Preview: No. 6 Maryland women’s lacrosse prepares for top ten battle against No. 7 Florida

The road to a national championship is not easy.

No. 6 Maryland women’s lacrosse (2-1) travels to Gainesville this weekend to take on No. 7 Florida (1-1) — its second top 10 opponent in three games.

The Terps and Gators met twice last season, the second coming in the NCAA tournament quarterfinals. Maryland took both contests, by scores of 18-8 and 18-5, respectively. Scoring-wise, they were Florida’s two worst games both offensively and defensively.

Senior attackers Hannah Leubecker and Libby May each scored seven goals between the two matches last year. But at the time, then-graduate student Aurora Cordingley led the offense. This year, that’s May and Leubecker’s role to split. 

Maryland’s win over Drexel on Tuesday could end up as a breakout game for the pair. They combined for seven goals over the first two games, before May scored six and Leubecker scored four against the Dragons.

Coach Cathy Reese said after the game there was no additional emphasis on getting them the ball. But if the team wants to improve offensively, more volume for the team’s two best goal scorers is a logical next step.

“Those two are going to step up and create opportunities,” Reese said. “They took advantage of the opportunity which is what we need them to do.”

Junior attacker Eloise Clevenger has also emerged as a key piece. She leads the team with eight assists, five more than fellow junior attacker Chrissy Thomas in second.

Defensively, the Terps have not yet matched their 2022 success that saw them finish second in the NCAA in scoring defense. This was to be expected, however, for a group employing many new faces. 

Three starting defenders — redshirt freshman Kennedy Major, redshirt junior Clancy Rheude and transfer graduate student Marge Donovan — all debuted for “Defender U” this year. Additionally, redshirt freshman midfielder Maddy Sterling — and true freshman middies  — have seen significant playing time so far this season.

That group is as talented as it gets. Donovan was the 2022 Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year. Rheude was the 2021 America East Co-Defensive Player of the Year before an injury kept her out all of last year. Sterling was the second-best recruit in the Class of 2021. Major was the ninth. The three true freshmen — Kori Edmondson, Jaylen Rosga and Emma Muchnick — are the first, seventh and 13th recruits in the Class of 2022, respectively. And this is all before you get to the USA Lacrosse Magazine Preseason National Defender of the Year, graduate student Abby Bosco.

But the Maryland defense needs time to gel. Reese said she was pleased with its showing against Drexel, but still has concerns.

“We’ve got to take it to a whole ‘nother level in a couple of days,” Reese said. “That’s all we have before we play a really strong offense in Florida.”

The Gators returned almost their entire offensive output. Of last season’s 338 goals, their offseason departures accounted for just six. 

Their offense runs through two attackers, sophomore Emma LoPinto and junior Danielle Pavinelli. Thus far, they’ve taken 41 percent of its shots, scored 45 percent of its goals and dished out all of its assists.

Bolstering Florida’s attack group is fifth year Taylor Warehime, a team captain for last year’s national champions in North Carolina. She’s started both games, but has yet to score a goal. 

Unlike its offense, Florida’s defense underwent massive changes from a season ago.

Last year, they were the tenth-best scoring defense in the country. But of five defenders that started 15 or more games last season, three graduated and one transferred. 

Two-way junior midfielder Madison Waters came via the transfer portal, providing some help. But behind the restraining line, coach Amanda O’Leary put her trust in a starting four that included just one player — senior Becky Browndorf — with any previous starting experience.

The gamble has paid off thus far. Browndorf, senior Catherine Flaherty, sophomore Alexa Waters and freshman Theresa Bragg anchor a group that held both of this year’s opponents to season-low scoring totals.

The Gators also added Bryant transfer midfielder Emily Diaz, who’s considered a draw specialist. She finished seventh in NCAA last season in draw controls per game, and set Bryant’s all-time single season record. Despite her addition, Florida has only won 22 draw controls, compared to opponents’ 28.

The game is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. Maryland will look to stay hot before battles against two more ranked opponents next week.

“This is game three,” May said after the game on Tuesday. “We have a long way to go and the season is really long. So each game we’ll take it step by step … I’m very excited for what this team has to offer.