Since May 11, 2025, No. 3 Maryland women’s lacrosse midfielder Kori Edmondson had been counting the days until she got her chance at redemption.
After being eliminated by Penn in double-overtime in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, Edmondson spent countless hours preparing to make sure the Terps would be fully prepared the next time the two teams faced off.
“It’s always been circled on my calendar,” Edmondson said. “I’m sick of losing to Penn… Thank goodness we closed that chapter.”
Under the
lights on Thursday night, her hard work paid off. Maryland jumped out to an 11-3 advantage at the close of the first half — a lead it would never relinquish — and took down the Quakers in a commanding 15-9 win.
Before Penn could cross into the offensive zone, the Terps burst onto the scoreboard in overwhelming fashion.
After ripping a shot wide from the left elbow, Lauren LaPointe drew first blood, cutting around two defenders in the second minute of play. Keeley Block followed in the junior’s footsteps less than a minute later, scoring against her former team to extend the lead to two.
A big part of Maryland’s success came from its sheer shooting volume. The Terps blew the Quakers away inside the arc, winning the total shots battle, 37-21. Despite shooting below its season average, Maryland’s 56.8% shots-on-goal percentage was more than enough to overwhelm Penn goalkeeper Orly Sedransk.
“If we’re generating shots and we’re getting good looks on offense — I think we can continue to do that — that’s gonna be great for us,” Edmondson said.
Following an errant pass, a scramble for the ball ensued mere meters from the cage with five minutes left in the first quarter. Kristen Shanahan emerged from the scrum, spun away from a defender and delivered a stunning behind-the-back shot past Sedransk to give the Terps a four-goal cushion.
Maryland matched its second-lowest goals allowed in a half, largely on the backs of a fully-recovered Kennedy Major and four saves from JJ Suriano.
A miscommunication on defense left Eden Welch unmarked, as she drove into the fan with seven minutes left in the first half. The Quaker attacker unleashed a bullet just feet outside the crease, a shot Suriano brilliantly stymied and redirected to safety as Maryland’s bench erupted.
Kayla Gilmore’s role wasn’t limited to her usual post in the draw circle. The Tewaaraton Watchlist member scored for her second straight game while simultaneously leading the Terps to dominate Penn on draw controls, 17-9. Gilmore was one of eight scorers for the black and gold.
The opening of the second half looked grim for Maryland, as the Quakers netted three unanswered goals with just over five minutes left in the third quarter. The lead had suddenly shrunk to five.
Then, Edmondson stormed into frame and delivered her trademark spin-move five-hole snipe through two defenders to secure her hat trick and a 12th goal for the Terps. Edmondson added on to open the fourth frame, as a sidearm shot found nylon to give the Terps momentum with just 14 minutes to go.
Lauren LaPointe took a slight backseat in Friday’s contest. Maryland’s leading scorer only found the net once on the night, instead illustrating her versatility by dishing out a team-high three assists.
Three things to know
1. Bittersweet reunion for Block. After playing four years at Penn, the attacker opted to transfer to Maryland for her final year of eligibility. Block was one of the driving forces behind the win on Friday, scoring four goals for a Maryland team she beat twice in 2025.
“I love Maryland, I’ve wanted to be part of their team since I was little, and it just makes the victory a little bit more sweet that it was against Penn,” Block said.
2. Perfect in non-conference play. After the late-night win, the Terps closed out their nonconference slate with a perfect 9-0 record. The last time Maryland accomplished this feat was its historic 15th National Title run in 2019. From head coach Cathy Reese’s point of view, there’s still room for improvement.
“We’re not playing our best lacrosse yet, that’s for sure. And if we were, that would be a problem,” Reese said. “So I love where we are. I love where we’re headed, and I love the growth that we’re continuing to show each time we get to step on the field.”
3. Edmondson on top. The senior captain put on a show under the bright lights at SECU Stadium in a performance reminiscent of her breakthrough 2025 season. Edmondson notched four goals and one assist in her best showing this season.
“I think that I was kind of doing it for Keeley. We all kind of talked, and we all just knew that there was a bigger why for this game, and we knew that we needed to go out there and execute,” Edmonson said.
