Several times this season, the Maryland women’s lacrosse team’s veterans all remind each other of their one loss last season.
They talk about the “one time they didn’t even make the Big Ten Championship game,” and discuss the fact they haven’t won a Big Ten title, midfielder Zoe Stukenberg said.
Even coach Cathy Reese will mention it.
So as the No. 1 Terps (13-0, 2-0 Big Ten) prepare to host No. 8 Ohio State (11-1, 2-0) on Saturday afternoon, their 11-10 loss to the Buckeyes in the semifinals of last year’s Big Ten Tournament is fresh on their minds.
It was the lone blemish that followed a perfect regular season during which they topped Ohio State, 13-8. They did rebound from the defeat to win their second straight national championship.
“We all have it fresh in our memory that they were our one loss last year,” Stukenberg said. “It is something that hasn’t been forgotten, and I think that’s a good thing.”
The six members of the Terps’ senior class, who will be honored at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex this weekend, have only lost three games in Maryland red and black in their careers.
But one of those came during their first season in the Big Ten against the Buckeyes. Now they want revenge.
“The last time we played them, it didn’t go so well,” attacker Megan Whittle said. “It is a bit of a bigger game. We want to step up.”
Facing a Buckeyes defense allowing close to nine goals per game, the Terps’ second-ranked attack plans to control the tempo early and knows it needs to take better shots, Whittle said.
“We have taken a little bit to get the scoring going in our games,” Whittle said. “We want to get the tempo for scoring going and look to push the fast break.”
On the defensive end, the Terps defense will likely be challenged by a Buckeyes squad averaging 12.83 goals per game. Attacker Cian Dabrowski accounts for about three of those per contest.
Ohio State is coming off a 16-13 win over No. 12 Penn State and their lone loss came to then-No. 14 Stanford in Palo Alto, California, at the end of February.
While the Terps’ roster includes several freshmen, Stukenberg said they too should be able to learn from last season’s loss to Ohio State. When Stukenberg was a senior at Marriotts Ridge, the Terps lost to North Carolina in triple overtime in the NCAA Championship game.
Although she wasn’t on the field that night, Stukenberg said when the Terps faced the Tar Heels her freshman season, she still “felt that fire.” She expects the same will be true for the rookie Terps on Saturday.
All season, the Terps have received “everybody’s best game” because they are the top team, Reese said.
Against the Buckeyes, Stukenberg wants the Terps to use that to gain momentum early.
“Every team wants to beat Maryland and I like that,” Stukenberg said. “I like that pressure and intensity that we face every single game.”
