Maryland had trouble with the defending national champions, losing in convincing fashion.
The eyes of the women’s college lacrosse world were focused on College Park Saturday night. But only one team looked the part of the best in the nation, and it wasn’t No. 2 Maryland. It was No. 1 Northwestern, which emphatically outclassed the Terps, 17-9.
The loss marked Maryland’s first home conference loss during head coach Cathy Reese’s 18-year tenure.
While Maryland’s stars were easily silenced by Northwestern’s defense, the away team’s stars shined bright in front of a sold-out crowd of 2,400 at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex. Izzy Scane and Madison Taylor combined for 12 of the Wildcats’ 17 goals, while Maryland’s leading scorers, Eloise Clevenger and Hannah Leubecker, were held to a combined four points and six turnovers.
The Terps finished the game with a season-high 23 turnovers in their third consecutive loss to the Wildcats, who won their first game in College Park since 2006.
Northwestern scored at least three goals in each quarter, with a combined 11 in the middle two frames. Maryland, however, scored just one goal between the second and third quarters, incurring separate scoring droughts of over 15 minutes. It added three consolation tallies in the fourth quarter to lessen the ugliness of the score.
If not for Emily Sterling, Northwestern might have run the Terps off their home turf before the first quarter came to a close. The Wildcats’ incredible attack, which averages nearly 20 goals per game, fired off 10 shots on goal in the opening frame. Maryland managed five.
Sterling stopped half of the shots against her, while Northwestern graduate goalie Molly Laliberty made just one stop, keeping the Terps within one entering the second frame.
Maryland couldn’t keep pace in the second quarter, though with frequent lifeless possessions that often failed to register an attempt on goal before the shot clock expired.
Meanwhile, Northwestern, led by one of the sport’s greats in Scane, worked around the crease with a stellar sense of efficiency. Scane completed her hat trick with just two minutes gone in the period, quickly followed by a tally from graduate attacker Lindsey Frank.
The Wildcats recorded five more shots than Maryland in the period, ultimately forcing Sterling to finish the half with eight saves. Maryland managed just seven shots on goal in the opening 30 minutes and was lucky to be down only 8-5.
Maryland won the battle in the center circle in the half — collecting 11 draws to Northwestern’s three — but the Terps committed a staggering 12 turnovers and scooped up just one of 11 ground balls.
The Terps’ sloppy play cost them in the second half, with a growing Northwestern lead better reflecting the flow of the game.
Northwestern scored on all six of its shots on goal in the third quarter, wearing out the Terps.
Clevenger scored her lone two goals of the game in the final frame, but the attempted late surge was a flash of success on a night where just about everything Maryland tried was off the mark.
Three things to know
1. Maryland didn’t show up. The Terps looked ill-prepared and were dominated from the opening whistle. Maryland’s blistering start, during which it scored on its first four shots, proved to simply be a mirage.
2. Sterling was spectacular. While the dam broke in the third quarter, Maryland could have easily entered the final 30 minutes down six or seven goals. Sterling, a graduate student, made nine first-half saves, some of which were spectacular.
3. Maryland’s offense was nowhere to be found. Between turnovers, missed shots and aimless possessions, the Terps tied a season low with eight goals.