No. 10 Maryland women’s lacrosse uses strong fourth quarter to push past No. 24 Penn, 16-12

Abby Bosco spent the first four years of her career playing for Penn at Franklin Field. But after the Ivy League canceled two seasons due to the pandemic, the defender transferred to Maryland for her graduate years.

“It was such a weird feeling, being for the visiting team,” Bosco said. “Honestly, it just felt like I was playing a normal game on Franklin Field. I don’t even know how to describe it.

In her first game back, the Terps’ defense took over the fourth quarter in what had been a 10-10 game entering it. And following four unanswered goals by its offense, Bosco came away with an impressive draw control to all but seal No. 10 Maryland women’s lacrosse’s (8-3) 16-12 road victory over the No. 24 Quakers (4-3).

Both teams shot at least 30 times in the offensive affair, and until the Terps pulled ahead late, it was a neck-and-neck outing — the score was tied seven separate times. But senior midfielder Shaylan Ahearn was a force in the draw circle, allowing Maryland to win 23 to Penn’s nine. In turn, the Terps dominated time of possession, and wore out the Quakers late.

“She’s able to make adjustments based on what she’s seeing from her opponents and then find ways to come up with it,” coach Cathy Reese said. “She did an outstanding job.”

The two sides traded punches throughout the first quarter. But Penn struck first — and quickly — via sophomore midfielder Anna Brandt just 32 seconds in.

Junior attacker Eloise Clevenger fed freshman midfielder Kori Edmondson for the Terps’ first goal two minutes later, extending her scoring streak to seven. Clevenger followed that up by scoring herself, wrapping around the crease from the same spot she passed from.

Junior attacker Chrissy Thomas scored the Terps’ next two, marking her first multi-goal game since the season-opener against Saint Joseph’s. But the Quakers offensive talent was on full display, and they responded with three more goals of their own — two from Brandt, who completed a hat trick in the first quarter. 

The opening quarter ended tied at four.

Brandt started the second quarter like she did the first, draining her fourth goal — all of which were unassisted. The premiere dodger gave the Maryland defense fits all game. 

Maryland’s offense finally swung momentum in its direction, scoring the next three in 1:16 courtesy of Edmondson, Clevenger and senior attacker Hannah Leubecker. After a quick Penn goal and three minutes of defensive stalemate, two midfielders — junior Shannon Smith and Ahearn — became the fifth and sixth Terps to score goals. 

“They kept moving the ball, they shared the ball, they created opportunities for each other,” Reese said.

But a 9-6 lead wasn’t comfortable with Penn’s offensive prowess throughout the evening. And to make things worse for the Terps, the Quaker defense kicked into gear — the next eight Maryland shots were off target or saved. Senior goalkeeper Kelly Van Hoesen racked up seven saves between the Terps’ ninth and 10th goal.

On the other end of the field, junior midfielder Maria Themelis closed the first half scoring with back-to-back goals for Penn, cutting the Maryland lead to one and finishing her first hat trick of the year. It went into the half having put Maryland on upset alert, down just 9-8.

Brandt opened another quarter of scoring, getting her fifth and tying the game. One more Penn goal three minutes later put the Quakers ahead 10-9.

That was the last noise it made until garbage time. 

The Maryland defense was on lockdown, shifting flawlessly and forcing the Quakers to use huge chunks of shot clock before taking saveable shots. And Ahearn’s continued dominance on draw controls set up seven unanswered goals as the Terps stormed to a 16-10 lead.

“I love the mental toughness of our players out there,” Reese said. “When things kind of get tough…let’s do our thing and let’s stick to Maryland lacrosse.”

Two more Quakers goals in the final two minutes tightened the score, but they ran out of time as Maryland left Philadelphia with an impressive road victory.

They now coast into their only week-long break of the year. They won’t play until they take on No. 17 Princeton at SECU Stadium next Wednesday.

“Two games a week is so so fun, but sometimes our bodies are like ‘you need to slow down,’” Bosco said. “A reset, regroup and we’re looking at our next game.”