No. 5 Maryland women’s lacrosse defeats Drexel 14-7 following early offensive display

Senior Eloise Clevenger darted in from the left-hand side early in the second half and slammed her shot past goalie Jenika Cuocco to extend the Terps lead to seven and complete her hat trick on the day. 

“She’s the most selfless person you could ever ask for,” attacker Victoria Hensh said. “She truly just plays hard and plays with heart and it’s admirable.” 

No. 5 Maryland women’s lacrosse (3-0) defeated Drexel (2-2) 14-7 to earn its first victory in the newly renovated Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex since 2022.

“Oh my gosh, it’s awesome,” Hensh said. “It’s truly a very unique experience because the stands are so close. We watched games as kids and so it’s like growing up seeing this place and then being able to actually play here is truly just living a dream.” 

Maryland outshot the Dragons 41-21 as the Terps offense bombarded the net in a relentless display. 

The Terps also dominated face-offs with 18 draw controls compared to five for the Dragons, which gave Maryland extra possessions on offense. 

“The draw control equals possession and if you have the ball, they don’t,” coach Cathy Reese said. 

The Terps began the offensive showcase early with six unanswered goals. Hannah Leubecker and Eloise Clevenger got the party started with early goals. Leubecker added a second goal at the 8:36 mark of the first to extend the lead to 3-0. 

Maryland defensively stifled the Dragons with strong play by Meghan Ball and goalie Emily Sterling. Ball played aggressively, looking to knock the ball away from the Drexel sticks and cause turnovers. 

Clevenger continued Maryland’s dominant start with a pair of assists on goals from Shannon Smith and Maggie Weisman. Clevenger then slung one herself to extend the lead to 6-0. The Terps efficiently scored six first quarter goals on 13 shots. 

Drexel got one back late with 15 seconds remaining in the quarter as Corinne Bednarik assisted Alex Wall to cut the lead to 6-1. 

Drexel obtained more possession in the second quarter, forcing the Maryland defensive unit to stand strong for longer periods. But the Terps proved tough to break down. Maryland pressed the Dragon’s backline and created chaos leading to eight first half turnovers. 

Bednarik was once again found Wall, who netted a second Dragons goal with 9:59 in the second quarter. But the Terps soon answered back as Jaylen Rosga and Victoria Hensh found the back of the net to extend the lead to 8-2 at the half. 

Drexel goalkeeper Jenika Cuocco kept Maryland from increasing its lead with many quality saves, recording 17 in the game. 

Maryland continued its offensive prowess into the second half. Libby May notched a goal less than a minute into the second half. Clevenger followed with another goal and completed her hat trick to extend the Maryland goal total into double digits. 

The Terps hadn’t been able to capitalize off free position chances yet this year but that changed Wednesday. Maryland scored twice from the spot including a third quarter goal from Maggie Weisman. 

Dragon’s couldn’t shake the stingy Terps’ defense and free up any space to shoot. Maryland held Drexel to just 21 shots all match. 

Kori Edmondson and company didn’t halt the scoring as the match wore on. Edmondson netted a goal with 5:33 left in the third and then Hensh scored another less than 30 seconds later. 

The Terps struggled with picking up cards against Syracuse last match but Maryland put in a relatively clean performance against Drexel. The one exception was a yellow card picked up by Lexi Dupcak which resulted in a man-up opportunity which Drexel capitalized on with a free position goal from Bea Buckley. 

“We weren’t giving up having to play man down very much, which was good coming off of last game where we did it too much,” Reese said. “And our man up offense was better today, we were able to put some goals on the board.” 

The Dragons picked up late goals from Anna Maria Gragnani, Kate Marano, and Maddie Fowler, but the Terps’ early offensive explosion made the lead insurmountable. 

Maryland returns to The Plex on Saturday against Florida.