As soon as junior midfielder Katie Doolittle started to have multiple-goal games this season, the Terrapin women’s lacrosse team made winning games a habit.

The Terps’ second-highest goal scorer from last year started the season in a slump, netting only three goals in the opening six games. In that time, the Terps were 3-3.

But now the No. 6-ranked Terps have won five games in a row as Doolittle regained her scoring touch. The 33-goal scorer from last season pushed the ball past opposing goalies 18 times in the Terps’ five-game winning streak.

Coach Cindy Timchal acknowledged the strong link between Doolittle breaking out of her slump and the Terps winning games.

“We definitely have a correlation, so that’s good,” she said. “You have to get everyone involved in the offense.”

This year, the Terps (8-3, 0-2 ACC) are 7-0 when Doolittle has scored a goal.

Senior Delia Cox, the Terps’ season leader with 32 goals, said Doolittle’s performance is a key component in the Terps’ success.

“She is such an important, integral part of our offense,” Cox said. “When she is on, we are on.”

In the beginning of this season, the Terps had enough of a scoring prowess to guide them past inferior teams but were missing the extra edge needed to beat ranked opponents.

In their initial six-game stretch, the scoring came from virtually the same places every game. It seemed that in every game there was a hat trick from Cox, a few goals and assists from sophomore midfielder Kelly Kasper and a flurry of goals from junior attacker Krista Pellizzi.

But at 3-3, the Terps weren’t able to score enough to push their record above .500, and they were 0-3 against ranked opponents.

Then, against Brown on March 11, Doolittle caught fire and scored four goals. From that point on, she and the Terps have not cooled down.

Doolittle said a large part of her breaking out of the slump had to do with changes the coaches made in the offense, giving her more freedom with fewer set plays. They are also trying to speed up the pace of the game. That plays right into Doolittle’s strength, as she is one of the team’s fastest players.

But whatever the reasons are for Doolittle regaining her scoring touch, her teammates are happy to have it back.

“Yeah, it’s funny. Everyone was like, ‘You’re back! You’re back!’ It’s a good feeling,” Doolittle said after the game against Old Dominion. “I feel like I am back, but I still have to keep doing what I am doing and not slow down at all.”

Contact reporter Bryan Mann at bmanndbk@gmail.com.