No. 11 Maryland women’s lacrosse dominates No. 22 Rutgers, 16-8

Maryland women’s lacrosse coach Cathy Reese has said all season she wants her offense to shoot at or above .500 every game.

It has failed to do so for most of the year. But three quarters into its 16-8 win over No. 22 Rutgers (4-4, 0-2 Big Ten), the No. 11 Terps (7-3, 1-0 Big Ten) were shooting an absurd .700.

The Scarlet Knights employ the first woman-on-woman defense that Maryland saw this season. And it proved why opponents have yet to attack them in that way — the Terps outran, outdodged and outcut their defense all game.

“Going hard and always keeping our feet moving off the ball or with the ball,” junior attacker Eloise Clevenger said. “Our attack is very dangerous on a man-to-man, And I think we saw a little bit of that today.

The Terps continued their season-long dominance on draw controls as well. Senior midfielder and draw specialist Shaylan Ahearn helped them win 19 to Rutgers’ eight, limiting the latter’s offensive opportunities all game.

“The balls on the ground, [graduate student defender Abby Bosco is] coming up with it…it’s in the air, [graduate student defender Marge Donovan] is coming up with it, and Shay dominates the center circle all the time,” Reese said. “Those three are just working really well together.”

Both sides used the first quarter to showcase their offensive starpower.

For Maryland, that primarily came in the form of senior attacker Hannah Leubecker. She missed the previous two games with lower body soreness, and wasted no time reminding everyone of her presence. She scored four times in the first 5:13. 

“Not something I expected,” Leubecker said. “Because of how everybody else was working, because teammates were setting me up…I was excited to get those opportunities to be able to put them away.”

Freshman midfielder Kori Edmondson extended her scoring streak to six games just under two minutes later. And after a nearly eight-minute drought, Ahearn and senior attacker Libby May closed the quarter with back-to-back goals in the final 22 seconds to bring Maryland’s total to seven.

For the Scarlet Knights’ part, their leading point-scorer, Marin Hartshorn, was on fire. The graduate student attacker assisted their first goal — converted by junior midfielder Ashley Moynahan — and scored their next four. 

Maryland led 7-5 entering the second quarter, and the score stayed that way for the majority of the quarter. It didn’t get a shot off for the first 10:04. 

But on the other end of the field, its defense found a groove. Rutgers got four shots on goal in the first 14 minutes, but they were all well-contested and senior goalkeeper Emily Sterling brought them in with ease. After a shaky first quarter, Reese thought the unit cleaned things up well.

“We weren’t executing the game plan [in the first quarter]. We weren’t doing what we’re supposed to do,” Reese said. “From that point on…they were doing what they needed to do in front of Emily.”

May broke the ice on a free-position shot with 4:31 left. And after sloppy offensive play from both teams, Hartshorn finally got it together again, draining her fifth goal with 17 seconds left — setting her career-high before halftime.

But Maryland wasn’t satisfied with a two-point lead. Leubecker threaded the needle from right of the goal, finding the top left corner at a narrow angle. She put the Terps up 9-6 heading into the third.

With 12:21 left in the quarter, Rutgers turned the ball over. Clevenger capitalized, feeding May from behind the net to open the second half scoring. 

Clevenger finished the day with three goals and three assists. She’s been Maryland’s primary feeder all year, but it was her first hat trick of the season. Most of her points came from behind the net — where she’s made her money all year — either feeding cutters or wrapping around the crease. 

“I want Eloise to shoot more and I tell her that all the time,” Reese said. “When she does that she’s so dangerous, and it just adds a whole ‘nother level to our offense.”

39 seconds later, Edmondson powered her way into the arc and overheaded a rocket past the Scarlet Knights’ goalkeeper. And 33 seconds after that, Clevenger faked a pass, circled the crease and scored. In the blink of an eye, Maryland doubled its lead and led 12-6.

Moynahan responded 70 seconds later with her second goal of the game, and assisted another later in the quarter. But that was all the noise Rutgers made in the third. Edmondson and May each completed hat tricks, and the Terps led 14-8 with one frame left.

Backup defenders came in for the bulk of the final quarter, but they held their own, keeping Rutgers scoreless for the final 15 minutes. May and Clevenger added goals, and the final horn blew with the Terps victorious and undefeated in conference play.

They travel to Philadelphia to take on Penn Wednesday night before their first and only seven-day rest of the season.