Attacker Karri Ellen Johnson, right, finished with five goals in the No. 4 Terps’ 13-3 win over Towson last night.
With just more than 19 minutes remaining in the second half, a roar erupted from the visiting team’s bench at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex last night. Towson’s Rhiannon Coogle had beaten Terrapins women’s lacrosse goalie Kasey Howard with a shot, and players and visiting fans donning the black and yellow screamed with joy.
There was one problem: It marked the first time the Tigers had found net all match. Thoroughly dominated to that point and once trailing 12-0, they were unable to beat starting goalie Brittany Dipper even once. Towson scored two consecutive goals afterward to finally halt the No. 5 Terps’ offensive onslaught, but it mattered little in an eventual 13-3 blowout loss.
“That’s one of the most complete games we’ve played all season,” coach Cathy Reese said. “We gave up some opportunities in the second half, but all in all, I think they were on fire tonight.”
The Terps’ defense, to put it simply, has not put on a better show all season. In addition to Dipper’s perfect showing through nearly 40 minutes in front of the cage, the three goals allowed by the defense in the second half marked a season low. The Terps’ first-half performance also stands as the second time they have shut out an opponent for an entire half. Hofstra did not score in the second half of its 11-4 loss to the Terps.
“It’s a great feeling, and it doesn’t really happen a lot in lacrosse,” Dipper said of her perfect night in goal. “Our defense came out strong – our whole team did. They were getting the slides there, and making my job a lot easier. All together, we meshed really well tonight.”
Meanwhile, on the offensive end, there was no shortage of firepower for the Terps. Thirty-eight seconds after the opening whistle, Alex Aust found fellow attacker Karri Ellen Johnson for the first goal of the game.
Those two were heard from again in a hurry. Aust had three more assists in the first half, while Johnson landed four more shots in the net. With five total goals, Johnson broke her own individual high for the season and now stands just four scores away from passing Kelly Coppedge for No. 2 all time in career goals.
“Alex was great behind the cage, and she just found me,” Johnson said. “She’s just gotten so good back there and comfortable. It helps our offense because if that’s not working, we can try something else in our drives. Our dynamic makes it so they can’t shut anything down.”
Although Johnson did not add any more goals to her gaudy total in the second half, the Terps were able to find offense from other sources. Midfielder Kelly McPartland got back-to-back goals, and midfielder Katie Schwarzmann scored all three of her goals in the second stanza. The Terps’ goal leader now has had a hat trick for five consecutive games.
The Terps may have a rough patch of opponents lurking ahead – they face three ranked teams in their next three games – but for this night, they did just about everything right. Their shooting percentage was at 50 percent, the mark Reese had set as a team goal on offense. The defense was near-perfect, aside from a stretch late in the second half. And they accomplished the ever-important little things, too, including securing a commanding 14-4 advantage in draw controls.
“We got some really good looks all night and I was pleased with that,” Reese said. “We took care of business on the other end of the field too. I’m just really happy with both ends of the field.”
munson@umdbk.com
