The Terrapin women’s lacrosse team is competing in a large-scale game of King of the Hill. And the Terps plan to come out on top.
The Terps beat then-No. 3 Duke last Saturday and this week moved to the No. 3 spot in the poll. After Virginia defeated then-No. 2 Syracuse on the road last weekend, the Cavaliers claimed the Tigers’ former ranking.
Tonight, the Terps (3-0, 1-0 ACC) will to try to knock off the Cavaliers (4-0, 1-0 ACC) at Charlottesville, Va., in their first real road test of the year.
But grabbing the No. 2 spot behind defending champion Northwestern from Virginia will not be easy.
“It’s tough because we’re all strong top to bottom, and we gang up on each other, especially in these ACC programs,” coach Cathy Reese said. “They’re just very competitive games.”
The last two meetings between the two teams epitomized this dog-eat-dog competition. The Terps held the Cavaliers to a season-low goal total in an 8-5 win in College Park last season. But in the ACC title game in Charlottesville, Va., though the Terps surged ahead 7-3, Virginia rallied to win 10-9 in overtime.
The rivalry between the two traditionally strong programs is always fierce. But in recent years, the Cavaliers have had the Terps’ number. Last season’s victory was the Terps’ only win against Virginia since 2003.
But Terps midfielder Caitlyn McFadden, her confidence bolstered by the win over Duke, believes that the team can break the streak.
“Every team has the potential to win on any given day,” McFadden said. “We want to get fired up and bring intensity right from the start. We lost to Virginia in the ACC championship last year, so we want to get that revenge.”
To do that, the Terps will need to face an offense even more prolific than their own.
The Cavaliers average 17 goals per game and are fifth in the nation in that category, while the Terps’ 16-goal average puts them in ninth. And Virginia’s attack has generated more scoring opportunities, as well, out-shooting the Terps 35.2 to 31.7.
“Their whole offensive unit can score,” Reese said. “They’re all very good athletes that have the ability and the potential to be very dangerous threats to us.”
Senior star Ashley McCulloch leads the team with 29 points, the second-highest total in the NCAA. Four other Cavaliers have point totals in the double-digits.
The Terps also pride themselves on having scoring contributors from all parts of the offense, including midfielder Laura Merrifield, who received ACC player of the week honors after her career-high five-goal performance against Duke.
But the teams have achieved their successes with markedly different styles. The Cavaliers bide their time, holding onto the ball and waiting for opportunities.
“They’re a team that really looks to take their time on offense and then all of a sudden, bang, get in there,” McFadden said. “They’ll hold the ball for three, four, five minutes, try to lull us to sleep, and then attack really hard.’
The Terps, on the other hand, thrive on transitions and breakaways and speeding past their opponents for quick scores, and they will not change their strategy against a more methodical Virginia.
“We’re going to take our game to them,” Merrifield said.
And if the Terps succeed in taking down the Cavaliers, they’ll be one step closer to becoming King of the Hill.
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