When Maryland women’s lacrosse attacker and leading scorer Megan Whittle jogged off the field with a slight limp after landing awkwardly while chasing down a Michigan defender Saturday, coach Cathy Reese summoned attacker Brindi Griffin.
Whittle had her leg taped, before returning and eventually tallying a hat trick. Griffin also scored three off the bench.
In Maryland’s 20-7 blowout victory over Michigan on Saturday, several reserves played and contributed as well.
“It was nice to see us be able to get everybody in,” Reese said. “Get a lot of playing time for people who don’t normally have the opportunity and see a lot of good things from everyone.”
Four other substitutes joined Griffin in notching goals as the No. 1 Terps (11-0, 2-0 Big Ten) gave 20 reserves time. Griffin and attackers Taylor Hensh and Kacie Longo are often some of the first choices off the bench, but freshman midfielders Hannah Warther and Nikki Sliwak registered a goal and an assist apiece.
Sliwak’s score was the first of her career, while Warther’s was her third.
“Each game is going to present a new challenge, and different people are going to kind of be able to come through,” Reese said. “To have some other people step up and score in their opportunities is huge, and that’s going to make us dangerous.”
[Read more: Maryland women’s lacrosse dominates Michigan, 20-7, for its 11th straight win]
Attacker Bairre Reilly tallied a feed, too. She said the Terps’ ability to make substitutions and continue to execute plays on offense is a “really is a big confidence boost.”
However, the attacking contributions of the reserves were only part of their success against the Wolverines (4-9, 1-2 Big Ten).
Midfielder Kelsey Cummings replaced Kali Hartshorn on draws late in the second half, while fellow midfielder Lizzie Colson received the opportunity to charge off the circle for draws. Several defenders saw time and the Terps’ backup goalkeepers, Emily Kift and Emma Moss, made saves after replacing starter Megan Taylor.
“Everyone continues to go super hard in practice, whether you typically play a lot or not a lot,” Reilly said. “Everyone is putting in their full effort for times like this when we need everyone to step up.”
The Terps’ options have given the backups confidence and allowed the starters to take a break. They had a week between their first four games of the season. However, now in the heart of their schedule, they are playing at least two games a week.
Reese stressed how critical it is to avoid fatigue. She highlighted the work of midfielders Zoe Stukenberg and Jen Giles on offense and defense and the effort attackers such as Whittle put in chasing down opponents’ defenders on clears.
Stukenberg laughed and said it was “very nice” to get a little rest, especially after playing all 60 minutes in Wednesday’s win over No. 3 Florida.
She knows whoever replaces her will be ready.
“Every single person on our team is super important to the program and contributes in a lot of different ways,” Stukenberg said. “It was great today that we got to have everyone contribute by being on the field. Every single game every person is involved, but this was special for sure.”
