With 23 seconds remaining in regulation of Maryland women’s lacrosse’s game against Syracuse, goalkeeper Megan Taylor ensured the Orange didn’t pull out a late winner.
Out of a late timeout, Syracuse midfielder Meaghan Tyrrell found a clear look at goal from 10 yards out. She fired low, but Taylor blocked the attempt — her second critical save against a top-five opponent in the dying seconds of a match this year — to send the game to overtime.
After a scoreless first period of overtime, the Terps needed just over a minute to finish it in the second period. Maryland won the draw and set up its offense. The Terps worked the ball around the arc, and midfielder Hannah Warther drew a crucial foul. Off the foul, Warther found a wide open Kali Hartshorn cutting towards the net.
Hartshorn made no mistake from close range, receiving the free-position pass and sending No. 2 Maryland into raptures with a 12-11 overtime win Saturday over No. 4 Syracuse.
“Against Hofstra, I had the same spot on the same side, and threw it right at the goalie,” Hartshorn said. “I thought, ‘if I’m gonna have one, better make it count.’”
Facing a dangerous Syracuse offense, Maryland’s defense locked in defensively early. With the Orange (4-2) controlling the draw and trying to move the ball quickly, the Terps (6-0) took coach Cathy Reese’s pregame emphasis of man-defense to heart. Syracuse took two shots on the possession, one flew well wide and Taylor snatched the other out of the air.
The Terps tried to build on their strong defense early, using their usual brand of cuts and screens to create open looks on the attack. However, they converted only once in the earlygoings.
“We prepared for a physical game,” Reese said. “We knew that we needed to maintain our composure and discipline, and do things the Maryland way.”
While the offense struggled to get going, Maryland’s defense was impervious for half of the opening frame, holding Syracuse scoreless for 18 minutes.
It was mostly a scrappy first half at Maryland Stadium, with a multitude of fouls and few highlights. The two teams combined for 17 first-half turnovers.
“We turned the ball over way too much today,” Reese said. “If we could have some of those back it would be nice.”
However, midfielder Grace Griffin provided a spark. With 21 minutes remaining in the half, she received a pass with her back to the cage, spun around her defender and fired a shot into the top of the net to give Maryland a 2-0 lead.
But with 10 first-half turnovers, the Terps struggled to produce a consistent offense necessary to separate from the Orange. Maryland scored just five first half goals and didn’t create many chances despite shooting 46 percent.
And they suffered for it. Despite leading 5-3 with five minutes remaining in the half, Maryland allowed three Syracuse goals in five minutes to go into the break trailing 6-5.
“Credit to Syracuse for playing a style of defense that we aren’t used to,” Reese said.
It could have been worse had it not been for the efforts of Taylor. She came up with five big saves in the first half, including two from close range that kept the Terps in the game.
“Meggy T had some awesome saves,” Reese said. “Once again, a phenomenal game.”
The Terps found their rhythm with a faster offense in the second half, with midfielder Meghan Siverson scoring early to tie the game at six.
Maryland scored twice more in the ensuing five minutes to open up an 8-6 lead thanks to plays from Giles and attacker Brindi Griffin. Midfielder Erica Evans and Grace Griffin added two more on either side of a Syracuse goal to open up a 10-7 lead.
But Syracuse continued to stick around. Attacker Emily Hawryschuk completed a hat-trick with 18 minutes remaining, and Tyrrell added her second of the game to shrink the Terps’ lead to one with 15 minutes to play. Two minutes later, Hawryschuk put away another to tie the game at 11.
With the game tight, Taylor produced two big saves from close range to prevent the visitors from coming up with a go-ahead goal. After neither side converted in the dying minutes, the game went to overtime.
“Being in that type of situation, again,” said Taylor with a chuckle. “I love it.”
The first overtime period was fruitless for both teams. While both squads got into ideal shooting positions, neither generated a good look on goal.
In the second overtime period, though, Maryland controlled the draw and drew a foul near the cage. Hatshorn’s free-position tally marked the second double-overtime home win in a row for the Terps, after topping then-No. 3 North Carolina in similar fashion.
“We fought the entire 60-plus minutes and were able to come away with a victory against a really talented and strong Syracuse team,” Reese said.
