After eight months stewing over an early postseason exit, the Terrapin women’s lacrosse team is ready to rebound.
The No. 6 Terps will head north to take on Massachusetts tonight and then take a short trip to Boston College for a Sunday matinee. Neither the Minutewomen nor the Eagles are ranked.
The Terps are eager to kick off the season after a rough preseason.
“We are really prepared at this point,” senior midfielder Dana Dobbie said. “Even though the season is just starting I feel like we are already in the middle of the season with how we have been playing. Even though it’s our first game I feel like we have been playing all fall and preseason; nothing is going to come as a surprise to us.”
The Terps will have history on their side this weekend. The Terps have a perfect all-time 8-0 record combined against both opponents. Since 2006 the Terps have beaten the Eagles three times by a combined score of 57-27. Meanwhile, the Terps have not played the Minutewomen since 1990.
While the Terps will have history on their side, they will not have head coach Cathy Reese, who will miss this weekend’s games because of her pregnancy, as reported earlier this week.
The Terps have taken a self-evaluation approach to prepare for the season opener.
“We are really just focusing on what we can do,” senior midfielder Kelly Kasper said. “We are going to know their strengths and weaknesses, but we have been working on our strengths and perfecting our weaknesses so we can play our best.”
The Terps had just one preseason exhibition, against England, which ended in a 22-7 rout. The Terps appear ready for the season opener, and the team is looking for retribution after an early end to last season.
“We are very anxious. It’s hard to compare to last year, but of course it’s always going to be in the back of our minds,” Kasper said. “We are just going to play our game; if we do, we can take it. You never want to feel that feeling again.”
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