All season long, No. 1 Maryland women’s lacrosse’s players and coaches alike have emphasized that its offensive production can come from anywhere. But on Thursday night, the absence of primary scoring options proved to be its greatest fault.
With their top three scorers being held to just five goals combined, the Terps collapsed offensively in the second half. Maryland allowed eight goals in the final 30 minutes, solidifying an 11-10 defeat against No. 4 Northwestern, its first loss of the season.
Thursday’s contest marks Maryland’s sixth straight loss to the Wildcats — it happened largely due to glaring shot disparities late. Northwestern outshot the Terps, 20-10, in the second half, as Maryland’s attackers were effectively neutralized by backline pressure.
After each squad banged the post on its opening possession, Kayla Gilmore broke the ice with a beautiful dodge and finish three minutes into the contest. The sophomore largely returned to form today, scoring a hat trick while helping her team corral 13 draw controls.
Gilmore led the Terps in scoring Thursday, netting her first collegiate hat trick in the 20th minute when she netted Maryland’s fourth goal of the game. Her shot selection was on point the entire evening, scoring on 75% of her total attempts.
“I think we’re starting to get her out and I expect a lot more of her, because I’m going to be all over her as we go through the rest of the season,” head coach Cathy Reese said.
Despite their ability to limit top scorers throughout the season, not even the Terps could limit Madison Taylor. The consensus No. 1 pick in the upcoming WLL draft went off on Maryland’s backline, contributing to nearly half of Northwestern’s scoring with four goals and an assist.
Aside from Taylor, the Terps performed fairly well in their defensive zone. Maryland’s defenders held their own against the highest-scoring offensive unit in the Big Ten, causing 11 total turnovers and limiting the Wildcats to five fewer goals than their per-game average.
Coming out of the half, Northwestern closed the deficit to one on a man-up opportunity three minutes into the third frame. JJ Suriano made two crucial saves in the following two minutes, but it wasn’t enough, as Taylor scored her third of the match just seconds later to level the game at five. The Terps desperately needed a spark to retake control of the bout.
Maryland’s backline experienced a lull in the third quarter, allowing nine shots and failing to cause a single turnover over the course of 15 minutes.
Kori Edmondson and Abby LoCascio traded scores late in the frame, but neither team could find a breakthrough. Kristen Shanahan and Noel Cumberland then got themselves on the scoreboard as the stalemate continued.
Just two minutes into the fourth quarter, Lauren LaPointe received a pass from Edmondson and delivered a brilliant jumping strike. But seconds later, play stopped as the junior had to be helped off the field following a collision just past the 30-yard line. Moments later, Northwestern again equalized the match.
The Wildcats took their first lead of the game with 11 minutes to go on a free position snipe from Taylor Lapointe. This marked the first time the Terps had trailed in the fourth quarter since a Feb. 18 game at Georgetown. This deficit tripled in the following four minutes, as Suriano chucked her water bottle into the back of the net following the Wildcats’ final score.
Despite late-game heroic goals from Shanahan and Edmondson, the Wildcats snagged the final draw control to secure the win in College Park.
“I think the message just moving forward is to be proud of your fight,” Reese said. “And we’ve just got to keep chipping away and limit our mistakes a little bit more.”
Three things to know
1. The battle for possession. While edging out Northwestern in the circle, the Terps once again struggled to grab ground balls. Maryland’s 14 ground balls per game are second-worst in the conference, and lost the battle today, 20-12.
2. Second-half slump. Maryland’s collapse in the final two frames was key in its loss, but had been a glaring issue for weeks on end. The Terps have been outscored in the final 30 minutes in each of their previous three games, and were bested again by the Wildcats.
3. First loss of the year. With the loss, Maryland’s run as the only undefeated team in the nation has come to an end. After the game, Reese’s message to the team was largely team-focused and looking toward future improvements.
“Everything’s positive right now… We just asked, ‘what were things that we could control, that we would do differently,’” Reese said.
