Megan Whittle grew up with posters of women’s lacrosse legend Jen Adams on her walls. She’s idolized Maryland’s all-time leading scorer since she was a kid.

Now, Whittle is on the brink of dethroning the former Terp as the most prolific scorer in program history. Whittle has moved to second place this season and is four goals away from surpassing Adams’ 267-goal mark set between 1998 and 2001.

Whittle may tie the record as soon as Tuesday at Princeton, cementing herself as one of the greatest players in the sport’s history.

“To be included amongst her name is something really special to me,” Whittle said. “To be in a position where my senior year, I can accomplish something that great and put my name in the Maryland history books is what I’ve always wanted to do since I was five years old and picked up a stick.”

[Read more: Despite another second-half slump, No. 3 Maryland women’s lacrosse beats Rutgers, 14-6]

From a young age, Whittle garnered comparisons to other women’s lacrosse greats, but she said her father, Jeff Whittle, always told her to be her own player. He wanted her to “be the first Megan Whittle” rather than “emulate a certain style of lacrosse because you see it.”

“I just want you to be you,” he told her.

Whittle has lived up to that in the years since, using a mix of speed and aggression to create a playstyle that even coach Cathy Reese finds hard to pinpoint.

“I don’t even know the right word to describe her,” Reese said. “She’s been such a crucial factor in our games throughout her four-year career here, and she did the same thing in high school.”

Whittle’s successes have gotten the attention of her childhood idol. Earlier this season, Adams received a call from Reese, informing her that her record was going to be broken.

[Read more: Maryland women’s lacrosse will celebrate its two-time champion seniors on Friday]

Adams said she wasn’t upset by the news from her Maryland teammate, but instead was shocked that the record hadn’t already been broken given some of the great players who have passed through the program since her departure.

She wasn’t surprised by who was going to break it, though.

“It was a matter of time,” Adams said. “Everyone knew the day she stepped foot in College Park that she was destined to do that kind of thing.”

Whittle, who has already led her team to two national titles, has stressed that her focus is on putting her team in the best position to win another title, not individual accolades. But couldn’t hide her excitement as she nears realizing her childhood dream.

And despite being on the verge of being knocked off as Maryland’s leading scorer, Adams seems equally as enthusiastic.

“We’ve seen her come in and break ankles on the lacrosse field, break hearts in championships,” Adams said, “and she’s about to break records.”