The ACC Championship win against then-No. 1 North Carolina on Sunday not only sealed the Terrapin women’s lacrosse team’s second straight conference tournament title, but also opened the door to another distinction: the nation’s No. 1 ranking.
The weekend before the ACC Tournament, North Carolina beat Northwestern to leapfrog the Wildcats, who had held the position for most of this season. But with the Terps’ 10-5 win against the Tar Heels, the spot was up for grabs once again.
It’s the first time since March 31, 2003 the Terps have held the country’s top spot. It wasn’t a forgone conclusion, though. The Terps beat out the Wildcats by only one point in the top 20 rankings, and had fewer first-place votes.
“It really doesn’t mean much at this point,” said coach Cathy Reese, who became accustomed to top rankings in her playing days after winning four straight national titles. “It’s a reflection of what this team has accomplished so far this season, but we still have a long ways to go.”
The key wasn’t just knocking off the top team in the country, but how the Terps did it. Reese’s team displayed its best team defense of the year while showing it was capable of slowing down the tempo on offense.
Most of this season, the Terps have used their transition game to dictate the game’s tempo. Many of the early-season blowouts resulted from quick transition goals that put opponents on their heels. When the team’s transition game didn’t work, the results were much different. The team struggled against James Madison, Virginia and Boston College when those teams forced the Terps to play at a slower tempo.
Sunday, after the Terps took a four-goal lead midway through the first half, Reese turned the offense’s focus away from the transition and to an offense more reliant on set plays. Casually throwing the ball around the 12-meter fan, the Terps showed seemingly no interest in pressing, instead opting to take the best shot possible while limiting North Carolina’s possessions.
The plan worked, as four of the Terps’ six goals came on passes behind the goal in set plays. Attacker Sarah Mollison and midfielder Caitlyn McFadden, who both had two assists, served as triggermen behind the net, waiting patiently for teammates to cut in front of the goal for an easy shot.
And at the end of the first half, Reese had her offense kill the final 1:30 before taking the final shot so the Tar Heels wouldn’t have a chance to cut the lead to three and grab considerable momentum before intermission.
Reese knew the potency of the North Carolina attack, which had averaged more than 15 goals per game heading into the title tilt. But with the slow tempo and increased defensive pressure, the Tar Heels scored a season-low five goals, including only one in the first half.
“We were ready for this game,” Reese said. “Our team really wanted to demonstrate what we’re capable of.”
Now, they’ll have to keep that same intensity through the final two games of the regular season and into the NCAA Tournament — and do so with all with the pressures that come along with a No. 1 ranking.
“We finally put it together for a whole game,” McFadden said. “We know we haven’t seen our full potential and this game was an awesome start.”
ceckard@umdbk.com
