After multiple close bouts against unranked opponents, Wednesday’s matchup was a breath of fresh air for No. 3 Maryland women’s lacrosse.
Offensive explosiveness propelled the Terps, as eight different players scored over the course of a lopsided offensive affair. Lauren LaPointe and Kori Edmondson scored four goals each to put the contest far out of reach early as Maryland bested Hofstra, 16-9, in Hempstead, New York.
Kori Edmondson grabbed the opening draw after a small skirmish. Edmondson drove
into the arc and passed it to Jordyn Lipkin. Lipkin then dished the ball to a cutting Lauren Lapointe, who buried a high shot just 24 seconds into the game.
Hofstra shelled JJ Suriano in the opening five minutes, outshooting the Terps 6-1, as a lone free position score from Nikki Mennella evened the score.
Edmondson and Lipkin continued their tag-team scoring early in the match, scoring back-to-back goals at the halfway point of the first quarter. The duo now has scored in succession five times this season.
Shelby Sullivan then scored her first goal of the season with five minutes left, the last score of the quarter.
Maryland’s backline was nearly impossible to break in the first quarter, forcing 10 of Hofstra’s 13 shots wide. Its main strength was durability, as the Terps forced the Pride into eating up the shot clock and shooting into extremely limited windows.
At the start of the second quarter, the contest broke wide open. LaPointe netted two more goals for her hat trick before Lexi Dupcak pushed Maryland’s lead to six just three minutes in. The Pride then answered back with three of their own before Edmondson netted her second of the contest with seven minutes left.
Suriano and Hofstra keeper Luchianna Cardello faced 25 combined shots in the second quarter as both teams’ defenses tired and left greater opportunities than there were in the first period.
Keeley Block and LaPointe scored just 12 seconds apart as Hofstra looked for an answer to Maryland’s 65% shots on goal percentage in the half.
The Pride’s Shannon Steck scored the final goal of the half before Suriano’s sixth save of the game closed out the first 30 minutes. Suriano entirely outclassed Cardello in the first two quarters, posting a .545 save percentage to Cardello’s .231 mark.
Maryland’s offense continued its onslaught early in the second half, with goals from Edmondson, Block and Devin Livingston in the first eight minutes. Each of the Terps’ seven shots during this stretch were on frame as they continued to dominate the accuracy battle.
Perhaps Maryland’s biggest saving grace on defense was its ability to hold back Nikki Mennella. Mennella averaged 3.7 goals per game prior to Wednesday’s game, but was held to just two goals on 12 shots. She also committed three costly turnovers.
After three early goals, the Terps were held scoreless to close out the half. But just three minutes into the fourth quarter, Dupcak and Edmondson found nylon as the lead was entirely out of reach. Sawyer Scarola achieved two milestones just seconds later, as her maiden collegiate goal gave Maryland its first double-digit lead of the season.
After allowing two goals, Suriano was subbed out for the first time this season. The junior made nine total saves and posted a .529 save percentage in just over 52 minutes of play. Her replacement, senior Caitlin Boden, had one save and allowed one goal in five minutes before getting pulled for Carly Peterson.
The game closed out without notable action as the Terps improved to 6-0 on the season.
Three things to know
1. LaPointe’s leading role. Maryland’s most unexpected star was on full display in Wednesday’s late-afternoon game. The attacker posted the Terps’ best performance this season, scoring four goals while also distributing four crucial assists.
2. Accuracy on full display. Shots on frame was the difference maker against Hofstra, as Maryland’s 73.7% mark dwarfed the Pride’s 57.6% scattering. The Terps’ performance highlighted why their attack is one of the strongest and most accurate in the nation.
3. Last break in sight. Wednesday’s victory over the Pride marks Maryland’s last low-tier contest of the season. The Terps will play No. 22 James Madison on Saturday before jumping into conference play at Oregon. They will also play No. 17 Penn during their Big Ten slate.
