Down one goal against the Terrapin women’s lacrosse team Friday night, Virginia grabbed possession of the opening draw in the second half.
Instead of attacking the goal for an equalizer, the Cavaliers patiently picked their spots. For nearly 10 minutes of the 30-minute long half, Virginia retained possession. After the Terps picked off an errant pass, the Cavaliers quickly regained possession before the Terps crossed midfield.
Virginia casually tossed the ball back and forth around the half-circle, an obvious strategy to try and slow down the No. 2 Terps’ explosive offense.
But at the end of the possession, a Cavaliers’ goal was called off because of a double foul near the crease. The Terps finally gained possession and quickly went on the offensive. In just 10 seconds, coach Cathy Reese’s team efficiently passed the ball up the field where attacker Sarah Mollison scored.
The goal set off the Terps’ offense for the rest of the night, even as they battled a completely different style of play, to beat the No. 9 Cavaliers, 11-5.
“We knew Virginia was going to come out very patient on offense and to look for their opening when they had it,” Reese said. “We haven’t seen that this year. It was a good opportunity to try to put more pressure defensively.”
When they had the ball, the Cavaliers passed it around the perimeter with the hope that the Terps would become sloppy and allow an easy goal.
“That’s tough mentally, but we remind ourselves while we’re back there not to get out of our zone,” defender Karissa Taylor said. “It gets boring, but we talk to each other to stay focused. As soon as we get the ball, we go.”
Whenever the Terps stole possession back, they sprinted down the field to try and catch the Cavaliers off guard with quick passes and shots.
During the first half, there were three lead changes and five ties as the Terps (4-0, 2-0 ACC) and Cavaliers (2-2, 0-1) traded goals.
“They took us out of our comfort zone in the first half,” Reese said. “We made a couple of mistakes, and they capitalized on them.”
The Terps focused on preventing unassisted goals after the break. Though Virginia seemingly held possession for at least two-thirds of the game, the Cavaliers were unable to score in the second half against the Terps. The Cavaliers were held to three shots in that half.
After allowing only four goals at Duke the weekend before, the Terps’ defense kept up its intensity against the Cavaliers.
“Our defense is not given enough credit at all,” attacker Karri Ellen Johnson said. “It’s a whole team effort, and our defense is a huge backbone of our team.”
Johnson paced the Terps with four goals, including one where she spun out of a double team, fell and still managed to flick the ball past Cavalier goalie Kim Kolarik. Terps’ midfielder Caitlyn McFadden added three goals, while Mollison scored two and dished out three assists.
The Terps overcame the difference in style and dominated the last 15 minutes of the second half with a 5-0 run for another big win against a top-flight program.
“We never want to go out playing scared, and that’s what we were doing in the first half, both offensively and defensively,” Taylor said. “We made that change in the second half. We played our game, and it’s a good win.”
ceckard@umdbk.com
