Maryland women’s lacrosse coach Cathy Reese likes to focus on small details.
So after she watched her team come from behind to top Penn State and clinch the Big Ten regular-season title, she looked on at the No. 1 Terps celebrating on the field while thinking about what aspects of her game plan worked and what didn’t.
Until she read about it online and received a text message from an opposing coach days later, Reese said she was unaware the Terps’ 10-9 win over the Nittany Lions was her 200th career win as Maryland’s head coach.
But she didn’t want to dwell on the accomplishment. Instead, her focus turned to preparing her team for this weekend’s Big Ten Tournament.
“I’m just lucky my players play hard and win a lot of games on the field because that’s what the record is signifying,” Reese said. “At the end of the day, it’s just a number, like my age and my weight.”
When midfielder Bryn Boucher was deciding which program to join for her college career, she didn’t realize the success Reese had as a player and a coach.
Reese was a two-time All American and the 1998 NCAA Tournament Most Valuable Player with the Terps from 1995 to 1998. Plus, she was the head coach at Denver for three years before returning to lead the Maryland program ahead of the 2007 season.
During her visit to College Park, Boucher, who hails from Hingham, Massachusetts, gained a sense of the family atmosphere Reese promotes. Boucher said that group mentality has enabled Reese to compile a 200-18 record in less than 10 full seasons with the program.
“When I think of Cathy, I always think ‘casual,'” Boucher said. “I think that’s funny because we’re such a serious program and she has a lot of responsibilities, but she can still take things in such a casual way. I think that makes her the person she is today.”
Since Reese returned to Maryland as head coach, the Terps have won three national championships and have featured 54 all-conference honorees. She also helped the Terps transition into the Big Ten when they left the ACC after the 2014 campaign.
Because Reese wanted her team to stay focused ahead of the postseason, Reese didn’t discuss her personal accomplishment with her team. Attacker Megan Whittle didn’t know about the milestone until she scrolled past a tweet on the program’s Twitter page.
“You couldn’t ask for a better program or a better coach,” Whittle said. “It just shows how strong the program is and how much history we have.”
A diverse combination of rosters helped account for Reese’s 200 wins. The Terps often boast top recruiting classes — their 2015 group was ranked No. 2 by Inside Lacrosse — but last year’s squad featured 11 seniors.
That team ended the regular season without a loss. Despite only returning five starters this year, Reese’s squad accomplished the same feat. Boucher said Reese’s intensity enables the Terps to thrive regardless of the circumstance.
“We’ve had such great athletes come through here during my time,” Reese said. “In the big picture, we learn so much about each other.”
As the Terps prepare to face the winner of the Rutgers/Ohio State Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal in Evanston, Illinois, on Friday night, Reese wants her team to build on the details she thought about last Thursday.
So her players have worked in practice this week to adhere to those instructions. They want to get Reese her 201st win.
“We want to keep getting more wins for her,” Whittle said. “We want to keep getting better and improve.”
