FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The frustration — and narrative — continues for John Tillman and Maryland men’s lacrosse.

For the seventh time in nine NCAA Tournament final appearances, the 15-year coach and the Terps fell short of the ultimate objective by losing to Cornell, 13-10, Monday afternoon before an announced 32,512 at Gillette Stadium.

While Tillman joined Syracuse’s Roy Simmons Jr. and Princeton and Denver’s Bill Tierney as the only coaches in NCAA Division I history to reach nine title games, the former’s 2-7 record is decidedly less flattering than the marks owned by Tierney (7-2) and Simmons Jr. (6-3).

Maryland (14-4) dropped to 4-15 in tournament finals and lost in the sport’s final game for the second year in a row. Last year’s squad was humbled, 15-5, by No. 1 seed Notre Dame en route to that school’s second straight crown.

Although the Terps had been ranked No. 1 for a significant time during the regular season and were the No. 2 seed in the tournament, they were not considered a juggernaut. Before the tournament began, the offense did not boast a player with more than 30 goals or 40 points.

And it was that unit that was sorely missing from Monday’s proceedings. Trailing just 6-5 with 72 seconds left in the second quarter, Maryland stumbled into an 11:54 drought before junior attackman Braden Erksa converted a pass from senior attackman Eric Spanos. That goal cut into the Big Red’s three-goal advantage, but the Terps aren’t built for comebacks as evidenced by their season-ending 1-4 record when trailing after three quarters.

Spanos finished his final game at Maryland with two goals and two assists, and Erksa and senior midfielder Zach Whittier scored two goals each. But the offense failed to capitalize on the faceoff play of senior Shea Keethler and freshman Jonah Carrier, who combined to win 15 of 26 draws and collect six ground balls.

What Maryland did have was one of the stingiest defenses in the country, a unit that ranked second in the country in fewest goals allowed per game at 7.8. The group was anchored by graduate student goalkeeper Logan McNaney, the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player in 2022 who backstopped that squad’s run to the championship with 17 saves in the final, and junior defenseman Will Schaller, the Big Ten’s Defensive Player of the Year.

McNaney did his part. With 11 stops, he registered his sixth consecutive game of at least 10 saves.

Schaller had a tougher time. After shutting out Syracuse junior attackman Joey Spallina when they were on the field together in a 14-8 victory in Saturday’s semifinal , Schaller was tasked with limiting Cornell senior attackman CJ Kirst, the Ivy League’s Offensive Player of the Year and presumptive winner of the Tewaaraton Award, the sport’s version of the Heisman Trophy.

Kirst, who did not notch a goal or an assist in the team’s 11-9 win against No. 5 seed Penn State on Saturday, erupted for game highs in both goals (six) and points (seven). He racked up five goals and one assist in the second half, including a hat trick in the third quarter.

Kirst became the first player in an NCAA Tournament final to score six goals since Paul Rabil in Johns Hopkins’ 13-10 setback to Syracuse on May 26, 2008. Kirst also amassed 82 goals, tying Yale’s Jon Reese in 1990 and Albany’s Miles Thompson in 2014 for the most goals in a season in Division I history.

The Big Red punctured the scoreboard first when sophomore attackman Ryan Waldman dodged the left alley and scored with 10:38 left in the first quarter. The Terps knotted the score at 1-1 with 7:27 to go when graduate student midfielder Bryce Ford collected a rebound in the slot and scored, but Cornell regained the lead after junior midfielder Brian Luzzi converted a feed from senior attackman Michael Long.

And that’s how the game developed for the rest of the first half. For every goal Maryland used to earn a tie, the Big Red replied to reassume the lead.

A goal by sophomore attackman Ryan Goldstein with 5:06 remaining in the second frame lifted Cornell to a 5-3 lead for the game’s first two-goal advantage. But the Terps scored two of the period’s last three goals to trail, 6-5, at halftime.

Kirst was aided by Goldstein, who scored four times, and senior attackman Michael Long, who added two assists. And senior goalie Wyatt Knust outdueled McNaney by making a game-best 12 saves.

Cornell’s victory clinched that school’s fourth NCAA title, but first since 1977. It also served to avenge that 9-7 loss to the Terps in the 2022 final.

The Big Red (18-1) set a new school record for victories in a season. They also ended the campaign on a 14-game winning streak.