Maryland women’s lacrosse coach Cathy Reese held a meeting Saturday with the hopes of making sure her young team had the right mindset entering its first-round NCAA Tournament game against Johns Hopkins.
Reese told her squad to be more aggressive early. The Terps planned to place emphasis on each possession. They refused to look ahead.
In their 14-8 win over the Blue Jays on Sunday afternoon at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex, the Terps executed that game plan. They will face Massachusetts in the third round next weekend in College Park.
“We didn’t want to be on our heels,” midfielder Taylor Cummings said. “We didn’t want to see what Hopkins was going to throw at us. We just wanted to put our foot on the gas, step on it and dictate the game from the opening whistle.”
Attacker Megan Whittle scored four goals, while Cummings and midfielder Bryn Boucher tallied hat tricks to pace the Terps (20-0).
After the Terps’ first meeting with the Blue Jays, a come-from-behind 10-8 win in College Park, Reese said her team needed to prevent Blue Jays midfielder Dene’ DiMartino — who scored five goals in the first matchup — from being placed on the eight-meter for free-position shot opportunities.
A little more than a minute into the game, DiMartino gave the Blue Jays (11-8) their first lead of the afternoon on a free-position shot. But it was their only lead of the afternoon, and it lasted less than two minutes.
It was also one of two free-position shot opportunities Johns Hopkins earned.
Since the Blue Jays committed 44 fouls, free-position chances guided the Terps’ attack. The nation’s best scoring offense turned Johns Hopkins fouls into six goals.
The Terps’ 6-for-13 performance on the eight-meter wasn’t enough to build a sizable lead. But they shot close to 50 percent, an improvement from their 10-for-30 performance in their first game against the Blue Jays.
Plus, the Terps received offensive production from a variety of different players, something Reese said they were able to do in the first meeting with Johns Hopkins, Six different Terps scored as Maryland’s offense remained aggressive from the start.
Led by Whittle, who scored four times in the first half, the Terps posted a 2-1 edge about four minutes into the contest and never looked back.
“We were able to use our speed and drive hard to goal,” Whittle said. [Free-position opportunities] slow the game down a little bit, but we were able to show our speed and drive to get those fouls.”
Maryland’s offensive production was a notable contrast to its production against Johns Hopkins on April 6.
The Terps scored only three times in the first half and faced a 6-3 deficit entering intermission. It remains the only time Maryland has trailed at halftime this season.
But that wasn’t the case Sunday. The Terps took an 8-3 advantage entering the intermission.
“I love every second of our energy today,” Reese said. “We had a really great week. When we can renew our energy and get excited about what’s ahead, we can come together. We’ve had a lot of good conversations over the last few days.”
With the exception of three spurts — two consecutive goals by midfielder Emily Kenul in both halves and a three-goal run led by DiMartino at about the 27-minute mark in the second — Johns Hopkins’ offense was limited.
Maryland’s sixth-ranked defense held the Blue Jays to eight goals, the fewest the unit has allowed in its past three games.
“[Tournament play] is a whole different atmosphere,” said Cummings, who recorded a hat trick and forced four turnovers. “We’re fortunate that every regular season and conference game, we do get everyone’s best game.”
