Before the season started, Maryland women’s lacrosse coach Cathy Reese wasn’t sure how a team with only five returning starters would perform.
To have success, Reese said the No. 1 Terps would be challenged to focus on what she called “the little things.” Draw controls were among them.
Finding a successful player in the draw circle wasn’t among the team’s offseason challenges, though. In Saturday night’s 18-3 win over Rutgers, it was evident why.
Senior midfielder Taylor Cummings tied her career high with 13 draw controls to help Maryland dominate possession. She averaged more than six draw-control victories per game last season, the fifth-best mark in the country.
“It’s so crucial for [Taylor] to get us going,” defender Alice Mercer said. “She’s always working for the next draw. And I think that’s what makes her such a special, dominant player.”
Against the Scarlet Knights, Cummings’ success in the draw circle enabled the Terps offense to put the game out of reach early. Maryland scored nine times before Rutgers got on the board, and it recorded eight of the final nine goals.
The Terps entered the contest with Rutgers after topping Johns Hopkins, 10-8, on Wednesday. But against the Blue Jays, the Terps played from behind for most of the night and trailed at the break for the first time all season.
That made Cummings’ seven draw controls even more crucial.
“In close games, [draw controls] can make or break a game,” Cummings said. “In the Hopkins game, we pushed ourselves and focused on the draw and were able to win possession and ultimately win the game.”
Cummings’ previous season high of 10 draw controls came in the Terps’ 12-8 road victory over then-No. 14 Penn. She has tallied at least six in all but three contests and her 5.82 average before Saturday’s game ranked seventh in the nation.
During Cummings’ career, which features two Tewaaraton Awards, her dominance in the circle has powered a dynamic Maryland attack. She led the team in draw controls in her first three seasons in College Park, and in each of those years, the Terps also boasted a top-10 offense.
“In a game where a lot of times teams will hold the ball to try to run out the clock, I think it makes [draw-control success] even more important,” Mercer said. “She’s just playing like she always has been, a great all-around player.”
It’s more than just what Cummings has done, however. Cummings said the Terps’ “circle personnel,” including people on the circle and the ones crashing in from the 30s, have allowed the young team to have so much success. Twenty different Terps have won at least one draw control this season.
“When you win the draw, you kind of get a momentum going,” Cummings said. “If we can score and win the draw, that can build a lot of confidence in a young group like we have.”
As the Terps seek the program’s third straight national championship with a young squad, they’ll likely lean on Cummings’ production in the circle to give the offense an edge.
“That’s exactly what we’ve really been focusing on,” Reese said. “Trying to dominate in the draw circle and on the ground balls.”
