Midfielder/Defender Jen Mendez moves through Boston defenders during the Terps’ 18-8 victory Feb. 19, 2014 at College Park
Last season, the then-No. 1 Terrapins women’s lacrosse team dominated then-No. 7 Penn State 20-10 at home behind attacker Alex Aust’s eight points and goalkeeper Kasey Howard’s career-best 14 saves.
Tomorrow, the No. 2 Terps will travel to University Park, Pa., to face the Nittany Lions without Aust and Howard, who graduated after last year’s run to the NCAA championship game. Instead, the Terps are led by a balanced yet potent offense and the duo of Abbey Clipp and Emily Kift in net.
The Terps (3-0) have played No. 7 Penn State (1-0) every year for the past decade and have dominated the past four contests, winning each game by at least eight goals. Tomorrow’s game, however, will provide this year’s younger Terps with their toughest competition so far this season.
“They played their first game [Wednesday] so we don’t know much about this year’s team,” coach Cathy Reese said of Penn State. “We know they return a lot of players from last year.”
The Nittany Lions, who earned a 21-9 win over Bucknell on Wednesday, return nine of their top 10 scorers from last season.
After a commanding 14-3 win at UMBC to start the season, the Terps won back-to-back games at home by 10 goals against Richmond and Boston — all wins against unranked opponents.
“At this point in the season, it’s going to be a really good challenge,” Reese said. “It’s going to give us a better idea of what we are able to do on the field.”
Reese has not been forced to play her starters for a full 60 minutes yet this year, but that could change tomorrow. The Nittany Lions averaged 12.9 goals a game last season, and Reese said the Terps defense has been the focus at practice leading up to the bout at Penn State.
The Terps have struggled to stay in front of their opponents in one-on-one situations, Reese said, so they’ll need to be alert and help each other out.
On Wednesday, the Terps held Boston to 15 shots but allowed them to score on eight of those opportunities. They played arguably their best defense against UMBC, holding the Retrievers to nine shots and allowing a season-low three goals.
But when they control the majority of the draws, the Terps take pressure off their defense. Against Boston, they controlled 21 of 28 draws and jumped out to an 11-1 lead.
The Terps hope they can control the tempo of the game tomorrow when they take on the familiar nonconference opponent. The Terps may not have Aust on the attack or Howard in the net this time, but they’ll have an opportunity to prove themselves in a stiff test at Penn State.
“It’ll be a good fight,” Reese said. “I think we are looking forward to it — these guys are looking forward to it. I think we are just ready to take that next step in our season and see what’s ahead.”
