Attacker Brooke Griffin guards a Richmond player during the Terps’ victory over Richmond on Feb. 16, 2014.
Brooke Griffin entered this season as the active leader in points for the Terrapins women’s lacrosse team. Yet she started the season relatively quiet in two routs and was tied for fourth on the team, trailing midfielder Taylor Cummings by six points entering yesterday’s matchup with Boston.
But the Terriers couldn’t contain Griffin as she broke out. The attacker scored or assisted on the Terps’ first three goals and finished the first half with five points.
Griffin ended the game with four goals and two assists, as the No. 2 Terps dominated Boston in an 18-8 victory at home.
“Brooke really put herself in good spots today,” coach Cathy Reese said. “She was really working hard to get the ball above the 30, which in turn allowed her to be more involved in the attack.”
Reese wanted to see better execution on offense, and the Terps (3-0) delivered, scoring two goals in the first 90 seconds. The Terps controlled the following draw and kept the pressure on until about two minutes later, when Griffin scored on a Cummings pass, forcing an early Terrier timeout.
About four minutes in, Boston (0-2) finally got the ball into Terps territory, and the Terriers took advantage, cutting the lead to 3-1. But that was as close as they would get.
“I think we came out strong to start the game,” Reese said. “I was really pleased with how we were connecting offensively.”
The Terps scored the next eight goals to take an 11-1 lead, initiating a running clock for the final 36 minutes of action.
With 19:34 remaining in the first half, Griffin scored her third goal of the game to complete a hat trick. Then with 6:30 to play, midfielder Kelly McPartland netted her own first-half hat trick.
Despite nine first-half saves by Boston’s goalkeeper Caroline Meegan, the Terps led 11-3 at the break.
“At halftime, we talked about coming out hard and setting the tone for the rest of the half,” midfielder Beth Glaros said.
Glaros scored 12 seconds into the second half, igniting a quick flurry of goals. Cummings controlled the ensuing draw and immediately took it to goal, scoring 12 seconds after Glaros. The Terps scored four more unanswered goals to take their largest lead of the game at 17-3.
For the third straight game, a big lead allowed Reese to play her reserves for a large portion of the second half. With the starters on the bench, the Terriers scored five goals, but the lead never fell to less than 10.
“We’re fortunate to be in the position right now where we have had a couple games where we can see everyone,” Reese said. “Get everyone some time and some game experience.”
After controlling half the draws against Richmond, the Terps dominated the circle yesterday, winning 21-of-28. As usual, Cummings led the way for the Terps with five draw controls.
The Terps, however, won one fewer ground ball than Boston, an area they struggled in against Richmond as well.
“We were knocking the ball down throughout the midfield,” Reese said. “But we weren’t picking it up.”
Overall, it was a minor detail in yet another commanding win for the Terps. They came in looking to improve their offensive execution, and they finished by scoring a season-high 18 goals, aided by Griffin’s six-point performance.
“Winning the ground balls, winning those draws — that starts our offense coming down on the fast break,” Griffin said.
