No. 9 Maryland women’s lacrosse downs No. 5 Syracuse in double overtime, 9-8

The stakes were high with the match headed into the second overtime period tied, the next goal deciding the victor. 

Hannah Leubecker rose up and buried her shot into the back of the cage. The Terps swarmed the JMA Wireless Dome in celebration.

In a game that was tight all the way through, Leubecker’s third goal of the day secured the win for No. 9 Maryland women’s lacrosse. The Terps defeated No. 5 Syracuse Saturday afternoon, 9-8.

“I thought we were a little hesitant for a while and just kind of sat back,” coach Cathy Reese said. “But we found a way to gut it out, so big win for us today and just proud of our program and our team’s effort.”

Leubecker and Kori Edmondson came up huge for Maryland all day, both scoring hat tricks and providing offensive sparks to keep the Terps in the contest.  

Maryland struck first when Libby May found the back of the net early in the first quarter. But the Orange answered back when Payton Rowley’s shot hit the top corner of the net with pinpoint accuracy to tie the match at 1-1.

The Terps’ offensive success was limited in the first half. But Maryland did free up some attackers by running cutters into the middle of the Syracuse zone, finding high percentage shots. 

Freshman Maisy Clevenger received the ball in front of the net with 5:10 in the first quarter, spun, and buried her shot past the Orange’s goalkeeper to put the Terps back up 2-1. Leubecker added another in similar fashion a minute later. 

Leubecker’s goal was Maryland’s last of the opening half as it failed to score over the final 19 minutes. Syracuse mucked up the middle and forced the Terps into several bad passes, forcing eight first-half Maryland turnovers.

The Orange’s defense wasn’t the only stingy unit over the first two quarters. The Terps’ unit was difficult to break down for most of the first half, with Meghan Ball playing a crucial role. The Rutgers transfer was active, looking to knock the ball from Syracuse players’ sticks and control the resulting ground balls. 

“We helped when we needed to help, slid when we needed to slide, came up with loose balls, gave Emily [Sterling] the shots that we know she’s confident to save, and fought it out down there,” Reese said. 

Syracuse attacker Emma Tyrrell scored an early second quarter goal but the match soon slowed to a grind. An over 13-minute scoring drought filled most of the period. 

The Terps’ defense was held back at times as the unit struggled to avoid committing fouls against the dynamic Orange attackers. Natalie Smith won a free position opportunity with less than a minute remaining in the first half and scored to tie the game. 

Emma Ward won another free position with only eight seconds left in the half and shot an absolute rocket past Emily Sterling to push Syracuse in front at halftime. The Orange continued their hot streak out of the half — an early forced turnover led to an Olivia Adamson goal to extend the lead to 5-3. 

Maryland finally broke an over 20 minute scoring drought through a driving Edmondson goal with 11:18 in the third quarter. She added another just a few minutes later to tie the match. 

The Terps found a groove offensively in the third quarter, attempting nine shots — equal to their entire first-half total. May added another goal and Edmondson completed a hat trick in the frame. 

But the Orange also maintained momentum on the offensive end, attempting eight shots in the third and finding big goals from Smith and Tyrrell to tie the match at seven.

Both squads faced important player down opportunities in the fourth quarter. Maryland was able to run down a two-minute Syracuse power play only to face another soon after when Ball was called for a foul in a transition opportunity. 

“I did think overall, we got way too many cards,” Reese said. “This is something that we will harp on with our team and it’s not going to happen again for a Maryland team.” 

The Orange capitalized this time with another goal from Adamson coming with 9:30 left in the game. But Leubecker answered back to once again draw even at 8-8. 

The Terps’ defense limited threats from the Syracuse attackers in the fourth quarter, only allowing three shot attempts despite facing several man-down situations. But Maryland’s offense couldn’t find a late winner and the back-and-forth duel headed to sudden-victory overtime.  

Both defenses held strong in the first overtime period, forcing a second to determine the winner. Leubecker wasted no time, scoring on the first possession to play hero on the day. 

Maryland will look to continue its excellent play on Wednesday in its home opener against Drexel.