For eight minutes, the Maryland women’s lacrosse team fell asleep. The Terps weren’t winning draws, dropping passes and giving Georgetown offensive opportunities.
As a result, a seven-goal cushion turned into a two-score game.
But the team’s rough stretch didn’t prevent it from securing its second win of the year. No. 2 Maryland beat the Hoyas, 17-13, on Saturday after defeating William & Mary to start the season last weekend.
“We came in today with a really great energy,” coach Cathy Reese said. “All in all, I’m really proud of our team’s effort today.”
Attackers Megan Whittle and Caroline Wannen combined for nine goals, scoring five and four, respectively, to spearhead the Terps’ offense. Wannen added two assists while Whittle had one, giving them each six points on the day.
Eight other players added goals, with senior midfielder Zoe Stukenberg and junior midfielder Taylor Hensh scoring two goals each. Four others added one goal.
The Terps (2-0) started the game well, scoring nine goals in the opening 22 minutes while just allowing two. But following a goal from sophomore midfielder Jen Giles, they didn’t score the final eight minutes of the first half.
As Maryland failed to find the net, the Hoyas (1-2) chipped away at the lead with five unanswered goals to end the period. They controlled four of six draws following the Giles goal, keeping the ball away from the Terps as the half concluded.
“We started off the game strong and then we had a lapse at the end of the first half,” Reese said. “Credit to Georgetown for taking advantage of those opportunities. They were sticking them away and making us have to reassess and evaluate things going into halftime.”
The Terps’ offensive prowess returned after the break, with Whittle scoring just over a minute into the second frame. They went on to score four straight before Georgetown answered, enough to get out to a comfortable lead.
“Coming back out of halftime, we knew we just wanted to step on the gas, get some scores in and get our offense going,” Wannen said. “Once we got back into it, we scored a couple goals right away, so that was nice.
“Just a little letdown, but we came back.”
The Hoyas went on another run, scoring five unanswered goals to cut Maryland’s lead to four, but the Terps held on for the victory.
Reese said the rough stretches were learning moments for the Terps. They needed to reset and refocus, she said. And when they were able to She said it was all about resetting and focusing on the next play. When they were able to do so, Reese said she saw good things, especially on offense.
The Terps also saw their ball movement improve from their 13-3 win last week over William & Mary. They had no assists against the Tribe but supplied six on Saturday.
“We generated a lot of shots. And 17 goals — well that’s awesome,” Whittle said. “Offensively, as a whole we moved the ball really well. We had a lot of good looks from a lot of different people.”
Despite the offensive outburst, the Terps had troubles defensively, especially in the periods in which Georgetown closed the gap. Whittle said Reese’s halftime speech emphasized playing at 100 percent at all times as a way to avoid those issues again. Wannen echoed that concept.
“We definitely just need to keep our heads in it for 60 minutes,” Wannen said. “It doesn’t matter if we go on a run and go up five goals. We have to stay focused for a full 60, keep our foot on the gas the whole time and finish out games strong.”
