Terrapins women’s lacrosse attacker Megan Whittle knows she’s not going to lead the team in scoring every game.
Saturday in Gainesville, No. 2 Florida tried to limit midfielder Taylor Cummings and Whittle’s production by sending double- and triple-teams to the team’s biggest offensive threats. Whittle scored twice, while Cummings had just one goal.
As a result, attacker Caroline Wannen, who had only scored a pair of times entering the contest, tallied four goals and ended the contest with seven points.
When the No. 1 Terps (6-0) prepare to face No. 14 Penn at Franklin Field on Wednesday night, the Quakers might also lock in on Cummings and Whittle. So the Terps are hoping they can continue to lean on their depth.
“It’s really awesome to see how all of our girls are stepping up,” Whittle said. “If it means Taylor and I are going to get doubled and they have a great game and we win, we’ll take it.”
The contest against the Quakers marks the first weekday game of the season for the Terps. Defender Alice Mercer said although the Terps have less time to prepare, there’s a benefit to playing multiple games a week.
“Having that long week of practice can be a little bit draining sometimes,” Mercer said. “Our coaches emphasize when we [do practice], we’re not going to be out here for long, but we need to make the most of it.”
The Terps will be the third ranked team Penn faces this season. The Quakers fell to Duke the second week of the season but are coming off a 7-4 win over No. 20 Towson.
Senior attacker Iris Williamson, who scored once in the Terps’ 12-7 victory over Penn last season, leads the Penn’s attack with 16 goals.
Defender Katie Cromie and midfielder Lely DeSimone pace the Quakers’ defense with 11 ground balls.
The Quakers are “very disciplined; they’re very organized,” Terps coach Cathy Reese said. “We know that and need to be disciplined on our end. We want to make sure we’re making smart decisions.”
The Terps were dominant in the draw circle against the Gators, winning 15 draw controls to the Gators’ five. They also outshot Florida 31-16 and went a perfect 15-for-15 in clears.
Reese’s team went on an 8-0 run in the second half to put the game out of reach. But Reese said that the Terps “were in each other’s ways” offensively against the Gators and that she is hoping for a more consistent outing against the Quakers. Whittle echoed that sentiment.
“Florida was a good showing of how strong defensively we are,” Whittle said. “Our offense can always use work.”
Part of the reason for that was the Gators’ decision to focus on Cummings and Whittle. The Terps offense faced the same problem on March 12 when then-No. 3 Syracuse employed a similar defensive strategy. In turn, midfielder Taylor Hensh shouldered some of the offensive burden, beating the Orange goalkeeper four times.
It’s a product of the Terps’ deep offense. While teams might try to cut out Whittle and Cummings, Reese is confident she’ll always have somewhere else to turn.
“People are starting to become more comfortable in the roles they’ve been put in,” Mercer said. “We’ve seen how people are capable of doing the things we’re asking them to do.”
