Preview: No. 11 Maryland women’s lacrosse prepares for midweek action against William & Mary

No. 11 Maryland women’s lacrosse (3-3) can look at its last week — which featured 8-7 losses to James Madison and Denver, now No. 8 and No. 6 respectively, —  in two ways. 

On one hand, the Terps had their two best defensive performances of the season. Graduate students Abby Bosco and Marge Donovan were unflappable, and the unit was extremely successful in limiting opportunities for the Dukes and the Pioneers. Offensively, while efficiency numbers were far from ideal, Maryland outshot their opponents in both matches. The opportunities were there; it was in both games until the final whistle.

“This season for me personally… is one that’s going to be the process,” coach Cathy Reese said. “It’s growth. Look at where we are from where we started defensively.” 

On the other hand, the Terps suffered demoralizing losses to two teams ranked below them at the time. In both games, they couldn’t capitalize on last-minute opportunities to tie the score. And they averaged 1.75 goals per quarter on a dismal .269 shooting percentage.

Fortunately, they stumble into a perfectly timed tune-up game against William & Mary (2-3) at SECU Stadium Wednesday night.

“We don’t need to be playing our best lacrosse game one,” senior goalkeeper Emily Sterling said. “Going game by game we have to focus to trust each other [and] stick to our game plan.”

There’s no such thing as a guaranteed win, especially coming off the stretch they’ve had thus far in March. But if the Terps lose Wednesday night, there will be serious cause for concern in College Park.

The Terps have faced the Tribe 12 times since the turn of the century. Not only are they undefeated, they’ve won each of the last 11 matchups by double-digit points.

Of 120 listed Division One schools, William & Mary boasts the 101st-best scoring offense and 112th-best scoring defense. It has the 98th-best shot percentage at .358 to pair with the 109th-best save percentage at .355. The Tribe have been outscored by an average of seven goals per game this season, by far the worst mark in the Colonial Athletic Association. 

Maryland also has a strong advantage in between the restraining lines. It has the best clear percentage in the country at .967, compared to William & Mary’s .826 — good for lowest in the CAA.

The Tribe’s one ranked opponent thus far was then-No. 21 Richmond. In front of a home crowd, they were demolished 20-4, including a 11-0 first-quarter rout by the Spiders.

Maryland comes into the game looking to clean things up; its attack badly needs a spark after two games of lackluster production. 

Senior Libby May followed up an IWLCA Co-Offensive Player of the Week nod with a combined three goals on 16 shots in last week’s games. Junior Eloise Clevenger had played a huge role feeding cutters from behind the net, before rarely finding the X against Denver. And senior Hannah Leubecker made a big play at the end of the Pioneer match, but her production has fallen off as well.

Against Denver, Maryland turned the ball over a season-high 17 times. It needs to clean things up as it enters the heart of its season.

“A couple of these last few games, it’s a play here or there which ends up in a win or not,” Reese said.

A bright spot emerged for the Terps on Sunday in the form of midfielder Kori Edmondson. The No. 1 recruit in the Class of 2022 had flashed throughout her first five appearances, but broke out against Denver. She recorded her first career hat trick, and won three draw controls as well. The freshman is starting to look comfortable in a system that demands a lot from her on both ends of the field.

“Having [my teammates] say that ‘you’re OK, we all have confidence in you’,” Edmondson said. “That made me play with a little bit more ease and not…jump to make rash decisions.”

She’ll try to build on that performance against the Tribe. 

Maryland opens the latter half of its homestand, and their first of three-straight unranked opponents, at 5 p.m.