Midfielder Taylor Cummings runs past a Penn defender during the Terps’ 12-7 victory over Penn on Mar 18, 2015 in College Park
The Terrapins women’s lacrosse team lined up for the opening draw of Thursday night’s contest against No. 4 Northwestern with Taylor Cummings in the middle of the circle.
At the referee’s signal, Cummings shot the ball into the air and fought off two Wildcats to gain possession.
The midfielder alternated glancing over each of her shoulders to con her defenders into believing she was looking for an outlet pass.
Instead, Cummings slashed the ball past the Wildcats goalie to score the first point of the game, and the first goal in the Terps’ inaugural Big Ten women’s lacrosse game, just 13 seconds into the contest.
Cummings’ fast score set the tone for the No. 1 Terps to leave Evanston, Illinois, with a 16-5 victory that saw six Terps score multiple goals in the squad’s conference opener.
“Taylor did an amazing job today on the draws and was able to come up with some fast break opportunities for us,” coach Cathy Reese said. “Our girls did a really nice job of being patient, which led to a lot of good scoring opportunities.”
Attacker Megan Whittle led the Terps with five goals, while Cummings’ 13 draw controls, along with her two goals and three assists, helped the Terps (10-0) gain possession over Northwestern (5-3) throughout the night.
That control of the game’s tempo was evident when, with the Terps clinging to a 3-2 midway through the first half, the team went on a 6-0 run to close the period. The first three of the span came in a 58-second window with less than seven minutes remaining.
“Once we settled in and really started to get touches with everybody around touching the ball, we were able to find a lot of great opportunities out there,” Reese said.
Cummings secured the draw, and like a week ago against Penn, sent a long pass down the field to Griffin, who beat the goalie one on one to push the Terps’ lead to 5-2.
In the ensuing possession, midfielder Zoe Stukenberg fed Griffin, who stood in the middle of the Wildcats’ circle, a pass from the top of the zone. Griffin was positioned with her back to the goal, facing a Northwestern defender, but flipped the ball over her right shoulder and into the cage without so much as a glance in the shot’s direction.
The acrobatic move fired up the Terps and led to three more goals in the period before the Terps defense held strong to deny the Wildcats a shot on goal in the final minute of the half.
“Our attack was working really well together, transitioning from the draws,” Whittle said. “I really think it was a good team effort offensively, being able to find the person, just being able to spread out and see the field really well on a really good defense.”
Less than three minutes out of the break, Northwestern looked to regain momentum when attacker Shelby Fredericks split through Terps defenders Megan Douty and Nadine Hadnagy to score.
But her point was erased when referees called an illegal stick on Reese’s challenge. The Terps gained immediate possession on their offensive end, and Lamon fed Whittle in front of the goal. The two-point swing gave the Terps a 10-2 lead they quickly would build upon for the remainder of the match.
As the clock ran continuously with the Terps’ eventual 10-goal lead, the squad’s defense, led by Alice Mercer and Megan Douty, denied Northwestern most open looks to close the game.
The win was the Terps’ fourth victory this season over an opponent ranked in the top five and continues their seasonlong 10-game winning streak.
And while they never trailed after Cummings’ early statement, the team wants to build on their balanced approach on both sides of the ball as they navigate the Big Ten for the first time.
“Playing against probably the best team in the Big Ten and getting that big of a win was really huge for us,” McPartland said. “It made a huge statement I think for us joining the Big Ten, so it was pretty cool.”
