No. 6 Maryland women’s lacrosse uses big first quarter to key 15-9 victory over Drexel

Attackers Libby May and Hannah Leubecker combined for just 18 shots in Maryland women’s lacrosse’s first two outings. 

The seniors were expected to play a big role this season in a young attack group, but the lack of volume wasn’t completely unexpected. But coach Cathy Reese made it clear they would move the ball around and create opportunities for all seven players on offense.

No Terp took more than 17 percent of the team’s shots in each of their first two games. 

On Tuesday, the duo combined for 16 of No. 6 Maryland’s 27 shots — and ten of its goals — in a 15-9 win over Drexel.

“We’ve talked about attacking the cage hard, and they’re two of our attackers that are gonna go hard,” Reese said. “Those two are going to step up and create opportunities. Really proud of them because I need that from them.”

The win gets Maryland back on its feet after a tough loss to No.2 Syracuse on Saturday. Reese and senior midfielder Shaylan Ahearn both noted after the game that the team’s attitude needed a shift, and noted they saw a shift in the win over Drexel.

“You saw a lot of teammates coming up to one another, checking in on each other,” Ahearn said,  “and letting everyone know that like we’re in it together and we’re in it to grow, and it’s a process, not just one game.”

The opening quarter was all Terps. They started off virtually flawlessly, scoring five goals on the first five draw controls of the game.

The Terps dominated the draw control battle, winning 20 to Drexel’s eight. Ahearn led the team with 14.

Maryland made it clear that the poor efficiency shown in its first two outings would not continue, and it manifested early — five of its first six shots found the back of the net, including its first three free position shots.

“We were a little not patient in our last games,” Reese said. “We had talked about that a lot coming into this one and we did a nice job.”

When Drexel finally possessed the ball, over nine minutes had already ticked off the game clock.

Fifth year attacker Grace Harding converted a free position attempt for the Dragons to get them on the board, but just over a minute later, May responded with a goal of her own. As the first quarter came to a close, the Terps led 7-1 with absolutely no signs of slowing down.

Unfortunately, slowing down is exactly what they did in the back end of the half. For the first 14:59 of the second quarter, Drexel held Maryland scoreless.

After the Dragons joined the Terps for a 5:26 scoring impasse, Drexel senior midfielder Corinne Bednarik stole the show. She scored twice in 44 seconds, the second an impressive cross-body shot fading away to her right. Five minutes later, she scored again to cut the Maryland lead to 7-4.

Maryland shifted momentum back in its direction with just 0.3 seconds left, when May cut inside and converted a feed from Leubecker. The dramatic finish sent Maryland into half up four.

Leubecker opened the second half with back-to-back-to-back goals in a 7:11 run. Attackers Bridget Finley and Lindsey Dean — a junior and fifth year respectively — responded with their first goals of the game, and when the quarter ended, Maryland led 11-6.

May opened the fourth quarter scoring just 90 seconds in. 24 seconds later, another one of her shots found paydirt. She’d tack on one more later in the quarter, finishing the day with six goals.

“Last week, when things got tough, we went a little bit individual, but today that wasn’t the case,” May said. “We continue to communicate with each other and move as a whole, and it just so happened that it was me in front of the cage.”

Freshman midfielder Kori Edmondson scored the Terps’ final goal with 5:07 left in the game. The country’s top freshman flashed the talent that earned her that designation throughout the match. While her only goal came in garbage time, she utilized her athleticism on some excellent plays in transition.

After two garbage-time Drexel goals, the Terps found themselves in the win column as the clock hit all zeroes.

Maryland will next travel to Gainesville to take on No. 7 Florida on Saturday.

“There’s still a lot for us to work on,” Ahearn said. “I’m excited that we got the opportunity to work some kinks out today, but also seeing where we can grow.”