Terrapins women’s lacrosse midfielder Zoe Stukenberg grew up in a house full of Johns Hopkins’ blue.
The junior’s parents went to Johns Hopkins, and her mom was a diver for the Blue Jays.
So as the No. 1 Terps prepare for Wednesday night’s contest against the Blue Jays, the matchup holds extra weight for Stukenberg.
But starting next season, the bouts with Johns Hopkins (8-5) will mean more for the whole team. Beginning in 2017, Johns Hopkins will compete in the Big Ten, as it does in men’s lacrosse.
The Terps’ men’s lacrosse team has an ongoing rivalry with the Blue Jays, and once the women join the conference, coach Cathy Reese anticipates the same will be true for her squad.
“We’re excited to renew this rivalry on our side,” Reese said. “It’s exciting. It just doesn’t really have the history that the men have, but it will be a challenge for sure.”
The programs first met in 1979 but didn’t face each again until 2000, Johns Hopkins’ second year competing in Division I. They’ve played 11 more times since the opening meeting in 1979, with the Terps holding a 12-0 edge in the series.
Though the Terps enter the game unbeaten this season and in the all-time series, defender Morgan Torggler maintained the importance of not looking past the Blue Jays. She cited the Terps’ lone loss last year, to Ohio State in the Big Ten Tournament, as a consequence of underestimating opponents.
“No matter who we play, they’re going to give us their best game,” Torggler said. “Anyone can come out and beat us, so we have to give our all every game.”
Johns Hopkins fell to Towson, 9-4, on Saturday but enters the game with the No. 14 overall defense, allowing just more than seven goals per game. Goalkeeper Caroline Federico is averaging close to eight saves a game and could challenge the Terps’ up-tempo offense.
When the teams met a season ago, Johns Hopkins entered the contest ranked No. 18 in the country. But the Blue Jays weren’t able to contain the Terps’ offense, as midfielder Taylor Cummings scored four goals and attacker Megan Whittle added three to power the Terps to a 17-9 blowout.
The Terps’ offense is just as potent through 10 games this year. The Terps have the second-best offense in the country, and Reese said she’s pleased with how quickly a team with a new lineup that includes four freshman starters came together.
They are coming off a performance that featured a season-high 17 turnovers, but Stukenberg is confident they will correct that issue against her parents’ alma mater.
“That’s awesome because those are things that we can control,” Stukenberg said. “It’s in our hands how many times we turn the ball over. Seventeen is way too many, and we’re going to make sure we don’t do that again.”
