Maryland women’s lacrosse defender Alice Mercer said the Terps don’t simulate other players in practice, staying true to the team’s mantra of focusing exclusively on itself.
That meant, beyond knowing Syracuse attacker Kayla Treanor is ambidextrous, the senior defender didn’t over think her matchup with the Orange’s leading scorer in the Terps’ 19-9 NCAA tournament semifinal win Friday night.
While Maryland’s defense collectively held Syracuse’s attack, which averaged 12.71 goals per game entering the contest, to eight shots and three goals in the opening period, Mercer, one of five finalists for the Tewaaraton Award for the nation’s best player, along with Treanor and midfielder Taylor Cummings, disrupted the Orange’s rhythm.
The senior will look to do the same in her fourth trip to the national championship Sunday afternoon against North Carolina. With the Terps aiming to earn a third consecutive title, Mercer will lead the defense that hasn’t allowed an opponent to score in double digits this season.
“[Mercer] is ridiculously good,” coach Cathy Reese said. “To play against Kayla Treanor, and to play the best one-versus-one defense I’ve seen in a long time, is really impressive.”
Against the Orange, Mercer squared up with Treanor, and when Treanor moved into the eight-meter arc, the Terps sent a double team. The strategy paid off, as Mercer kept the All-American attacker off the board in the first half.
About a minute into the second, Treanor scored her 50th goal of the season. It was the only time Mercer allowed Treanor to get that close to the net. For the sixth time this season, a defense limited Treanor to one score. She tallied a hat trick in the Terps’ 14-9 win over the Orange on March 12.
“She’s a great player,” Mercer said. “She’s proven that time and time again.”
When Maryland takes the field against the Tar Heels — Mercer and the seniors’ last game in a Terps uniform — the Woodbine native will likely be assigned to guard North Carolina midfielder Molly Hendrick, who leads North Carolina’s offense with 56 goals.
But, as Mercer said ahead of the final four and echoed after the game Friday, she and the Terps are “prepared for anything.”
Midfielder Taylor Cummings said their careers “have come full circle” for Maryland after the senior class fell to North Carolina in triple-overtime in the title game as freshmen. The Terps also downed the Tar Heels, 9-8,
Of the Terps’ three losses in the last four years, two have come against North Carolina.
“It’s one of the greatest rivalries not only in women’s lacrosse but in college sports,” Cummings said. “People should be in for a good one on Sunday.”
In that contest, Mercer will be asked to eliminate an opposing offense’s best player for the last time this season.
Her success in doing that against Treanor and the team’s other opponents throughout the year has helped the Terps reach the title game on the cusp of clinching the program’s first undefeated season since 2001.
“Her speed is amazing all over the field,” Reese said. “Defenders don’t get a whole lot of love out there. She’s fun to watch and fun to coach.”
