No. 6 Maryland women’s lacrosse’s season opener against No. 13 Syracuse went about as well as it could have hoped.
The Terps smothered the Orange with their depth and veteran experience. Sixteen saves from
JJ Suriano and five goals from Lauren Lapointe comfortably took Maryland past Syracuse, 9-5.
This weekend, the Terps play their first home game of 2026 against No. 12 Virginia looking to avenge another one of their losses from last year. Last year, Maryland fell to the Cavaliers, 13-9, due to sheer offensive firepower dismantling Suriano between the posts.
The home opener will take place on Saturday at noon at SECU Stadium. The game will stream on Big Ten Plus.
No. 12 Virginia Cavaliers (0-2, 0-0 Atlantic Coast Conference)
2024 record: 12-7, 5-4 Atlantic Coast Conference
The Cavaliers have had a rough start to its 2026 campaign. They’ve dropped both of their opening contests to lower ranked opponents, each by two points or less. In its most recent game, Virginia lost, 12-11, to an unranked and winless Richmond team.
Head coach Sonia LaMonica is one of three Maryland alumni on Virginia’s coaching staff and returns to College Park for the first time since taking the helm in 2023. LaMonica has led the Cavaliers to two consecutive second-round NCAA Tournament losses. In both of those games, Virginia was the higher ranked team.
Maryland is 9-1 in its last 10 bouts with Virginia and looks to continue its dominance in the lopsided rivalry.
“Anytime you get a Maryland-Virginia matchup, it’s always a tough game,” head coach Cathy Reese said. “Even back to our days in the ACC, this was such a great rivalry.”
Players to watch
Kate Galicia, junior midfielder, No. 5 – Galicia enters her third year of collegiate lacrosse with one of the most impressive resumes in the entire sport. The two-way midfielder racked up 41 goals and caused 17 turnovers on her way to IWLCA First Team All-American and ACC Midfielder of the Year honors.
Addi Foster, junior attacker, No. 15 – After a breakout year in 2025, Foster looks to keep her early momentum rolling. She opened the season the right way with a four-goal performance against Richmond. Foster netted 41 goals last season while also snagging an outstanding 19 ground balls from the attack position.
Jenna DiNardo, junior attacker, No. 4 — DiNardo rounds out Virginia’s strong junior class and looks to improve upon her 53-goal 2025 season, where she notched four game-winners. The USA Lacrosse Magazine Preseason All-American already has four goals on the season.
Strength
Offensive volume. The Cavaliers ranked top-five in both total goals (262) and goals per game (13.79) in the ACC last season. This trend will likely continue into this season with each of Virginia’s top-four goalscorers returning.
Weakness
Goalkeeping consistency. A lack of performance and stability in goal has been a large reason for Virginia’s 0-2 start. Mel Josephson started every game in net last year, but she has split time evenly with transfer Elyse Finnelle. Neither member of the pair has particularly stood out, combining for a .351 save percentage and 24 total goals allowed.
Three things to watch
1. Reese’s revenge tour. The Terps have the opportunity to open the season by beating two teams that handed them some of their biggest losses of 2025. Reese heavily values these opportunities.
“We lost to Virginia pretty good last year. And so we know that coming off that game and coming off of the Syracuse game, there’s a lot that we need to improve on,” Reese said. “And yet, we want to keep our foot on the gas.”
2. Depth or decline? Many of Maryland’s stars from last year were silenced against Syracuse, most notably midfielders Kori Edmondson and Jordyn Lipkin. Lipkin believes that this is more of an indicator of roster strength rather than regression.
“Our depth is crazy this year. We have so much talent…” Lipkin said. “But at the end of the day, no one’s scoring without our offense executing the way that we need to.”
3. Debut in the Shell. With renovations still ongoing at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex, the Terps will play all but two of their home games in SECU Stadium. The change in scenery will certainly alter gameday routines, but whether or not it will impact performance is still up in the air.
