No. 8 Maryland women’s lacrosse faces final regular season test at No. 17 Princeton

No. 8 Maryland women’s lacrosse (11-4, 4-2) travels to New Jersey to face No. 17 Princeton (8-4, 4-1) in its final regular season match.

The Terps come off a disappointing 12-11 loss to Penn State, marking their third-straight home loss. Maryland jumped out to an early five-goal lead but Penn State used a 5-0 third-quarter run to complete the comeback victory.

“I think it’s going to drive our team further,” attacker Chrissy Thomas said. “We’re going to make the adjustments and in the end, we’re gonna come out stronger.”

The Terps’ defense struggled with picking up fouls, putting the Nittany Lions’ offense in advantageous positions. Penn State was awarded 11 free position opportunities and scored goals on eight of them.

“We just have to make sure we’re keeping up with communication in situations like that,” defender Kennedy Major said. “We’re just missing that last piece and we’ll get there. It’s just working together, making sure we’re talking with one another.”

Maryland holds opponents to 8.60 goals per game, which stands as the 11th-best scoring defense in the nation. Maryland has only given up double-digit goals to opponents in four matches this season but all of them have resulted in losses.

Emily Sterling remains one of the best goalkeepers in the country with the third-best save percentage, .527. She didn’t have her best performance against the Nittany Lions, allowing 12 goals while only recording four saves.

Chrissy Thomas notched a first-half hat trick on Senior Day against Penn State. Hannah Leubecker also scored four goals as she continues to add to a team-high 41 goals this year. Eloise Clevenger assisted on two goals and netted two herself. Clevenger has recorded 45 assists this season, sixth-most in the country.

The Terps’ attack has suffered with long-scoring droughts that enabled their opponent to go on scoring runs and fight back into games. It’s been a problem in the second period where Maryland has scored just seven second-quarter goals over the last eight matches. The Terps scored 34 first-quarter goals over the same stretch.

“They’re fired up because I think we had plenty of opportunities and we didn’t finish them,” coach Cathy Reese said. “Sometimes it’s finishing the play and finishing the opportunity. For us to get 30 shots against Penn State and only score however many we scored, that needs to be better.

Princeton has four top-25 victories this year, including wins over Penn State, Rutgers, Penn, and Brown.

The Tigers’ dynamic offense features seven players with double-digit goals this year, led by junior McKenzie Blake, who has a team-high 43 goals. Blake netted at least four goals in each of the squad’s last four contests.

Grace Tauckus and Jami MacDonald have both also notched over 20 goals. Haven Dora facilitates the attack, recording a team-high 24 assists.

Maryland leads the all-time series, 34-8, over Princeton. The Terps defeated the Tigers 15-11 last year in College Park.