Attacker Caroline Wannen scored once in the Maryland women’s lacrosse team’s 17-6 win over Virginia on April 20. Midfielder Caroline Steele was held off the board for the only time all season.

The pair’s production wasn’t good enough for coach Cathy Reese. In order for the nation’s second-best offense to have success, she said the Terps who play in the offensive crease need to produce.

Steele and Wannen are among them.

As the top-seeded Terps begin their postseason with a contest against fourth-seeded Rutgers in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament on Friday night, Reese wants to see Wannen and Steele become more consistent.

“As we move forward, their roles are so crucial to our success,” Reese said. “This is a whole new look.”

Maryland lost five starters from last year’s team, forcing Reese’s squad to put together a new attacking unit. It wasn’t something they thought about much in the past, Reese said, because “[former attacker] Brooke Griffin anchored the offense for years.”

So to go along with their three established offensive players — attackman Megan Whittle and midfielders Taylor Cummings and Zoe Stukenberg — the Terps turned to a freshman and a reserve player.

After Steele served as an All-American midfielder at Severn High School last season, she’s started all 17 games at attack for the nation’s second-best offense.

For Wannen, Reese said it’s a matter of getting her more game experience. The Silver Spring native has started every contest this season despite combining to play in 21 games her first two years in College Park. She’s tallied 13 goals and 21 assists thus far.

Still, each player endured their own hardships in trying to adjust to different roles.

Steele got off to a fast start — she scored eight times in the Terps’ first five games — but the team’s fourth-leading scorer struggled in a three-game stretch mid-April when she scored an average of just one goal per contest.

Wannen, meanwhile, wasn’t aggressive enough on offense, so Reese told her not to fear attacking the net more often. The 5-foot-6 junior has shown signs of her lethal offensive potential, such as when she scored four goals and tallied three assists in the 14-4 win over then-No. 2 Florida, but her production has wavered since. She’s scored three goals over her past six games.

“It’s a big step up, having two new people step right in,” Whittle said. “We want everyone to be aggressive and everyone to be dangerous, not just the attackers and midfielders up top, but also everyone behind.”

Even when they’re not scoring, midfielder Bryn Boucher said the pair is an integral part of the Terps’ (17-0) offense. Reese added that Wannen and Steele will improve as they become more confident, something she’s seen glimpses of from the duo over the past two games.

After Steele was shutout by the Cavaliers, she tallied first-half hat tricks in the team’s wins over Michigan and Penn State.

And with the game against the Nittany Lions tied at eight late in the second half, Wannen attacked the net and scored, giving her squad a lead they wouldn’t relinquish.

In the Terps’ 18-3 win against the Scarlet Knights (6-11) earlier in the year, Steele tallied a hat trick while Wannen added two assists. That production is something Reese would like to see more of as the Terps attempt to win their first Big Ten Tournament title.

“I think [their play] is definitely going to make a huge difference,” Boucher said. “Not only in this Big Ten Tournament, but when we come to NCAA.”