Throughout the season, the Maryland women’s lacrosse team’s loss to Ohio State in the semifinals of last year’s Big Ten Tournament remained in the back of the Terps’ minds.
Coach Cathy Reese didn’t discuss it often. Neither did the five starters the No. 1 Terps returned this season.
Every once in a while, though, they reminded each other the program has yet to win a Big Ten Tournament title.
On Sunday afternoon, they’ll have the chance to change that.
With a 19-9 routing of No. 4-seed Rutgers on Friday night in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals in Evanston, Illinois, the top-seeded Terps advanced to the conference championship game for the first time as members of the Big Ten.
“The rest of the team still definitely has that in the back of their minds — that they didn’t want to have the same thing happen as last year,” freshman midfielder Jen Giles said. “We really wanted to come out and make a statement for this first game.”
The nation’s second-best offense, which averages just more than 15 goals per game but surpassed that by halftime Friday night, ensured the berth to the title match.
One minute and 17 seconds into the game, Rutgers attacker Kim Kolodny gave the Scarlet Knights a 1-0 advantage. But their only lead of the game was short-lived.
About three minutes later, midfielder Taylor Cummings scooped up the ball and drove toward the goal. She passed it to attacker Caroline Wannen, who stood on the left side of the crease and scored to tie the game at one. The duo finished with five points apiece to pace Maryland’s attack.
After their connection, the team’s offense took off. Maryland shot 19-for-31 on the night.
“Draws were a big asset of ours and just controlling the ball,” midfielder Zoe Stukenberg said. “We were being patient and waiting for the right look. This is probably the best shooting game we’ve had all year.”
Wannen’s score sparked a 6-0 rally, which ended when attacker Halley Barnes scored the Scarlet Knights’ second goal of the game. But the Terps responded with a 4-0 spurt before ending the half with seven unanswered goals and a 17-3 lead.
The attack never let up. At the 6:36-mark, the Terps took a 10-goal lead, which resulted in a running clock. With nine seconds remaining in the first half, Stukenberg added a goal.
“We were trying to make space for each other and really spread out so we had room to dodge,” Giles said. “Overall, it was just working together.”
Stukenberg and Whittle both recorded hat tricks in the opening 30 minutes. Maryland’s 17 goals were the most they’ve scored in a half this season. The team used 16 first-half draw controls to help create the scoring opportunities.
The Scarlet Knights rebounded in the second as Kolodny scored her third goal of the game and Rutgers scored six of the half’s eight goals. But the efforts couldn’t close the Terps’ gap.
“We put ourselves in a position to compete for a championship, and that’s what we’ve wanted to do all season long,” Reese said. “It was a total effort offensively. Everyone contributed.”
To keep her team rested entering Sunday’s contest, Reese pulled her starters about 10 minutes into the second frame.
“Getting our younger kids game experience is important,” Reese said. “Our team responded well. We had some breakdowns and goals we gave up, but we moved the ball really well.”
Those players will return to the field Sunday afternoon when the Terps face the winner of the semifinal between No. 2-seed Penn State and No. 3-seed Northwestern.
Then, Maryland will have the opportunity to compete for the Big Ten Tournament championship the team fell short of earning last season.
“We’re happy that we sent a message that Maryland is here, and we’re ready for this postseason, and we’re excited to play the very best lacrosse we’ve played all season,” Stukenberg said. “We’re hungry.”
