelievable job of getting those guys orchestrated. They hold their slides really well, they have a great perimeter and they hit landmarks. They make it very difficult for you to decide if they’re actually sliding full time, going half the time, just stepping off their man. They play games with you a little bit, and what happens is it slows you down.

“And the guy they got in the goal is not bad in the nicest way possible, he’s excellent, he gobbles it up. Those guys are very athletic to get their hands on you and they’re like a machine, quite honestly. It’s just six guys in front of No. 1, but six guys that are on the same page. They don’t make a lot of mistakes; very consistent in fundamentals. So, we’re not surprised.”

Can the Terps lean on their defense again to make the national title game? Let’s break down the semifinal matchups.

No. 2 Maryland vs. No. 6 Syracuse

McNaney, a senior, has started all 16 games for Maryland (13-3) and has a goals against average of 7.69 per game and a save percentage of .595.

In 2022, when the Terps won their last national championship, McNaney had a .597 save percentage and a goals against average of 8.44. He was named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player as Maryland finished with an 18-0 record.

It’s interesting to watch Maryland’s defense work. The Terps can slide or hide them. They are physical in their approach with short-stick midfielders Eric Kolar, George Stamos, Thomas Gravino and Zack Goorno, even though Ohio State took advantage of them in the Big Ten championship game.

And then there is the wall, McNaney.

“McNaney has meant so much to Maryland lacrosse,” said Mark Dixon, analyst for both ESPN and the Big Ten Network. “In my opinion, it’s never been about the quantity of the saves, but rather quality. When he makes key saves it really defines his career. That said, you can’t be timid or over-cautious against the Terps.

“Ohio State gave them the bum rush a few weeks ago, and had success. You have to get to Logan early. Respect, but don’t fear the Turtle.”

Maryland has the near-perfect offense to attack Syracuse. It’s the deliberate type in which the Terps like to work down the 80-second shot clock. Meanwhile, Syracuse’s offense can be undisciplined and unpredictable at times, but the Orange will get a lot of scoring opportunities because it has John Mullen, one of the best faceoff specialists in the game.

Mullen has won 274 of 429 faceoffs this season, a .639 winning percentage that ranks fifth nationally. Maryland counters with Shea Keethler, who has won 87 of 160 (.565) this season, and Jonah Carrier, who has won 59 of 114 (.518). Meanwhile, Orange goalie Jimmy McCool (10.28 goals against average) has allowed 30 goals in the past two games, including a 19-18 win against Princeton in the quarterfinal round.

That makes McNaney’s contributions even more valuable, and one of the reasons Maryland has won seven straight against Syracuse, including an 11-7 victory on Feb. 15 earlier this season. Look for the Terps to make it eight in a row Saturday.

Prediction: Maryland 10, Syracuse 8

No. 1 Cornell vs. No. 5 Penn State

Penn State’s 14-12 win against two-time defending champion Notre Dame in the quarterfinals over the weekend was stunning and exhilarating, but it will be hard for the Nittany Lions to duplicate that performance against Cornell on Saturday.

Penn State, which was down by six goals midway through the third quarter against Notre Dame, has an explosive attack led by Matt Traynor (42 goals, 17 assists), who had six goals against the Fighting Irish. The Nittany Lions also have midfielder Hunter Aquino (16 G, 21 A) and goalie Jack Fracyon (9.23 goals against average), an Annapolis native who played well against Notre Dame.

But Cornell has waves of offense paced by All-American attackman CJ Kirst (76 G, 32 A). Underrated on the attack is Ryan Goldstein (38 G, 50 A), who paced the group with four goals in the Big Red’s 13-12 win over Richmond in the quarterfinals.

Penn State has found a way to survive in this tournament and it will make the game against Cornell competitive, but the Big Red appear on a mission.

Prediction: Cornell 15, Penn State 13

Have a news tip? Contact Mike Preston at epreston @baltsun.com, 410-332-6467 and x.com/MikePrestonSun.