Preview: No. 4 Maryland women’s lacrosse hosts No. 4 Penn State in regular season conference finale

Photo courtesy of Chris Lyons/Maryland Athletics

No. 4 Maryland women’s lacrosse (11-3, 4-1) returns to The Plex with a chance to win the regular season Big Ten title against No. 24 Penn State (7-6, 2-2).

The Terps are coming off a rejuvenating 13-8 victory over No. 8 Johns Hopkins, a crucial return to form after suffering its largest loss this season to No. 1 Northwestern.

The Blue Jays jumped out to an early 3-0 lead. The Terps’ offense was slow to start until Kori Edmondson sparked the attack with two quick goals. Edmondson and freshman Lauren LaPointe both scored hat tricks as the Maryland offense dominated the rest of the match, attempting 44 shots and scoring four free-position goals.

“We wanted to attack,” coach Cathy Reese said. “We haven’t attacked the last couple games. I think we’ve been more hesitant so that’s what we’ve been talking about all week and we made that shift against Hopkins.” 

LaPointe stepped up in the absence of Victoria Hensh, scoring her first career hat trick in only her fifth appearance and added an assist.

“At any point, it’s anyone’s time so you always have to be ready,” Edmondson said. “Lauren’s been practicing really hard and has always been looking for ways to get better. So she knew when she came off that bench what she had to do and she did it.” 

The defense delivered another rugged performance following the slow start, allowing just three goals in the second half. Maryland is among the best defensive teams in the country this season, currently ranking second in the conference and eighth in the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 8.36 goals per game.

Goalkeeper Emily Sterling is a massive contributor to the squad’s success. She boasts a .545 save percentage – third best in the nation – and leads the Big Ten with 9.57 saves per game.

The Terps will look to translate the success against Johns Hopkins into results at home. Maryland has dominated at home during Reese’s tenure with a 171-9 record in College Park. However, the Terps’ vaunted home-field advantage hasn’t been as strong as usual this season. All three losses have been at The Plex, including their last two matches against Northwestern and Penn.

Maryland will attempt to stop that streak against a familiar opponent, Penn State. The Terps hold a 44-17-1 advantage in the all-time series against the Nittany Lions and have won 18 of the last 21 meetings. Despite this, Penn State holds the most recent victory after a 12-7 win last year in State College.

The Nittany Lions are coming off a 15-10 loss to No. 6 Michigan. Penn State has two ranked victories this season, including an overtime win against No. 1 Northwestern that temporarily knocked the Wildcats from the top rank. 

Senior Kristin O’Neill leads the Nittany Lions offense with a team-high 37 goals this season, including a season-high six scores and the game-winner against Northwestern. Other offensive game-changers include Gretchen Gilmore with 22 goals scored and Meghan Murray, who has netted 15 goals as a spark plug off the bench.

On the back end, standout defender Sammy Dupcak has been a leader for the Nittany Lions. She is the older sister of Maryland freshman midfielder Lexi Dupcak. 

“Sammy’s having a great season with Penn State and I’m sure they’ll have a lot of family and friends out since their family’s local to support them both,” Reese said.

A win secures an 11th conference championship in Maryland’s final home conference game of the year.