No. 2-seed Maryland women’s lacrosse vs. No. 6-seed Rutgers Big Ten semifinals preview

No. 2-seed Maryland women’s lacrosse (13-5) fought off No. 7-seed Ohio State in the Big Ten quarterfinals. Now it moves on to face another scrappy team in No. 6-seed Rutgers (8-8) Thursday night.

Rutgers pulled off a 15-14 upset over No. 3-seed Johns Hopkins in Baltimore on Saturday, advancing it to the semifinals. Seven Scarlet Knights scored in the win, including five goals from senior midfielder Cassidy Spilis.

The conference semifinals matchup between Maryland and Rutgers will be a rematch of the Terps’ 16-8 victory on March 18. Despite the score the Scarlet Knights kept the outing close in the first quarter, finding themselves tied 5-5 late in the frame courtesy of four early goals from graduate student attacker Marin Hartshorn.

But Maryland blanked the Scarlet Knights from that point on, holding them to only three goals in the final three quarters while it tallied nine in the same span.

“All across the board, once we settled in defensively in the second quarter … we did a really nice job defending their offense, which is pretty dangerous,” coach Cathy Reese said.

The Terps held a 19-to-8 advantage on draws, a trend for Rutgers this season. It’s tallied the second-worst draw control percentage in the Big Ten this season, while Maryland has run away with the top mark.

Rutgers comes into the tournament with a strong non-conference résumé. It was 7-3, topped off by an impressive 12-7 win over No. 11 Stony Brook on April 12. But the Scarlet Knights struggled in the Big Ten, winning only one of six matchups — a 13-12 slugfest with Ohio State.

Senior defender Meghan Ball presents the greatest challenge to the Maryland attack. The Tewaaraton nominee leads the Big Ten in ground balls per game and the country in caused turnovers per game, all the while racking up the conference’s third-most draw controls per game.

But Rutgers’ defense is much deeper than just Ball. Three other Scarlet Knights have scooped at least 20 ground balls on the season, while three also have caused double-digit turnovers.

“Their goalie is very good, their defense, their zone,” freshman midfielder Kori Edmondson said. “So just making sure we’re finding those seams to be able to score goals.”

The Scarlet Knights have struggled more late in the year, which could be good news for the Terps. Opponents have scored 13.3 goals on them over their last three games.

Rutgers’ offense has not matched that production, and it’s led to a record far below what its talent level should reflect. It’s scored just 10.13 goals — second worst in the Big Ten — and is 2-7 in the nine games it’s scored 11 or fewer goals.

On the other side, Maryland’s offense finds itself in a bit of a skid late in the year. It exploded for 15.7 goals over a midseason nine-game win streak, but is averaging only eight scores a game over its last three contests.

The Terps have shot just 31 percent over that run, which has undoubtedly contributed to the lack of production. They’ll need to pick that number up if they want to score on Rutgers goalkeeper Sophia Cardello. The junior holds a save percentage of .463 on the year.

Senior attackers Libby May and Hannah Leubecker combined for nine goals against Cardello and sophomore Caleigh Forti in the last affair between the squads. May has scored 25 times eight games since, including a high-flying goal to clinch a win over Ohio State in the Big Ten quarterfinals. But Leubecker has struggled to close out the year, scoring just ten goals in the stretch and none in her last two games.

She missed the first game of the playoffs and will be a game-time decision Thursday, according to a team spokesperson.

“We’ve got to … get our pieces of the puzzle together so we can put our best foot forward out there,” Reese said.

Unlike its offense, Maryland’s defense has boded better over the home stretch of the season. Maryland held No. 1 Northwestern to a season-low 13 goals, and has the second-best scoring defense in the conference at 9.2 allowed scores a game.

While the Terps are the higher seed, the Scarlet Knights arrive at Ohio State’s facility with victories in four of their last five games. Meanwhile Maryland has lost two of three and had a close outing with the Buckeyes in the quarterfinals.

Opening draw is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. from Columbus.

“This is what you work for,” graduate student defender Abby Bosco said. “[The playoffs is] where all the work you’ve put in, you get to see it pay off.”