The Terrapins women’s lacrosse team’s 10-9 loss to then-No. 5 Duke last weekend in Durham, N.C., was in a word: unexpected.
Even more confusing for the No. 3 Terps Figuring out just how their loss to the Blue Devils actually happened. Statistically speaking, there was no real area in which Duke dominated the Terps. The Terps did fail to tally a single groundball in the first half, but it had no real impact on the scoreboard, which was knotted at halftime. Maybe it was Duke’s advantage in draw controls in the second half, leading to more frequent and longer possessions. Maybe it was goalkeeper Brittany Dipper’s two saves on 15 Duke shots in the game.
Then again, maybe it wasn’t any specific statistic.
“I don’t think there was one particular reason,” attacker and senior captain Kristy Black said. “I just think it’s something we learn from, and it makes us stronger as a team. Hopefully, it’s something that never happens again.”
In what could be labeled an anomaly, the Terps lost to Duke for the first time since the 2008 NCAA Tournament quarterfinals, and for the first time in the regular season since March 2008. On an even grander scale, it is the Terps’ fifth loss since the beginning of the 2009 season. The Terps haven’t lost consecutive games since 2006, before coach Cathy Reese even came on board.
“Our focus isn’t on what’s happened — it’s learning from it, and what we can do to be better,” Reese said. “It’s not about who didn’t do what, or who did do what on Saturday. It’s what we can do as a team to get better for our next game.”
Even in defeat, the Terps did have some things go their way. Although midfielder Katie Schwarzmann and attacker Karri Ellen Johnson, the main forces on the Terps’ offense, were held to just two goals combined, and midfielder and second-leading scorer Brooke Griffin was completely blanked from the stat sheet, the Terps found offense elsewhere. Midfielder Beth Glaros netted four goals, almost half of the team’s offensive output. Freshman midfielder Kelly McPartland also contributed a hat trick.
“In different games, I think we’ll see people step up in different ways,” Reese said. “We saw it from Kelly and Beth obviously offensively, and we’ve seen other games where we’ve had Katie having six goals, so it’s up and down. We’ll expect everybody to step out and be consistent as we move forward this season.”
One thing all of the Terps agree on, however, is how to overcome this season’s small bump in the road before their game against No. 6 Virginia tomorrow.
“I think we just need to focus on the little things and get them done,” Dipper said. “The ground balls, the draw controls, our shots, saves — just focusing on the little things, and that’s what we’ve been practicing so far this week, and we’re going to continue that into Virginia, and pick it up.”
munson@umdbk.com
