As she has all season, Terrapin women’s lacrosse defender Iliana Sanza started Saturday’s game against Massachusetts cheering on the sideline.
Only this time, the freshman wouldn’t see game action, even as the Terps built a large lead. Instead, Sanza stood alongside her teammates, supported by two crutches, with her entire left leg wrapped with red tape.
Sanza is coach Cathy Reese’s first option off the bench to relieve the starting backline for the Terps this season, and she has played an important role when Reese opts for four defenders on the field instead of the typical three.
Even without the help of Sanza, the No. 1 Terps (17-1, 4-1 ACC) still coasted past the overmatched Minutewomen. But there was obvious melancholy over the status — and future — of one of the team’s most promising young players.
Sanza injured her left knee during Thursday’s practice session at the Recreation Turf Field near Comcast Center. Sanza’s MRI on Saturday came up negative, ruling out a potentially career-threatening ACL injury. Her exact injury has yet to be determined and she is listed as day-to-day, but she injured the same knee in high school.
“We’re not quite sure yet — something with her knee, but it’s not an ACL,” Reese said Saturday. “This just happened, so we’re still just trying to figure it out.”
Reese has started three defenders most of the season — junior Brittany Poist and seniors Abby Caso and Karissa Taylor. With Katie Gallagher sidelined the majority of this season with an injury and Alexcia Niumatalolo no longer on the roster, Reese had looked to Sanza to provide depth.
“She was our first look off the bench, and she’s an outstanding defender, so this is hard to watch,” Reese said. “Hopefully, she’ll be back.”
The freshman has played in 14 games this season, registering 12 groundballs and seven draw controls. She has also caused nine turnovers. Several times this season, Reese has billed Sanza, along with fellow freshman Katie Schwarzmann, as the program’s rising stars.
“Iliana is a great asset to the future of this program,” Reese said. “She reads plays well and comes up with a lot of interceptions. She anticipates very well and knows where to be.”
“She’s a huge part of our ‘D,'” Poist said. “She was actually stepping into the role of being the voice, and her presence is very well noticed when she’s out there. But as with anything like this, you always have people good enough to step in.”
But with only one regular season game remaining before the NCAA Tournament kicks off, the injury could be a major setback for a Terps defense that ranks second in the country in goals allowed per game.
Against Massachusetts, Reese played Taylor, Caso and Poist the majority of the first half, and only made substitutions along the backline when the Terps had built a seven-goal lead.
If the injury persists, Reese will have to turn her attention to a few little-used backups. Sara Cooper, Elizabeth Hamilton and Melissa Diepold, none of whom have started a game for the Terps this season, could see more time in Sanza’s place.
“It’s just important to get more game experience,” Reese said. “They do that in practice. Now we need to find a way to slot these players into the defense.”
All three have yet to play in a pressure situation this season and have only seen the field in blowout victories. But starting Saturday, when the Terps host No. 10 Dartmouth, and continuing through the NCAA Tournament, which begins the following weekend, the next line of backups will be relied on in high-profile situations few foresaw.
“It’s disappointing because I love seeing her grow as a player — she’s improved so much this whole season,” Poist said of Sanza. “The only pressure comes from our defense stepping up and communicating. We should have all been growing this whole time. This gives us an opportunity to grow even more.”
ceckard@umdbk.com
