It would be difficult to argue that Alex Aust is or ever has been the face of the Terrapins women’s lacrosse program. The junior attacker has been a key cog on the offense since her freshman year in 2010, but the long list of Terps offensive stars – Sarah Mollison, Laura Merrifield, Katie Schwarzmann and Karri Ellen Johnson – has largely kept her from the limelight.
Her impressive showings lately, though, are revealing how critical she is to the Terps’ offense and the team’s fortunes as a whole. Continuing her hot streak, Aust contributed three goals and six assists Friday in the No. 5 Terps’ 14-6 victory at No. 10 Pennsylvania for the team’s sixth straight win.
“Alex is stepping up right now,” coach Cathy Reese said. “She’s making it clear that she is a very dangerous player for other teams to handle.”
Aust’s six assists against the Quakers (6-3) were a new career high and increased her team-leading total to 23 on the year. Her hat trick, meanwhile, demonstrated her valuable role on the team as both a passer and a finisher.
She has notched 24 goals thus far, trailing only Schwarzmann (40) and Johnson (37), and she’s done it on just 47 shots. Schwarzmann and Johnson have 92 and 71 shots, respectively. On a team replete with stars, the junior has become perhaps the most efficient and one of the most vital players to the Terps’ (11-2) success.
“She can not only feed but score,” Reese said. “She is going hard, and it adds another dimension to our offense, which makes us very hard to stop.”
Aust’s dominating effort was not the only high point of the Terps’ romp in Philadelphia. Johnson’s four goals were the most on either team, and she had three in the first half to key an early 5-0 Terps run that left the Quakers struggling to catch up. Johnson has scored four or more goals in four of the past six games and now stands one away from gaining sole possession of No. 2 in program history for career goals.
“Aust’s passes have been getting to Karri Ellen in the middle, and she’s been putting them away,” Reese said. “She’s been finishing on the opportunities that she’s given, and that’s what she does well every game.”
Attacker Kristy Black also picked up a hat trick, while Schwarzmann scored two on the night. The midfielder’s goal total broke an impressive streak of six consecutive hat tricks.
On the other end, goalie Brittany Dipper and the defenders in front of her continued to shut down opponents. Coming off of a perfect game against Towson, Dipper snagged seven saves in front of the cage against Penn, while the defense as a whole forced almost twice as many turnovers (15) as Penn’s (eight). The Terps also reigned superior again in draw controls, besting the Quakers, 14-8.
“We played well on both ends of the field again,” Reese said. “We controlled the draw to get good looks on goal, and we had the ball enough times on offense to put it away.”
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