Photo courtesy of Ian Cox/Maryland Terrapins
No. 5 Maryland women’s lacrosse (6-1, 2-0 Big Ten) defeated No. 11 Michigan (5-3, 0-1) 14-12 for their sixth consecutive win after returning home from two big road wins against James Madison and Penn State.
Both teams battled to the very end in a game that had everyone on the edge of their seats, with both teams being in the top 15 for this match-up.
Although Maryland has won against Michigan since 2015 when both teams started playing one another, the game remained close throughout all four quarters and came down to whose defense was stronger, which ultimately was the Terps.
During the first period, the Terps gained the most possession for draw controls with a total of nine to the Wolverines’ lone one. But the Wolverines were still able to stay almost neck and neck with the Terps the entire quarter, with Maryland taking the lead a total of four times, with only one of those leads being by two points at most.
This would stay consistent throughout all four quarters for the Terps and Wolverines, but Maryland would continue to hold a lead in possessions and goals, with both teams seemingly firing shots back to back.
Graduate student Kate Sites was a key player for the Terps in the first quarter, getting three of the five goals for Maryland, but it still only had a one-point lead over the Wolverines going into the second quarter.
For the second period, Michigan and Maryland continued the back-and-forth between tying the game or holding a one-point lead. Freshman Emma Abbazia, junior Kori Edmondson, and graduate student Chrissy Thomas all got off a goal for the Terps, who went into halftime with an 8-7 lead.
The third quarter was where it started to look a bit rough for Maryland toward the end.
Sophomore Maisy Clevenger made the first goal of the quarter, and Michigan responded quickly after a yellow card, giving the Wolverines a player-up advantage. Sites and Edmondson both scored shortly after, giving Maryland a three-point lead at 11-8.
But this lead didn’t last too long, as the Terps lost a huge player, Edmondson, when she received her second yellow card of the game, getting her ejected for the rest of the game. She will also have to sit out for Northwestern, which is the Terps’ next big game.
Michigan took full advantage and scored back-to-back goals, cutting the lead to just one point again.
Maryland didn’t let this stop them completely, as teammates stepped up defensively, not allowing Michigan to score any more points after Edmondson’s ejection.
Clevenger and senior Jordyn Lipkin both fired off a goal, giving the Terps another three-goal lead going into the fourth quarter.
For the last quarter, Michigan was able to get off two goals, and Maryland only one by Lipkin, but the Wolverines had four shots on goal. However, sophomore JJ Suriano’s blocks and the Terps’ defense put Michigan to rest by not allowing them to get any more points on the board.
Maryland will go on the road to play No. 3 Northwestern on March 22.
