Midfielder Brandi Jones, right, finished with three goals and a ground ball in the Terps’ win against No. 12 Princeton last night. The 17-10 victory moved the Terps’ winning streak to 24 games.
With a minute left in the Terrapin women’s lacrosse team’s contest against Princeton last night, there were freshmen, sophomores and juniors on the field, but no seniors.
They’d already done their job.
Senior captains Laura Merrifield and Sarah Mollison combined for seven goals in front of family members who had traveled from England and Australia, respectively, as the No. 1 Terps dismantled No. 12 Princeton, 17-10, on Senior Day at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex.
After honoring their eight seniors before the game, the Terps (14-0) got down to business as usual with a dominant victory that extended their winning streak to 24 games.
“We have such a strong senior class, and they’re so much fun, and they’re such a pleasure to coach, and each of them brings something special to the team,” coach Cathy Reese said.
Appropriately, a pair of seniors started the scoring for the Terps as attacker Colleen Dawson — making her first career start — connected with Merrifield from behind the cage 3:46 into the game. The first of Merrifield’s team-high four goals stood as the Terps’ lone score until the 15-minute mark of the half against a patient Princeton offense that maintained possession for much of the match’s early stages.
Eventually, the Terps jumped out to the type of comfortable lead they’ve become accustomed to this season. Midfielders Brandi Jones, Katie Schwarzmann and Beth Glaros as well as Mollison each scored in a 68-second span to extend the Terps’ lead from two goals to six with just less than 12 minutes remaining in the half.
“I like it like that,” Reese said of the scoring outburst. “I felt like we started to kick up the tempo. … That was a good break for us to kind of get in our stride and get things going and get the momentum moving and switching toward our direction.”
Goalkeeper Brittany Dipper came up with a handful of early saves, including two stops on difficult eight-meter attempts. Dipper, who posted a season-high nine saves in the win, helped the Terps hold the Tigers scoreless until Princeton attacker Lizzy Drumm scored her first of a team-high five goals with 7:14 remaining to put her side on the board.
The Tigers (6-4), one of the best teams in the Ivy League, lost perhaps their only comeback opportunity just before halftime. Down only four goals, Princeton saw Mollison assist Merrifield twice in the final 2:36 to give the Terps a 9-3 lead at the break.
“We’ve grown so close over the past four years,” Merrifield said of the seniors. “Sad that it’s coming to an end, but we’ve still got a number of games to go, so [we’re] going to keep working hard, and it’s not over yet.”
TERP NOTES: The Terps were again without attacker Karri Ellen Johnson, who missed her third straight game with a concussion.
The team concludes its ACC regular-season slate Saturday in Blacksburg, Va., against Virginia Tech.
castello@umdbk.com
