The Terps scored six unanswered goals in the comeback effort.
After tying the game just 10 minutes prior, No. 5 Maryland women’s lacrosse found itself in an unfamiliar position. For the first time since its season opener, the Terps trailed Penn State by multiple goals and needed a response to keep the game within reach.
JJ Suriano made a crucial save on a free-position shot and Kennedy Major scooped up the ground ball. Then, Maisy Clevenger sprinted past her defender and delivered a pass to a cutting Shelby Sullivan. The freshman caught the ball and snuck it past goalie Sydney Manning to cut the Nittany Lions’ lead to three.
Just 47 seconds later, her freshman counterpart, Emma Abbazia, notched her third goal of the season on a free-position opportunity.
Those two scores were just the beginning of the Terps’ monumental comeback. Six unanswered goals in just under six minutes of play propelled Maryland to a 19-11 win over Penn State in its Big Ten opener Thursday in State College, Pennsylvania.
“We dug ourselves into a hole and then took a little break to reset and came out firing in that second quarter to go up 10-8 at halftime,” head coach Cathy Reese said.
On the Terps’ ensuing possession after Abbazia’s score, Clevenger circled the net and evaded both her defender and the goalie to bring them within a goal. Maryland wasted no time leveling the score — Clevenger spotted Jordyn Lipkin unmarked in front of goal, who effortlessly put the ball into the back of the net.
Edmondson then restored the Terps’ advantage, one they didn’t relinquish.
After scoring three goals in the opening quarter, Maryland’s offense broke loose in the middle two periods. It erupted for 13 goals and finished well past its season-high in goals scored. The Terps didn’t allow Penn State a chance for a comeback, quickly putting the game out of reach.
Lipkin and Sullivan were a big reason why. Entering Thursday’s contest, they were Maryland’s second- and fourth-leading scorers respectively. Despite combining for 16 goals through the first five games, both players recorded hat tricks early in the third quarter. Lipkin and Sullivan contributed on eight of the Terps’ first 13 goals.
“Happy for [Lipkin] for showing up today and doing what she needs to do to be a leader on this team and a leader on the offensive end,” Reese said.
While Maryland’s offense found its groove, the defense also stepped up and looked more like the 17th-best defensive unit in the country.
“To shut out a team like Penn State in the third quarter, they played excellent,” Reese said. “They helped each other out, they communicated well, they got their double [teams] where they needed to be, they made it difficult for them and they put JJ in a position to make saves.”
Fresh off her career-high 13-save performance, Suriano took some time to adjust to the Nittany Lions’ balanced attack. After recording four saves on Penn State’s 12 shots on goal in the opening half, she tallied seven saves and allowed just three goals in the second half.
The Terps caused 12 turnovers, led by Annabella Schafer and Neve O’Ferrall. And the phrase defense turns into offense repeatedly rang true. Reese has wanted more from her team in transition, and she got just that. Maryland turned multiple turnovers into goals on the other end.
Penn State’s defense entering the contest was an area of concern, and those issues were on full display. Manning started the game in goal and mustered just seven saves while allowing 13 goals. Despite subbing Ashley Bowan in at the beginning of the third quarter, she didn’t fare any better, failing to make a save and conceding six goals in the process.
The Nittany Lions’ leading goalscorer, Erika Ho, was held in check for most of the game. She recorded two goals, one of which cut the Terps’ lead to one, 9-8, late in the second quarter. But Kayla Gilmore’s lone goal of the game restored Maryland’s two-goal advantage heading into the break.
Edmondson was the third Terps’ player to record a hat trick, also adding two assists at critical junctures.
Three things to know
1. Megan Kenny’s first career goal. Maryland’s freshmen have done a tremendous job thus far, making immediate impacts on a team that desperately needed it. Between Sullivan, Gilmore, Abbazia and Kenny, the freshmen produced eight goals and three assists Thursday. Kenny registered two goals with the game out of reach.
“[Megan] keeps getting experience, she’s just such a good player and she’s just going to keep getting better and better,” Reese said. “When she went in and was able to finish on her opportunities, she drew the excitement of the sideline, the excitement of her teammates.”
2. Efficient attack. The Terps’ offense recorded 19 goals on 26 shots on net, in large part due to Penn State’s net struggles. However, Maryland’s deep roster was also crucial. Nine different players found the back of the net.
3. Tough matchups ahead. While the Terps have played two ranked opponents this season, none compare to the two foes that await: No. 12 Michigan and No. 3 Northwestern. Maryland will face the Wolverines in a home game Sunday before traveling to face last year’s national championship runner-up.