Every time the Maryland women’s lacrosse team took the field this season, it focused on one moment at a time. Come Friday, this mentality won’t differ, but the stakes will.
No. 1-seed Maryland will host No. 4-seed Johns Hopkins in the first round of the Big Ten tournament on Friday. With a victory, they’ll advance to Sunday’s final where the winner of the game between No. 2-seed Penn State and No. 3-seed Northwestern will await. With a loss, they’ll discover their postseason schedule when the NCAA makes its selections on Sunday night.
“Survive and advance is in effect right now,” attacker Megan Whittle said. “We’re sticking to what we know and how we know we can perform.”
As the Terps (17-0, 6-0 Big Ten) have stressed all campaign, they’re focused on improving their own game.
Midfielder Zoe Stukenberg said that mindset contributes to a “short attention span.” Coach Cathy Reese doesn’t want to worry about everybody in the Big Ten, as their only challenge at the moment is Friday.
Two seasons ago, Maryland suffered a first-round upset loss to Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament. Reese said the team has learned from that experience, so it won’t be concerned about the possibility of playing on Sunday until the contest with Johns Hopkins ends.
Despite the team’s narrowed concentration, the Terps have knowledge of their potential opponents. Not only did they play against the trio in the regular season, but the Terps’ last two games came against the Nittany Lions and the Wildcats.
Plus, Maryland’s 17-4 win over Johns Hopkins on March 19 equaled its largest margin of victory this season. Maryland did not have starting goalkeeper Megan Taylor in that contest, but reserve senior Emily Kift stepped in and made 10 saves.
The Terps will go through the standard procedure of watching film and studying their opponent. However, they’ll put the familiarity on the back burner when the weekend comes.
“Northwestern played us differently, Penn State played us differently, Hopkins played us differently,” Reese said. “We just want to be prepared for anything that anybody can throw at us.”
Adding to the unpredictability of their opponents, despite playing them already, Stukenberg said Johns Hopkins won’t need extra motivation and that every team wants to beat the Terps, but Maryland is familiar with the challenge.
Whittle added there’s a target on your back that comes with being a top seed.
“People play hard every game they play against us,” Whittle said. “We’ve just got another 60 minutes to play.”
Though the Terps will prepare for that 60 minutes the way they always do, they recognize the importance of the postseason.
“Every game always matters,” Stukenberg said, “but now it’s like you’re playing for something every single game.”
