Maryland women’s lacrosse coach Cathy Reese was fired up.
“Yes, Jenny G!” she shouted from the sidelines.
Midfielder Jen Giles had just flashed a shot into the top corner to cap a strong first half. After a slow start, Maryland rode its energy to an 11-7 victory over No. 11 Pennsylvania (7-2) on Wednesday night in College Park.
The Terps began the game stagnant on offense, unable to break down the Quaker defense. Through the first 19 minutes, they turned the ball over seven times and the game was knotted at two.
“Penn played really tough defense all over the field,” Reese said. “For us, we were able to settle in offensively after a slow start and really start to figure out their defense and create a lot of good offensive opportunities and looks.”
Giles, who finished with five points, sparked a strong last 11 minutes of the half as she battled through traffic and looped a shot over Penn goalkeeper Britt Brown. The Terps finished the period on a 5-0 run to take a lead they wouldn’t surrender.
“Penn was a really great team and we were just trying to move the ball fast and get a lot of touches for everyone to open them up,” Giles said. “It worked in our favor eventually.”
Giles and midfielder Kali Hartshorn each scored hat tricks. Attackers Megan Whittle and Taylor Hensh each scored two and fellow attacker Caroline Wannen added one.
Despite scoring at least 17 goals in their previous four games, the Terps mustered their lowest goal output all season. The team usually aims to convert 50 percent of their shots, but they finished 37.9 percent of them against the Quakers.
However, they were bolstered by an organized defense and another standout performance from goalkeeper Megan Taylor.
Taylor managed 12 saves in her return from a brief injury hiatus that kept her out of Sunday’s win over Johns Hopkins. She helped preserve the victory by stumping the Quaker offense while her team’s attack couldn’t get going.
The Terps limited Penn’s leading scorer, Alex Condon, to just one goal on five shots. Their rigid structure allowed little space for the Quakers, resulting in two 90-second shot clock violations. Giles said the Terps set out to run down the clock and keep the Penn attackers away from goal, holding them at the eight-meter arc.
“Defensively, I thought we played really well,” Reese said. “Meg Taylor did a great job in the goal. Our defense was able to really hold them and limit any offensive opportunities they were getting and really force them to shoot even toward the end of the possession clock.”
Finishing with 14 turnovers was a slight regression from the 11 the Terps had against Johns Hopkins, but they are still improving after being unhappy with giving the ball away 20 times against Syracuse on March 11.
“It wasn’t our prettiest game all around, or our most complete game at that,” Reese said. “But, we learn from it and we move on and look to get better the next time we compete.”
