Coming out of the half with a five-goal lead, No. 2-seed Maryland women’s lacrosse looked set to cruise to an easy win in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. But after a disastrous second half, the Terps found themselves locked in a stalemate and headed into their first overtime period of the season.
Then, freshman Lyla Ingrilli took a gutsy charge, giving Maryland the possession it needed. Keeley Block took full advantage of the opportunity, drilling a point-blank strike into the net with 70 seconds
left in extra time to send the Terps to the conference championship.
In a game far too close for comfort, Maryland survived a second-half revival from No. 3-seed Johns Hopkins and came out on top, 15-14.
The Terps were humming on defense, forcing Johns Hopkins to rush on offense and commit 17 turnovers. Going into Friday, Maryland’s 6.3 caused turnovers per game ranked dead last in the Big Ten — it has struggled to force giveaways all season long despite a satisfactory defensive season.
Backline success allowed the Terps to explode on offense as they jumped out to a 3-1 lead eight minutes into the game.
However, sophomore defender Riley McEnroe struggled to contain sharpshooter Lacey Downey, allowing the Blue Jay to snipe two goals in a row. Then, Downey secured her hat trick with 57 seconds to go in the opening frame, giving Johns Hopkins its first lead of the game.
Even when Lauren LaPointe and Kristen Shanahan went back-to-back to return the advantage to Maryland, Downey would not be denied. She scored her fourth goal of the contest and third from outside the arc to level the game 19 minutes in.
But where the Blue Jays relied on individual success, Maryland’s offense scored by committee. Five Terps recorded multi-goal performances Friday, including Jordyn Lipkin, who potted two goals and three assists to mark her third game in a row with at least three points.
A Devin Livingston draw control following Lipkin’s second goal sent the Terps charging down the field. Emma Abbazia stalked outside the fan, looking to hold the ball for the last shot of the half. Working from the right elbow, the sophomore deked twice before delivering a strike that pinballed just past the goal line to round out the half.
Not one of Maryland’s 14 first-half shots was placed outside the frame. The Terps took advantage of an inexperienced netminder in Ashley Langdon and a flawed zone defense to outscore Johns Hopkins 7-1 in a monstrous second quarter.
The offensive outburst was also fueled by dominance on the turf, as Maryland’s backline outdid the Blue Jays on ground balls, 4-1, in the second quarter. This gave the Terps the offensive possessions they needed to excel.
Kayla Gilmore’s presence in the circle Friday was crucial in the offensive breakout, as the Terps scored off the draw six times in the contest. But while the Terps won nine of 15 first-half draws, they won just seven of 15 down the stretch, giving Johns Hopkins the spark and possessions it needed to climb back.
After being denied on her previous three shots, Blue Jay Ava Angello scored her first goal of the night with four minutes to go in the third quarter. Paige Willard then followed her on a man-up opportunity two minutes later, capping off a disastrous third quarter for Maryland.
The Terps gave up six goals in the period and had the same number of giveaways as a five-goal advantage shrank to one with 15 minutes left on the game clock.
At the opening of the final frame, disaster struck, as Johns Hopkins scored two quick goals to take its first lead since the second quarter.
Kori Edmondson and LaPointe scored to briefly regain the lead late in regulation. But as the rain began to fall, Angello grabbed her hat trick with five minutes left in the game to knot the score and send the game to overtime.
Neither team could find a win at the end of regulation, and nearly four minutes elapsed in overtime without either team taking a shot. With Block’s late-game heroics, though, Maryland will return to the Big Ten finals to face Northwestern for the second year running.
Three things to know
1. Second-half woes. Maryland’s season-long mission to play a full 60 minutes fell short Friday as it was outscored by Johns Hopkins, 9-4, in the second half. The Terps have been outdone in the final two quarters in seven of their last eight games, and it nearly cost them the win Friday.
2. JJ Suriano’s struggles. After making the game-winning stop in the opening round, Suriano struggled against a high-powered Blue Jay attack. The junior recorded an underwhelming 36.4% save percentage while allowing her second-highest goal total of the year.
3. Down to the wire. Friday’s win marked the second game in a row where Maryland’s victory came down to a single play, a situation it hasn’t faced all season. The Terps will look to ride their momentum and claim their first Big Ten title since 2022.
