With about 20 minutes remaining in maryland women’s lacrosse’s win over Princeton on Wednesday, attacker Catie May committed an easily avoidable turnover.
May was behind the cage and surveying the attacking third, only to see all of her teammates marked. She floated a speculative pass towards midfielder Jen Giles, but it was knocked down and recovered by defender Olivia Pugh.
The mental mistake was one of 18 giveaways from the Terps on the night, emphasizing a worrying trend in Maryland’s play.
Despite its 11-0 record and a turnover rate that ranks third-lowest in the country, Maryland has proven turnover prone against ranked opponents, a cause for concern as the Terps enter the final third of the regular season.
“It’s been something that’s bit us in a couple of games,” Coach Cathy Reese said.
While the Terps average a strong 12.18 turnovers per game, they have been concerningly sloppy against ranked opponents. Whether the cause is good defense, or an offense that is pressing, Maryland has squandered the ball more than 15 times on four separate occasions.
“We just need to take our time,” midfielder Erica Evans said. “Sometimes we just rush, in a sense.”
Maryland started the season with four consecutive low-turnover games, with its highest number of giveaways being at Florida in its first away game of the season. However, its turnover numbers ballooned thereafter.
A puzzling 18 against unranked Hofstra appeared to be an outlier. But the Terps’ numbers got worse.
They followed up with another 18-turnover output against Syracuse, edging the Orange, 12-11, thanks to attacker Kali Hartshorn’s overtime heroics. The Terps dominated the Syracuse in every statistical category, but saw a minus seven deficit in the turnover battle, helping the Orange stay in it.
“We’re all veteran players at this point,” Hartshorn said. “It’s shaking that off, clearing your head, and putting the ball in the back of the net.”
Maryland improved slightly over its next few games, surrendering 15, 13, and a mere six in the next three matchups.
Still, the widespread causes of the giveaways have made it difficult for the Terps to completely quell the problem.
“It’s not one spot,” Reese said. “It’s not just on the defensive end and in transition. It’s not just on the offensive end. It’s kind of collectively.”
After three strong games, the Terps matched their third-highest turnover total of the season Wednesday in a blowout win over the Tigers. Despite the many positives, including a defense that limited Princeton to 27 percent shooting, the 17 turnovers were an issue.
At one point, Maryland coughed it up on three consectuive possesions. Had it not been for goalkeeper Megan Taylor tying her season high with 14 saves, the complexion of the game could have been radically different.
“Our goal would be for us to be under 10,” Reese said. “I want to cut that number in half as we move forward.”
Despite mistakes and lengthy sloppy stretches, the Terps are rolling at 11-0. They’re winning by an average of 8.6 goals, and have won five games by more than 10.
But while the team has consistently found ways to win, Maryland is still battling the turnover bug.
“We just need to take a deep breath,” Reese said. “Make sure … that we’re not getting complacent out there.”
