Maryland women’s lacrosse falls to Northwestern in Big Ten title game, 14-9

Maryland women’s lacrosse held Hailey Rhatigan, Northwestern’s second-leading scorer, to just one shot-on-goal in the first 44 minutes of play. 

But she got into a rhythm late, finding the net to end the third quarter and again two minutes into the fourth. She slammed her stick to the ground after the second, prompting an explosion from the Wildcat bench.

That provided the momentum that No. 1-seed Northwestern (17-1) needed to push itself over No. 2-seed Maryland (14-6) in the Big Ten tournament title game in Columbus Saturday night, as it ran away with a 14-9 victory. The win marked the Wildcats’ second conference tournament championship in three years.

The Terps performed better than they did in their last matchup with the country’s top-seeded program. Their offense in particular looked like a completely new unit. They looked sluggish offensively in the regular season meeting between the schools, but were blazing around the offensive area on Saturday. 

Maryland created countless scoring opportunities throughout the night. Even if it struggled to convert them, they were opportunities that weren’t created in the last contest; an encouraging sign entering the NCAA tournament. 

“For us, it’s just taking that next step,” coach Cathy Reese said. “Offensively, we’ve taken a huge step from where we were when we played up in Chicago a couple of weeks ago.”

Neither side hesitated letting the ball fly in the opening frame — each shot at least eight times — but neither school resembled anything efficient. Each squad only ended with two first-quarter goals, but that was much more of a testament to defensive play than attack play. 

The Wildcats ran with the fast-footed Terps step-for-step, and didn’t allow themselves to get confused. They picked up five ground balls in the quarter and Maryland turned it over three times.

The Terps’ first-quarter defense didn’t show up directly on the stat sheet. But Northwestern’s lack of a stellar performance served as proof of Maryland’s dominance in the frame.

Graduate student attacker Izzy Scane, the Tewaaraton frontrunner, leads the country with over five goals per game, and she does so shooting nearly 50 percent. But she scored just once on five attempts in the quarter.

“We took away their main options and what they look for in their offense,” graduate student defender Abby Bosco said. “And I think that all stemmed from our communication 100%.”

The action picked up in the second frame. The teams combined for nine goals, with the first eight alternated between them. Senior attacker Hannah Leubecker got it started for the Terps to put them in front for the first time of the night.

Senior attacker Libby May’s first tally of the night was succeeded by a step-and-shoot from eight meters courtesy of Northwestern’s Dylan Amonte. The step-and-shoot on free-position attempts is a staple of the Wildcats’ offense, as goalies struggle to handle shots with a level of power usually only seen in men’s lacrosse.

Four of those looks found the back of the net for Northwestern.

Leubecker quickly followed up the eight-meter score with a highlight-reel goal of her own, a cross-body attempt while falling from just inside eight meters. 

Scane tacked on two more in the quarter, while Northwestern freshman attacker Madison Taylor and Maryland junior attacker Kate Sites contributed to a neck-and-neck 8-6 halftime score

Senior attacker Erin Coykendall muscled a ball into the net just over a minute into the third quarter. After the Terps were outscored 9-2 in the second half of the teams’ last contest, it looked like they were destined for a similar fate. 

Instead, it took the Wildcats nearly eight minutes to score again. But the Terps registered only two shots after halftime before freshman midfielder Kori Edmondson fired an eight-meter goal with 5:21 left in the frame.

“Against a tough team like Northwestern, we need to shoot better … when we’re getting the looks that we’re getting,” Reese said.

While points started to trickle in, it wasn’t enough to keep up with Northwestern’s newly-energized attack. Junior attacker Chrissy Thomas found the net nearly two minutes after Edmondson, but it only prevented four Wildcat goals in less than eight minutes from being consecutive.

Both teams looked visibly exhausted late, and after senior midfielder Shaylan Ahearn went down in the third quarter, she was relegated to only draw-control duty. The Terps’ offense looked incomplete without her.

One more Scane goal within the final two minutes of the outing put a ribbon on the Wildcats’ big night in Columbus.

Maryland now awaits its seeding in the NCAA tournament, which will be announced Sunday night. The No. 10 Terps will in all likelihood travel for the first round, which the top-eight seeded teams host.

“I said to the guys in the locker room afterwards ‘shoot, we competed’,” Reese said. “We competed really hard and this game should give us confidence as we head into the [NCAA tournament.]”