No. 5 Maryland women’s lacrosse falls in tight battle to No. 9 Denver, 8-7

Maryland women’s lacrosse found itself down 8-7 with a minute remaining in the fourth quarter. 

The Terps had multiple chances to send the game to overtime.

Kori Edmondson bounced a shot right into the chest of Denver goalkeeper Emelia Bohl.

After she quickly forced a turnover, Hannah Leubecker tried to shoot from the arc, but lost her balance and the ball dribbled away. 

Finally with six seconds left, it appeared as though Victoria Hensh picked up a ground ball and would have a chance from behind the goal to find a cutter. But after some deliberation, the referees ruled her out of bounds. 

No. 9 Denver (6-0) ran out the final ticks and celebrated its first-ever victory over the No. 5 Terps (3-3).

It was the sloppiest performance of Maryland’s young season. It turned the ball over 17 times — by far its highest mark of the season — and continued its season-long struggle to find offensive efficiency, shooting 7-for-23 from the field and 2-for-8 from eight meters.

“We needed to play faster and play more aggressive[ly], and we did that to some extent, but sometimes it resulted in turnovers.” coach Cathy Reese said. “And we just were uncharacteristically dropping balls today, which was bizarre…it’s a play here or there which ends up in a win or not.”

Against No. 12 James Madison, the Terps’ offense slowed the pace of the game, but in hindsight, Reese said she wished her team had attacked the cage stronger early on. Against Denver, they flew around early and created holes in the Pioneer zone defense, getting off eight first quarter shots. 

Maryland also drew five free-position attempts in the frame. But just one of those — from Edmondson — found the back of the net.

On the other end of the field, the Maryland defense played lights-out despite an early flurry of Pioneer shots. They got off five shots in those first 10 minutes; two were wide and three were scooped up by senior goalkeeper Emily Sterling.

“We’re seeing the changes [in defensive play],” Reese said. “We’re limiting shots, we’re limiting opportunities. I think we gave up less than 20 shots. We’re five games in and we’re seeing significant improvement.”

Edmondson scored again on a woman-up opportunity with 3:48 left in the quarter. Then the Denver offense finally came alive, scoring twice in the last 1:04 and bringing the game to a 2-2 tie as the clock ran out on the quarter.

The Pioneers started the second quarter where they left off in the first, as senior attacker Julia Gilbert got her second goal just over two minutes in.

With 11:19 left, Leubecker found fellow senior attacker Libby May, who scored her first goal of the outing. 

But that was all the noise Maryland’s offense made in the quarter. 

It took just two more shots before half, and none in the last 4:53. While the ball movement was there, Denver proved why it’s the fifth-best scoring defense in the country, barely allowing room to breathe around the crease.

The Terps’ defense held their own, but when Denver got shots off, it usually scored. The Pioneers only fired off four in the quarter, but three got past Sterling — two from eight meters.

The Pioneers led 5-3 as both teams went to the locker room.

A minute into the half, Gilbert scored for a third time to extend Denver’s lead. After a 3:42 lull, sophomore attacker Lauren Black extended it further to 7-3. 

From there, the quarter was all Maryland. 

A long offensive possession ended with junior attacker Eloise Clevenger fighting through a double team and bouncing a shot into the net. Less than 30 seconds later, Leubecker shook a defender and found the goal from just inside eight meters.

With the score at 7-5 and a little over a minute left, the Terps found itself woman-down on offense. It looked like they would enter the final frame down two, but Edmondson cut in front of the goal and converted a backhand shot that completed her first-career hat trick, and made it 7-6 entering the fourth.

“You could see how hard she went and what a tough player she is,” Reese said of Edmondson.  “This is just the starting point for her as we get going into her career as a Terp.”

The score stayed stagnant until the six-minute mark, when senior midfielder Ellie Curry made like Steph and drained a long shot to double Denver’s lead.

Hensh cut the lead back down to one with 1:57 to go, and junior midfielder Shannon Smith won the draw, setting Maryland up with what ended up being its final offensive possession.

But the Terps didn’t convert, and the Pioneers left College Park victorious.

The Terps finish their two-game homestand on Wednesday against William & Mary, their first unranked opponent since they played Drexel Feb. 21. Reese said the most important theme for their young team has been growth, and they’ll look to keep doing that against the Tribe.

“Everyone [in college] is good, everyone’s a star,” Edmondson said. “Having my teammates push me every day in practice, that’s the only way we’re all gonna get better and continue that the rest of the season.”