Preview: No. 11 Maryland women’s lacrosse gets set for midweek battle against Georgetown

Two of the most storied programs in college women’s lacrosse — Maryland and Georgetown — reside just 12 miles from one another. But the schools find themselves in vastly different places ahead of a Wednesday night matchup in College Park.

Georgetown (4-4) is still looking to return to the glory days of the 2000’s. Over the decade, the Hoyas won eight of 10 regular-season Big East titles and went to nine NCAA tournaments, including a 2001 championship loss to the Terps. But since then, they’ve been to just five tournaments, and were knocked out before the quarterfinals in all of them.

Since 2015, they’ve suffered five seasons at or below .500; something they hadn’t done since 1993 before then.

But no program can come close to competing with No. 11 Maryland’s (5-3) history. It has made the NCAA tournament finals or semifinals in all but one year since 2009. The last time it finished a full season below .500 was 1976; that year, Jimmy Carter was elected president and Reggie Jackson signed a record-breaking five-year, $3 million contract with the Yankees. 

And the Terps dominate the cross-town rivalry. Since 2000, they’re 16-2 against the Hoyas, and both losses took place before coach Cathy Reese took over in 2007.

“It’s been a lot of fun to play them,” Reese said. “I’ve gone back with [Georgetown coach] Ricky Fried for years.”

This year, Georgetown is 0-2 against currently-ranked opponents, dropping games to No. 9 Loyola and No. 22 Rutgers.

Its top-heavy offense relies primarily on three attackers: graduate student Erin Bakes, sophomore Emma Gebhardt and junior Kylie Hazen. The trio accounts for 73 of the Hoyas’ 116 points.

Gebhardt is coming off an all-time performance against Monmouth Saturday. She scored 10 goals on just 11 shots, tying the fourth most single-game goals in NCAA history and setting Georgetown’s single-game record. She was named Big East Attacker of the Week for her efforts.

Maryland’s increasing defensive aggressiveness will likely play to its advantage. Georgetown leads the Big East in turnovers, and racked up 10 or more in every game — including two with over 20 — until Monmouth on Saturday.

On the whole, however, Maryland struggles to create turnovers. It’s caused more than 10 just once this season, and averages just 6.14 a game — the 19th-fewest in the country. But that number is increasing as the season goes on; after forcing just 23 in the first five games, the Terps forced 29 in their last three.

Reese said her goal in transition is to take 30 seconds off the shot clock on defense before the ball crosses the restraining line. The Terps have pressed opponents in transition all season, and it’s created turnover opportunities for them. Senior attacker Hannah Leubecker nearly scored a game-tying goal with under a minute left off a turnover she forced in transition during their loss to No. 6 Denver.

Offensively, the Terps are looking to build off two of their best performances of the year: a 22-point showing against William & Mary and a 15-point performance Saturday at Villanova. Reese attributed their success partially to an increased pace-of-play in transition; they began the year slow-playing their offense, but have continued to speed up as the season moves along.

“We’ve seen a lot of zones lately, and I think we’re getting better at playing them,” Reese said.

Freshman midfielder Kori Edmondson’s offensive domination has also helped. The No. 1 recruit in the country finally broke the starting lineup against William & Mary following a hat trick in the loss to Denver, and rewarded Reese with two more hat tricks in her two starts. She’s not afraid of contact, and in fact excels when faced with it. Many, if not most, of her scoring opportunities are well-contested — but her 10 goals in the last three games come from just 15 shots.

“You’ve just seen her confidence grow,” Reese said. “She can dodge anyone, she is tough and competitive and can make things happen.”

A run-of-the-mill Hoya defense meets Maryland following their two worst performances this season. They tied their season-high in goals allowed with 15 against Loyola before allowing 16 to Monmouth. 

They’ll need a bounceback showing from the group led by graduate student Nicole Massimino — who won Big East Defender of the Week for her performances two weeks ago — if they want to pull off the upset.

That effort will start at 7 pm at SECU Stadium.