Attacker Brooke Griffin pulls back as Northwestern defenders close in on her when the Terps defeated Northwestern, 9-6, in the semifinal of the 2014 NCAA tournament May 23, 2014 at Johnny Unitas Stadium.
When the Terrapins women’s lacrosse team takes the field for its season opener at William & Mary on Feb. 15, the starting lineup won’t look much different than the one that won the 2014 national championship last May.
The No. 1 Terps return 10 of the 11 field starters on last year’s squad that posted a 23-1 record, including three victories over No. 3 Syracuse, two of which came in the ACC championship and national title games.
The existing chemistry and returning leadership, coach Cathy Reese said at the Terps’ media day Tuesday, has been one of her squad’s greatest assets during its preseason preparations.
“[We] return a really solid and great group of players,” Reese said. “We graduated one midfield starter off of our 2014 national championship team and our goalie that year, so we’ve been working with a lot of people who are ready to step up. Our returners are ready to go. We’re all healthy right now and just kind of anxious … to get things going and to compete.”
The midfielder Reese referred to is Beth Glaros, who led the Terps with five goals and one assist in the national championship game and was considered the team’s most vocal leader.
But the sentiment within the program is that the 11-player senior class has gained ample experience competing in important games and will efficiently offset the loss of Glaros.
“They said we have 11 seniors [now],” redshirt senior attacker Brooke Griffin said. “So it’s like we have a role model on our team, and … we’re so close, we’re just a unit.”
The Terps’ biggest question lingers in the goal. Abbey Clipp started 23 of the Terps’ 24 games in 2014, notching 129 saves on the year.
This preseason, coaches are holding a competition between sophomore Emily Kift, freshman Emma Moss and Alex Fitzpatrick, a graduate student from Lehigh, to select this season’s starting netminder.
Both the coaching staff and the players are upbeat about the three contenders’ progress. In preseason practices, Reese said the offense has gotten sharper from playing against such challenging keepers, while the defense, which returns all five starters, has developed solid communication between the field players and the goalkeepers.
“Emily [Kift] having a year under her belt, she’s gotten more confident and she can speak to us, and Alex [Fitzpatrick] having the experience from Lehigh, she has the ability to speak to us as well, very loud in the cage,” defender Megan Douty said. “Emma [Moss], as a freshman, is probably almost louder than [Kift and Fitzpatrick], and it’s awesome to see that confidence behind the net.”
As the regular season approaches, the Terps are concentrating less on filling voids on the field than in past years. But as the search for a starting goalie and midfielder continues, the Terps squad is anxious to kickoff its campaign for a repeat title.
“It goes by fast,” Griffin said. “I’ve been here for five years, and it’s crazy. Just having the process of just taking it in. It goes by fast, and don’t take it for granted each and every single day.”
