Throughout the season, JJ Suriano and Lauren LaPointe have consistently credited their teammates for their standout seasons. Both juniors claimed spots on the Tewaaraton Award Watchlist, a testament to their extraordinary improvements after ups and downs as underclassmen.
On Thursday, it was that pair in the spotlight once again. LaPointe broke her goals and points record for the second time this season, netting seven goals and three assists, and Suriano made 13 saves to preserve a 15-12 victory over
Johns Hopkins.
Kristen Shanahan had a rough few opening minutes. She missed an ambitious behind-the-back shot, earned a green card and committed a turnover all in the first three minutes. But in the fourth minute, Maryland regained possession following a sloppy Blue Jays pass.
Shanahan picked up a ground ball in the fan, cut into the arc and fired her shot into the cage to draw first blood.
The first two quarters provided an excellent test for Suriano’s ability to make saves in close quarters. The junior made nine saves in the opening half in the face of 19 total shots, singlehandedly preserving a multi-goal lead for the Terps.
Despite a 41-19 shot disparity in favor of the Blue Jays, Maryland’s offense was far more efficient throughout the contest. The Terps touted an astronomical 89.5% shots-on-goal percentage as five different players netted their opening five scores.
Lauren LaPointe broke that trend by netting her second goal with 11 minutes left in the second quarter, a brilliant off-hand shot. Less than a minute later, LaPointe scored again with a left-elbow missile that found the upper-left corner and gave Maryland a six-goal lead.
The attacker has already eclipsed her goal total across her first two seasons combined — LaPointe has 39 scores through just 11 games.
“I tell her not to get bored of scoring, right? She can go to goal. She’s hard to defend. She can come from high, she can come from low, and definitely one of the best attackers in the country,” head coach Cathy Reese said.
Going into halftime, the Terps held a five-goal lead despite being outshot, 20-12. A big part of this was success in two areas Maryland emphasized: draws and free position opportunities.
Kayla Gilmore dominated in the draw circle, leading to a 9-6 advantage at the half against a solid Johns Hopkins faceoff unit. Meanwhile, the Terps went 5-of-5 on free positions in the contest, highlighted by a long-range snipe from Kori Edmondson with three minutes left in the half for her second goal of the day.
Maryland’s backline also accomplished possibly its most important job on the day: stopping Ava Angello. The senior averaged 3.8 goals per game coming into Thursday but only scored two goals on eight shots. She was primarily marked by Terp captain Kennedy Major during the contest. Perhaps due to frustration, Angello also tallied three penalty minutes on the day, her highest mark of the season.
In the final frame, however, Maryland’s defense faltered, resulting in the Blue Jays scoring five unanswered goals to cut the lead to three. But it wasn’t just a defensive collapse; Maryland committed six turnovers in the final frame and were outdueled in the draw circle, 3-2.
“We dug ourselves into a little hole in the fourth quarter,” Reese said. We had two cards that were non-releasable, so we played man-down for four minutes… and they capitalized on those opportunities.”
Despite this, the Terps’ eight-goal cushion gave them enough wiggle room to sneak out of Baltimore with their third conference win.
Three things to know
1. Battle tested. On the back of huge offensive production in the first three frames, the Terps took down their toughest opponent yet on the road. Maryland only has one team left on their schedule with a higher ranking than the Blue Jays — No. 6 Michigan. That game will also be away from College Park, albeit a significantly further journey.
2. Turnover issues. Despite total offensive dominance, Maryland was once again bitten by the turnover bug. The Terps totaled 17 turnovers on Thursday while only causing three. Giveaways have been one of the few statistical areas where the Terps lag behind their opponents.
3. The season will end in SECU. Revamping the turf at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex has extended past its previous end date, likely forcing the Terps to end their season at the much-larger SECU Stadium.
