No. 11 Maryland women’s lacrosse uses nine-goal first half to surge past Villanova, 15-6

Maryland women’s lacrosse entered into the season having to fill the void of now-graduated attacker Aurora Cordingley. 

It’s hard for anyone to immediately replace the reigning Big Ten Attacker of the Year. Coach Cathy Reese entered the season saying she wanted a selfless offense with plenty of capable scorers at all times.

Eight games into the season, that goal has more than manifested. 

The No. 11 Terps’ offensive depth was on full display against Villanova, as three hat tricks led them to a 15-6 win in Pennsylvania.

Two seniors — attacker Libby May and midfielder Shaylan Ahearn — and freshman midfielder Kori Edmondson hit the three-goal mark. 

It was Edmondson’s third consecutive, and May’s fourth of the season. Ahearn, on the other hand, had not had a multi-goal game May 15, 2022 against Duke. The draw specialist also racked up 10 draw controls on the day, crucial in the victory as the Terps dominated time-of-possession.

“We’ve been emphasizing having a nose for the goal,” Ahearn said. “It wasn’t just me attacking hard, but also my teammates going hard that allowed me to have those openings in the first place,”

Edmsonson dished out to her teammates early, feeding Ahearn for Maryland’s first goal and her first assist since the season-opener.

Ahearn, who’s second in the Big Ten in draw controls per game, helped the Terps win the first four of the afternoon. They outdrew the Wildcats — one of the best draw teams in the country — 18-6.

“Our communication was spot on,” Ahearn said. “[My teammates] knew exactly where I was trying to put the ball, and they were doing a really good job of talking to me on the circle so I knew where to place it.”

But Edmondson had proven herself as an elite scorer over her last two games, and didn’t let a loud Villanova crowd forget it. After sophomore attacker Sydney Pappas scored for the Wildcats, Edmondson responded with two goals in a 1:05 stretch, putting Maryland ahead 3-1.

Freshman midfielder Maddie Leur won the subsequent draw control for Villanova, and a minute later, dodged a defender and cut the lead to one.

The Wildcats wouldn’t score again until the final seconds of the half.

“We were able to force turnovers, whether it was bad passes or interceptions on our part but that was huge,” Reese said.

In that time, Maryland’s offense put itself in the driver’s seat. Two consecutive draw controls led to two consecutive goals; sophomore midfielder Jordyn Lipkin got her first goal of the game, and Ahearn followed up with her second as the quarter came to a close with Maryland ahead 5-2. 

Villanova’s defense held Maryland scoreless for the first ten minutes of the second frame, but Ahearn finally broke the lull, scoring again to complete her second career hat trick. And 2:37 later, May came alive. The Terps’ leading goal-scorer did so twice in 28 seconds to extend the lead to 8-2.

“Libby is great at putting herself in spots where she can catch and score,” Reese said. “She had some great looks today, and that was huge.”

Sophomore midfielder Natalie Pansini joined the scoring party soon after, getting her second goal in as many games.

The Wildcats finally responded as Leur scored from eight meters with mere seconds left in the half. But they still went into the break down 9-3, having been outshot 22-6 in the first two quarters.

Maryland finished the afternoon with 32 shots on goal. But Villanova goalkeeper Cate Gallagher turned in the best performance of her young career. The sophomore finished with 17 saves, nearly doubling the previous career-high of nine she set last time out against San Diego State.

After a slow start from both teams in the third, junior midfielder Shannon Smith broke the ice for her fourth goal of the year. 39 seconds later, May finished her fourth hat trick of the season.

A Lipkin free-position goal closed third-quarter scoring with Maryland up 12-3 and fully in control.

But the Wildcats wouldn’t go down without a fight. Pappas, their leading scorer, made it interesting late. She sent two shots into the net with 9:43 and 8:28 left, respectively.

Pansini, a Villanova native, responded with her second goal of the game. 13 seconds later, Edmondson joined the hat-trick club — her third consecutive game with one.

“If [Edmondson] sees a lane, she’s going to take it, Reese said. “As she keeps learning, she keeps getting better and better.”

One more goal from junior attacker Eloise Clevenger induced a running clock, and the Terps celebrated as the clock hit all zeroes.

They return to College Park Wednesday to take on a local rival in Georgetown. The Hoyas haven’t beaten Maryland in the Reese era, and are 3-4 on the year. Opening faceoff is set for 7 p.m. at SECU Stadium.

“We still know that we have a whole ‘nother level to get to, which is exciting and keeping us hungry for the rest of season,” Ahearn said.