Maryland women’s lacrosse attacker Megan Whittle ran in from a free position, dropped her stick to the side and slotted the ball low past the Hofstra goalkeeper into the far corner to cap her first half hat trick.
Whittle’s score also kick-started an 8-0 run to close the first half and propel the Terps past Hofstra, 18-7, Saturday afternoon in Hempstead, New York.
The Terps added another goal after the break to increase their spurt to nine goals, while Hofstra endured a 22-minute scoring drought.
“We were doing a better job of placing our shots and taking advantage of the opportunities we had in front of the cage than we did in the first 15 minutes,” midfielder Zoe Stukenberg said. “That run was good shooting, good dodging, we were moving for each other, and it was just better offense.”
Stukenberg, who entered the game with six goals, scored *four goals to lead the Terps’ high-powered attack that produced 41 total shots.
Coach Cathy Reese saw Stukenberg’s performance as a great source of leadership and fuel for the team that struggled early on.
“She just has the ability to make a difference and rally people around her,” Reese said. “When she sets her mind to something, she’s going to achieve it, so she can kind of fuel the fire. That kind of changed our momentum because of her energy.”
Whittle and attacker Taylor Hensh finished with three goals apiece, and four other Terps found the back of the net. Midfielder Jen Giles, who led the team with six points against North Carolina, notched four points Saturday.
After she scored the goal that ignited the offensive outburst for the Terps, Whittle felt the variety of scorers helped propel them.
“Once we all kind of got on the same page a little bit into the first half, it definitely worked better for us,” Whittle said. “And it’s exciting that we have so many different players that are able to score.”
The Terps’ late first-half success stemmed from dominance on draws. After the Pride controlled the first three draws and six of the first nine, the Terps controlled five of eight on their eight-goal run. They finished with 16 to Hofstra’s 11.
It was an improvement from last Saturday when North Carolina beat the Terps on the draw, 18-7. Midfielder Kali Hartshorn took the duels and controlled two, while Stukenberg led the way with four.
Goalkeeper Megan Taylor continued her strong start to the season, saving 10 shots. The two-time Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week this season made a series of close-range saves as the Terps limited the Pride while the offense supported its defense.
Because of the way the attack developed as the game went on, Reese thought the win was indicative of the way the Terps have developed this season.
“We continue to focus on being a really dangerous group on both sides of the field and have everybody on the field be important,” Reese said. “It was nice to see that be displayed today.”
*Editor’s note: Maryland originally credited its sixth goal to midfielder Zoe Stukenberg before changing it to midfielder Kali Hartshorn. So, Stukenberg finished the game with four goals, not five. The story has been updated to reflect this.
