Photo courtesy of Ashley Ray/Maryland Terrapins
No. 6 seed Maryland women’s lacrosse defeated Fairfield 16-7 on Friday in College Park, moving the Terps forward into the NCAA’s second round.
The Terps are coming off the Big Ten Tournament, where they came close to winning the title but fell short to Northwestern. Meanwhile, Fairfield just came out of the MAAC Championship with a win.
A strong start for Maryland in the first quarter helped set the tone for the entire game.
The Terps put up the first two goals, both from junior Kori Edmondson and sophomore Lauren LaPointe, and continued with four more, holding Fairfield to just one goal. That trend continued through the first half, with Maryland also dominating in draw controls.
Freshman Kayla Gilmore gave the Terps continuous possessions in the first quarter, helping Maryland build a five-point lead going into the second.
The Terps added four more goals in the second quarter and again limited the Stags to just one.
LaPointe scored her third goal, one of four in total, and freshman Ava Kitt recorded her first goal of the season. Many non-starters also saw playing time, including Kitt.
Maryland’s ability to get accurate shots on goal and find the net, especially compared to its last game against Northwestern, was a key improvement.
By halftime, the Terps led the Stags by eight points, with a 10-4 advantage in draw controls and 20 shots to Fairfield’s 12.
Maryland opened the third quarter with another goal from LaPointe, who contributed to multiple scores for the Terps.
Fairfield began to respond with two back-to-back goals and added another by the end of the third quarter. Still, Maryland outscored the Stags 4-3 in that period.
The Terps held onto a nine-point lead heading into the final quarter.
In the fourth, both teams scored two goals, sealing Maryland’s win and securing a spot in the NCAA second round on May 11 at noon.
