The Terps scored 17 goals in consecutive contests.
Many were surprised when Maryland women’s lacrosse was awarded the No. 4 seed in this year’s NCAA Tournament. The Terps held a 3-5 record at home, including sloppy losses to Penn State and Rutgers.
But on Sunday, Maryland continued to emphatically prove doubters wrong. After beating Robert Morris, 17-1, in Friday’s first round game, Maryland midfielder Kori Edmondson and attacker Eloise Clevenger combined for nine goals to pummel James Madison, 17-7, in the tournament’s second round from the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex.
Edmondson’s four goals tied her career-high and Clevenger’s five was also a career-high. It only took the duo seven and eight shots, respectively, to do so.
“We haven’t had a game this year where our big shooters … are all shooting over 50%,” head coach Cathy Reese said. “… Their mindset shifted their execution offensively, and the energy was fantastic.”
The Terps (14-5) have now outscored their first two tournament opponents 34-10. It’s their largest goal differential through two rounds of the NCAA Tournament since 2010. The 34 goals is also the team’s fifth most in its first two NCAA Tournament games ever.
“We’ve spent a lot of time since our loss to Rutgers talking about finishing the play,” Reese said. “Today, our offense did that.”
Maryland erupted quickly in its first round win over Robert Morris, netting three goals in the opening six minutes. On Sunday, the Terps did not hit the brakes against James Madison (14-6), either.
Maryland rattled off five scores on each of its first five shots, taking a commanding 6-0 first-quarter lead. Edmondson paced the offense out of the gate, firing in three goals over the first fifteen minutes for her seventh hat trick of the season. It also served as her first opening-quarter hat trick in her career.
“The first few give us momentum,” graduate midfielder Shaylan Ahearn said of the early goals. “… We’ve changed our mindset a lot this year from ‘I want to’ to ‘I will’, and I think [the goals] were a result of us doing our jobs.”
Before Edmondson, Clevenger provided the game’s only lead change 51 seconds in.
An All-Big Ten first team selection, Clevenger jabbed in front of Dukes’ goalkeeper Emily Evans. Cutting towards the right post, Clevenger shot across her body towards the bottom-left corner for the score on Maryland’s first possession.
The goalkeeper play was a tale of two extremes between James Madison and Maryland. After missing the Robert Morris win with an injury, two-time Big Ten Goalkeeper of the Year Emily Sterling was back in the cage for Maryland.
Sterling looked comfortable, making five of her six total saves in the first quarter and only allowing three goals before heading to the bench at the start of the fourth quarter.
“She’s a force back there and our main voice,” graduate defender Meghan Ball said of Sterling.
For James Madison, Evans was subbed out after Maryland’s first five goals. Her successor, sophomore Caitlin Boden, allowed 12 goals and made eight saves over the game’s final 53 minutes.
Senior attacker Isabella Peterson served as the lone bright spot for James Madison in the loss. A native of Sparks, Maryland, Peterson scored four goals on seven shots.
Next up, Maryland will host the winner of Florida and Virginia on Thursday in the tournament’s quarterfinals, advancing to the round for the 15th time in the last 17 tournaments.
Three things to know
1. Ahearn dominated the draw. With a season-high 11 draw controls in the Maryland win, Ahearn earned her 425th career draw control, jumping Kali Hartshorn (‘20) for second-most in program history.
2. Double-digit start. Carrying a 12-2 lead into halftime, Maryland netted double-digit first-half goals for the third time this season and first since early March.
The Terps accomplished this feat in an NCAA Tournament game for the first time since its 2022 first round win over Duke.
3. Five goals, three assists for Clevenger. Clevenger’s eight-point outing was the most by a Terp since Caroline Steel (‘19) totaled eight points in the 2019 NCAA quarterfinals against Denver.