The Maryland women’s lacrosse team isn’t used to slow starts.
In the first nine games of the season, the No. 1 Terps scored first. In most of those contests, that was the first of many goals, as the Terps boast the second-best offense in the country, averaging 15.42 goals per game.
Against Johns Hopkins last Wednesday, though, that wasn’t the case. The Blue Jays got on the board first and held a three-goal lead at halftime, challenging the Terps offense before coach Cathy Reese’s team built and maintained a late lead.
That wasn’t necessary in the Terps’ second conference game of the season against Rutgers.
In Saturday’s 18-3 win over the Scarlet Knights, neither team scored in the first seven minutes. But once the Terps tallied their first point, they put the game away early, unlike their performance against Johns Hopkins.
“As we go through the season, we want to make sure we can keep our composure, regardless of what the situation is,” Reese said. “If our shots are falling, great. And if they’re not, we have to fight through until the next one happens.”
Against the Blue Jays, the Terps shot 3-for-11 in the first half and 7-for-19 in the second, prompting midfielder Taylor Cummings to say, “You can’t get much worse than that.”
Facing a Scarlet Knights team that has allowed at least seven goals in every game this season, the Terps offense was dominant.
Attacker Megan Whittle’s free-position shot with about 23 minutes remaining started scoring. Less than two minutes later, midfielder Zoe Stukenberg drove to the net, went low and scored.
Reese’s team notched the game’s first nine goals and built a sizable lead by the time Rutgers attacker Amanda Turturro fired a shot over goalkeeper Megan Taylor’s head to put the Scarlet Knights on the board.
At halftime on Saturday, Whittle and midfielder Caroline Steele each boasted hat tricks. Against the Blue Jays, the Terps only had three goals at the intermission.
“[Hopkins] really made us take shots that weren’t good,” Cummings said. “[Saturday,] we had everyone involved. It was a really good team effort on the offensive end.”
Despite dominating in the first half and leading 11-2 at the break, the Terps didn’t let up in the second. They scored six consecutive goals and seven of the final eight.
In total, eight Terps scored.
In addition to her two scores, Cummings’ productivity in the draw circle helped keep the offense in a rhythm. She tied her career high with 13 of the team’s 16 draw controls on the night.
“[Cummings] has been incredible on the draw,” defender Alice Mercer said. “She knows that our team’s success is really what brings her success. She’s playing how she always has been.”
Cummings’ only score against the Blue Jays came late in the second half as the Terps had to adjust to overcome their slow offensive start. But she and the Terps reverted to their usual tempo against the Scarlet Knights.
“We’re going to be challenged by every team that plays a different style of offense and different style of defense,” Reese said. “We saw really good games out of everyone.”
