After the Terrapins women’s lacrosse team allowed Cornell midfielder Amie Dickson to score four times, coach Cathy Reese said her team shouldn’t be allowing one player to have that much success.
But in the Terps’ 10-8 comeback win over Johns Hopkins on Wednesday, midfielder Dene’ DiMartino scorched Reese’s defensive unit for five goals.
As the No. 1 Terps prepare for their first Big Ten road game against Rutgers (3-9) on Saturday night, Reese wants her defense to be more aggressive early.
In the first half of Wednesday’s game, Reese said, the Terps’ eighth-ranked defense was giving DiMartino, the Blue Jays’ leading scorer at 34 goals, too much room to work with. DiMartino’s five goals were the most the Terps defense has allowed by a single player all season.
“When she gets a step, she’s going hard and attacking,” Reese said. “In the second half, she was someone we needed to go to a little earlier.”
After the Blue Jays took a 4-3 lead, they led for the next 21 minutes. DiMartino’s early success — she scored the second and third goals for Johns Hopkins — put them in a position to do so.
The Terps couldn’t slow her down, though. In the final seconds of the opening period, DiMartino drove to the goal and was fouled. She buried a free-position shot with 19 seconds remaining, putting the Terps in a three-goal hole at intermission.
Reese said her defense doesn’t usually put opposing attackers on the 8-meter. But DiMartino got there twice and capitalized on both opportunities.
“We were sliding, but a little late,” defender Nadine Hadnagy said. “If we regroup and keep moving forward together as a team instead of individuals, then it will all come together.”
Led by Hadnagy and defender Alice Mercer, the defense didn’t give DiMartino as much room to work in the final 30 minutes. It didn’t matter, though, as she scored twice more in the second half.
But the Terps clamped down on her teammates to limit Johns Hopkins to just DiMartino’s two goals after the break. The improved defense put midfielder Taylor Hensh in position to score the go-ahead goal with about 11 minutes remaining.
“Just because we have Maryland on our jersey doesn’t mean we’re going to win the game,” midfielder Zoe Stukenberg said. “Some teams get intimidated when they see a Maryland player running at them. Compliment to Hopkins — they weren’t scared.”
When DiMartino scored with 13:21 left to give Johns Hopkins an 8-7 lead, it marked the first time the Terps had trailed in the final 20 minutes all season. The defense needed to make a stop.
The unit responded by holding the Blue Jays scoreless for the rest of the night, including forcing turnovers on Johns Hopkins’ final three possessions.
“We didn’t want to go into a pressure defense,” Hadnagy said. “That’s not ideal for us.”
Saturday, the Terps will be tasked with slowing the Scarlet Knights’ leading scorer, midfielder Kristina Dunphey, who has tallied 28 goals this season.
They learned Wednesday they “can’t just scare them away from driving,” Stukenberg said. Rutgers provides a chance to show that the Terps can shut down a top threat.
“You have to really get your body there and make a difference,” Stukenberg said. “We did a good job of that in the second half.”
