No. 10 Maryland women’s lacrosse defeats No. 24 Penn, 16-12

With the rating 12-10, No. 10 Maryland girls’s lacrosse had an opportunity to shut out the sport.

Junior attacker Chrissy Thomas, who had simply 4 targets within the earlier 10 video games, delivered. She scored twice in a row and supplied the spark that Maryland desperately wanted after capitalizing simply as soon as within the third quarter. Her heroics led to the Terps’ fifth straight, as they took down No. 24 Penn by a closing rating of 16-12.

“I trusted my teammates,” Thomas stated. “Eloise (Clevenger) was actually good at seeing feeds. And she or he noticed me and it was open.”

In its subsequent match, Maryland will play No. 16 Princeton on March 29 at 8 p.m.

Penn kicked off the motion by profitable the opening draw management. Instantly, the Quaker offense settled in, and after isolating on the 12-meter fan, midfielder Anna Brandt beat Maryland redshirt freshman defender Kennedy Main for the rating.

Instantly after, senior midfielder Shaylan Ahearn received the draw management and the Maryland offense went to work. After passing the ball across the perimeter for a superb chunk of the shot clock, midfielder sophomore Jordyn Lipkin rang a shot off the publish.

A free place was awarded on the restoration, however no rating occurred. It was solely on the following possession that freshman midfielder and rising star Kori Edmondson secured Maryland’s first objective. She did so on a nifty turn-around transfer throughout the eight-meter arc, displaying her capturing acumen. The objective improved her scoring streak to seven video games.

Maryland obtained the subsequent objective, too, as attacker Eloise Clevenger snaked round from her place behind the online and stuffed it within the nook. Currently, she has been extra aggressive in her makes an attempt to cost the cage.

Penn struck again, capitalizing on a woman-up alternative. Nonetheless, Maryland was as soon as once more fast to reply, with Thomas netting her fifth of the season on a low shot. She notched her second of the sport about three minutes later.

Total, within the first body, Maryland’s offense made a superb effort to tire out the Quaker protection by using its fast ball motion and general pace. At instances it was unsuccessful, due partly to nice saves from Penn’s netminder Kelly Van Hoesen and the Quaker protection collapsing throughout the 12-meter fan and shutting down slicing alternatives.

Brandt began the second body for Penn with a objective, her third of the sport. On the next draw management, Ahearn collided with teammate Abby Bosco, a former Quaker, and needed to be helped off earlier than returning to the motion for the very subsequent draw management.

With the rating twisted up at 5 with 13 minutes left within the first half, the Terps went on a woman-up benefit. There, they illustrated their endurance and composure, working to seek out the open participant. Quickly sufficient, Edmondson discovered the again of the online from her patented scoring spot simply left of the online.

Simply seconds later, Clevenger imitated her first objective and added on to the scoring run for the Terps. Her means to work in tight areas across the cage has been a welcome sight for Maryland’s offense, and has added to it one other dimension.

In the end, the second quarter was a back-and-forth battle, with each Maryland and Penn occurring scoring runs. The Terps’ pace and particular person scorers have been the important thing to their success, however Van Hoesen and the occasional breakdown on protection stopped them from with the ability to ever draw back.

On the finish of the primary half, Maryland led 9-8.

The primary portion of the third quarter was scoreless, with some nice protection and goaltending occurring from each squads. Maryland had just a few fast-break alternatives that have been shut down by Penn’s protection, which converged properly and communicated properly.

Penn opened the scoring about six minutes in, with Brandt potting her fourth objective of the match. Three minutes later, attacker Niki Miles adopted go well with and put Penn within the lead, 10-9. Maryland’s protection merely didn’t seem to have the identical quantity of aggression that it had in a number of video games earlier than.

The third quarter was a defensive battle and highlighted a few of Maryland’s inconsistencies that had disappeared for fairly just a few video games.

To start out the fourth quarter, Maryland scored two fast targets, certainly one of which got here from Thomas, who accomplished her second hat trick of the season.

“She’s actually type of stepped up because the season’s gone on,” head coach Cathy Reese stated. “I really like her progress…as a result of she’s turn out to be extra assured. We’re seeing her not simply be capable to feed the ball however rating, too.”

Because the quarter continued, the Terps’ impressed with their means to bounce again. After scoring simply as soon as within the earlier quarter, each Maryland’s offense and protection shined shiny. The Terrapins offense scored six unanswered, they usually have been capable of run out a piece of clock en path to their eighth win of the season.

“I really like the psychological toughness of our gamers on the market,” Reese stated. “We may have tried to go particular person and deviate from the sport plan. However as a substitute, we pulled via … we ran away with a 7-0 run.”

Three issues to know

1. Maryland’s protection cooled off. Wednesday, the Terps broke their streak of six straight video games with out permitting their opposition to attain greater than eight targets. The mix of nice isolation scoring, skillful capturing and the protection often not switching quick sufficient was the rationale for the elevated scoreline.

Nonetheless, the protection didn’t play terribly by any means. It allowed simply 30 photographs, with 23 of them being on objective. However the protection solely pressured eight Penn turnovers, usually certainly one of Maryland’s strongsuits.

“I’m actually pleased with our protection for being affected person and clicking,” Bosco stated. “After we persist with our sport plan and execute it and all work as a unit, you may actually inform.”

2. Lapses on offense. The Terps began off robust, scoring 9 targets earlier than halftime and shifting round with urgency. Typical scorers like Edmondson discovered the again of the online whereas targets from Thomas and Clevenger confirmed off the dynamism of the assault.

Nonetheless, the Terps solely scored as soon as within the third quarter. This was largely as a consequence of some superb saves from Van Hoesen, who had a profession sport, however as a consequence of some sloppy passing, too.

“We began to get numerous beauty, however we weren’t ending,” Reese stated. “Their goalie had some nice saves … and Penn’s protection restricted us fairly a bit.”

Nonetheless, the fourth quarter proved that the third body was an anomaly, because the Terps scored six unanswered to begin the body and ended up profitable decisively.

3. Draw management dominance. By now it’s no shock, however the Terps received the draw management battle as soon as extra — they usually did so convincingly, profitable it 23-9. What’s much more noteworthy is the truth that they allowed the Quakers to win simply three draw controls within the entirety of the second half.

This could give Maryland followers some solace in realizing that even when the offense is struggling, the Terps will proceed to be equipped with ample alternatives to attain.

“It actually begins with Shay (Ahearn) there within the center and I simply have a lot belief in her,” Bosco stated. “You simply need to go one hundred pc and combat for each unfastened ball in there.”