Here’s what to know about the Terps ahead of their 2024 campaign.
By Jordan Fine
Maryland women’s lacrosse is set for another year as one of the top squads in the country. The Terps, entering their 18th year under head coach Cathy Reese, enter the 2024 season ranked No. 9 in the IL Women/IWLCA poll.
In 2023, the Terps boasted a record of 15-7, finishing second in the Big Ten. Maryland rode notable regular-season wins into the conference tournament, where it easily defeated Ohio State and Rutgers before falling to Northwestern, the eventual national champion, in the title game.
Maryland defeated Drexel in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, but saw its season came to a heartbreaking end against No. 7 James Madison in a 15-14 loss.
Here’s what to know about the Terps as they enter their 2024 campaign.
Key losses
The Terps will have to recoup much of their defensive production this season, most notably that of Abby Bosco. As a graduate student in 2023, Bosco made the All-Big Ten and IWLCA All-Region first teams, also earning all-American honors for the third time in her career. She forced 47 turnovers in her final season, additionally securing 98 draw controls. As a senior the year prior, she was named Big Ten Defender of the Year and earned her first of two Tewaaraton Award nominations.
The team also faces the loss of Marge Donovan, who caused 19 turnovers last year — including three in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Donovan also started all 21 games after being named a preseason all-American by both Inside Lacrosse and USA Lacrosse Magazine.
Another key loss is defender Maddie Sanchez, who started all 22 games last season, forcing six turnovers. In 2022, Sanchez made the All-Big Ten second team.
Top returners
Graduate student Libby May represents perhaps the most important return for Maryland’s attack. As a senior in 2023, May scored 62 goals and scooped 22 ground balls. She recorded hat tricks in 11 of her 22 appearances, racking up 69 points. She is a two-time all-conference and all-region selection.
Another prominent piece back to the attack is graduate student Hannah Leubecker. Scoring 40 goals last season, Leubecker made a massive impact. She appeared on the 2023 Tewaaraton Award watch list and received an all-American honorable mention from USA Lacrosse Magazine.
The Terps also bring back key attackers Eloise Clevenger, Chrissy Thomas and Victoria Hensh as well as starting midfielders Kori Edmondson and Shaylan Ahearn.
Clevenger was Maryland’s points leader last season, totaling a team-high 47 assists. She earned all-American honors and was named to both the All-Big Ten first team and ILWCA All-Region first team.
A steady midfield presence, Ahearn led the Big Ten in draw controls last season (139) en route to an all-league second-team selection. Edmondson also made her mark in the midfielder as a freshman, bursting on the scene with 41 goals in 2023.
On the defensive side, the Terps have Brianna Lamoureux, Olivia Rockstroh and Aiden Peduzzi back. These players will help alleviate losses on the back end, but none are as pivotal as the return of goalie Emily Sterling.
Sterling started all 22 games last season and was named Big Ten Goaltender of the Year for the second year in a row after making 186 saves. Sterling’s reputation speaks for itself: she has previously been named IWLCA National Goalkeeper of the Year, a finalist for the Honda Award — the award is given to the top athlete in 12 NCAA-sanctioned sports — and appeared on the Tewaaraton Award watch list.
Newcomers
Meghan Ball is a dynamic addition who projects to be among the nation’s top defenders again. Ball, who transferred from Rutgers, has a loaded resume that includes last year’s Big Ten Defender of the Year award, three all-conference first-team selections and a trio of all-American nods. She left Rutgers as the program’s leader in both caused turnovers (154) and draw controls (308).
Another key addition is junior defender Sophie Halus, a transfer from Colorado. She played in all of the Buffaloes’ 19 games last season and brings promise to Reese’s team.
From the high school ranks, the Terps brought in a pair of top-ranked recruits. Maisy Clevenger, the sister of Eloise, was ranked by Inside Lacrosse as the No. 6 recruit in the 2023 class and has a chance to compete for a prominent role early in her career. Julia Suriano, a goalkeeper ranked No. 11 overall in her class, will sit behind Sterling but is a strong piece for the future.
Freshman midfielder Lexi Dupcak could also be a force for the Terps, leaving high school with 300 career goals to her name.
Looking ahead
Maryland begins its season this Friday at 4 p.m. on the road against Saint Joseph’s. The Terps will head up north the following Saturday to battle one of the nation’s top squads in No. 3 Syracuse. Though the Orange demolished the Terps in last season’s game, 20-11, Maryland will have a chance to test itself early and prove its readiness.
The Terps will then return home for their first two games at the newly-renovated Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex against No. 25 Drexel (Feb. 21) and No. 7 Florida (Feb. 24). After that, they hit the road again for matchups with No. 4 Denver (March 2) and William and Mary (March 6).
On March 10, Maryland has a grudge match scheduled with No. 6 James Madison, which beat the Terps not only in last season’s NCAA Tournament, but in a narrow 8-7 result in the regular season, too.
Maryland’s three remaining nonconference games will come at Georgetown (March 20) and Princeton (April 17) and at home against No. 13 Penn (March 27).
The Terps will start Big Ten play on the road at Ohio State on March 16. Their other road conference matchups are against No. 12 Michigan (March 30) and No. 14 Johns Hopkins (April 10). Maryland will host Rutgers on March 24, No. 1 Northwestern on April 6 and No. 18 Penn State on April 13.