Just 36 hours after a gritty win over Georgetown, No. 3 Maryland women’s lacrosse boarded a bus for an early Friday afternoon matchup in Philadelphia. With tired legs and battered starters, the Terps looked uncharacteristically unprepared for their matchup against Saint Joseph’s. Maryland’s defense would allow 42 shots in the matchup, the team’s highest number in six years.
Despite that, high efficiency scoring and shotmaking kept the Terps above water as they sank the Hawks, 17-15.
Clears were a huge driving factor in the first quarter — the Terps went 7-of-7 thanks to brick-wall defense on the fan and four saves from JJ Suriano. They held the Hawks to just a single score in the frame.
Meanwhile, new faces on offense gave Maryland an early lead in the first quarter. Keeley Block and Ava Meyn scored three of the Terps’ four opening goals.
The new Terps continued to shine as Kristen Shanahan received a dart from Neve O’Ferrall inside the arc and fired from high to extend Maryland’s lead to four with four minutes left in the quarter.
The Terps employed a vertical offense in the opening quarter, sending long passes down the chain of attack to either draw a foul or catch Hawks goalkeeper Liana Moli flat-footed. The strategy allowed Maryland to effectively share the wealth, with eight different players scoring in the first half.
But a three-goal run from the Hawks erupted due to Maryland’s midfield sloppiness. Unforced turnovers and failure to secure ground balls awarded Saint Joseph’s continuous possessions. The Terps were outdone, 10-7, on ground balls at the half.
Riley Miller gave the Hawks a much-needed answer two minutes later before Kate Kaptrosky grabbed her first of the match to cut the lead to two with seconds left in the frame.
The second of a pair of Saint Joseph’s free position shots found the net as Reese attempted to calm Suriano from the sideline early in the second quarter.
Lauren LaPointe and Alexa Capozzoli traded scores before captains Jordyn Lipkin and Kori Edmondson ended their silence and padded Maryland’s lead.
Lipkin and Edmondson have scored in succession three times this season and have combined for 13 goals thus far.
Maryland’s backline allowed 21 shots in the half, but only 13 were on goal. The Hawks missed five chances in a row — four wide of the frame — in the final two minutes before Emma Yoder scored in the final 10 seconds.
Suriano also denied seven shots to Moli’s two, and she grabbed one more in the opening minutes of the second half before a putback from Olivia McCloskey finally broke through.
The left wing was a sore spot for the Hawks early in the third quarter, as plentiful space led to twin blows from LaPointe and Edmondson that sailed past Moli’s guard and extended the deficit to five.
Similarly, shots from right-wing cutters was Maryland’s kryptonite. Kate Fuhrman and Miller found nylon on nearly identical chances to return the lead to three. These shots came from empty space normally filled by Kennedy Major, who was absent from the contest.
Two goals from each squad left the lead at one as the Terps secured their second draw of the quarter. With the shot clock winding down, Edmondson drove down the center lane and slotted the ball five-hole to give Maryland a small cushion with 11 minutes to play.
Saint Joseph’s shooting woes continued in the next eight minutes; only three of seven shots were on goal in the quarter. Four possessions in a row yielded no results, as the Hawks missed five shots wide.
Following eight minutes of silence, LaPointe notched her fifth of the game to match her season high.
Major’s absence from the contest forced Maryland to increase its physicality late, being called on fouls four times in the fourth quarter. A free-position score on a woman-up chance from Fuhrman closed out the scoring as the Terps survived the matchup unscathed.
Three things to know
1. Shots galore. Pure shot volume was a driving factor behind Friday’s close matchup, as the Hawks outshot Maryland 42-30. Twelve saves from Suriano combined with 15 off-target shots from Saint Joseph’s kept the Terps in the game and out of the loss column.
2. Missing in action. Major’s absence was certainly felt on defense, as right-side windows were often left wide open by Maryland’s backline unit. It’s unclear currently what kept her from the contest.
3. Home sweet home. The Terps will return to College Park to take the week off before hosting No. 9 Princeton in the Shell.