At this time last year, there was a bit of controversy swirling around the position perhaps most critical to the Terrapin women’s lacrosse team’s success.
After starting goalkeeper Brittany Dipper allowed seven goals in the first 17:50 against then-No. 7 Towson last year, backup Mary Jordan stepped in front of the cage for the Terps as the team climbed back to win, 12-10. A 12-6 victory against then-No. 6 Penn a couple of days later with Jordan in goal for the entire 60 minutes seemed even more foreboding for Dipper’s playing prospects.
But for the season’s remainder, Dipper was again the team’s rock, standing tall between the pipes for some of the team’s most pressure-packed moments, including a seven-save performance against Northwestern as the program captured its first national championship since 2001.
Her current role needs no clarification. The Clarksboro, N.J., native now stands unequivocally as the starting keeper for the nation’s top-ranked team.
“Dipper’s been stepping up big-time,” attacker Karri Ellen Johnson said last week, “and it’s been huge for us.”
The junior, who began playing the sport in only her freshman year of high school, has a wealth of collegiate experience to her name. She has been the Terps’ top option in goal since the sixth game of her freshman campaign, and the strides she’s since made are often evident. In a rout of Towson last week, she stopped three difficult shots in the first five minutes of action.
“I’m an upperclassman now,” Dipper said after a seven-save performance in a 16-4 win against Penn on Friday. “So definitely, the confidence has gotten better each year, and I feel a lot more confident this year.”
It’s certainly shown. Dipper’s save percentage (.496) puts her in a tie for 10th-best in the country and is a significant improvement from her mark last year (.445). Far more importantly, it has helped the Terps limit their opposition to 6.25 goals per game, the second-lowest output in Division I.
The unit in front of Dipper has undoubtedly made her job a little easier. Coach Cathy Reese has trotted out the same four starters — defenders Brittany Poist, Katie Gallagher, Sara Cooper and Iliana Sanza — for all 12 games this year, and she called the team’s win against the Quakers its “overall best defensive game” this season.
And Dipper, now firmly entrenched as the Terps’ starting goalkeeper, is again at the forefront of that success.
“She has a presence on the field,” Reese said. “She communicates well with her teammates, so for us as coaches, we are super confident in her and confident in the role that she plays on our team and know that she’s going to be an integral part of our success.”
castello@umdbk.com
