With 1:23 remaining in the first half of Maryland women’s lacrosse’s Saturday matchup against Rutgers, midfielder Meghan Siverson provided a goal that embodied the Terps’ offensive philosophy.
Siverson cut towards the cage, where midfielder Erica Evans found her with an inch-perfect pass. The junior then took two steps before sniping a shot past goalkeeper Kameron Halsall.
It was one of many unselfish offensive sequences in the Terps’ highest-scoring game this season. Maryland stormed to a dominant 20-3 victory over the Scarlet Knights, the Terps’ first unranked opponent since March 16.
“It was a great day,” Coach Cathy Reese said. “We saw a lot of things from a lot of people.”
Boosted by the return of attacker Caroline Steele, who has battled ankle and knee injuries, Maryland (12-0) started the game fast. Just over a minute into Saturday’s contest, Steele forced a turnover and set up attacker Brindi Griffin’s game-opening strike.
“I love having Caroline back,” Griffin said. “She does such a good job when she comes in.”
Steele followed Griffin’s effort with a goal of her own, and the Terps appeared to be in a good spot.
However, Rutgers soon found its way into the game, utilizing the duo of midfielder Samantha Budd and attacker Taralyn Naslonski. The latter found space on the next Scarlet Knights possession and fired a shot past goalkeeper Megan Taylor from distance to make it 2-1.
But the Terps responded and wouldn’t look back. For the second time, Steele was instrumental in a Maryland goal. She leapt into the air, stealing an errant pass from the stick of defender Samantha Scarpello. Racing up field, she fired a pass in stride to attacker Kali Hartshorn, who made no mistake from close range.
Following Hartshorn’s strike, the Terps locked in defensively. They didn’t allow another score for the rest of the half, and limited Rutgers to contested looks on net. The Scarlet Knights turned the ball over six times in the first half, including three times in dangerous attacking areas.
After a save from Taylor midway through the opening frame, Hartshorn turned provider, finding Evans cutting toward the crease for a 4-1 lead. Midfielder Jen Giles made it a four-goal advantage three minutes later with an impressive strike.
And it would have been a bigger lead if it weren’t for Halsall. The redshirt freshman excelled in the early stages for the Scarlet Knights. She saved eight of the first 15 shots the Terps threw her way, blocking a variety of Maryland looks.
“Their goalie played so well,” Griffin said. “She had so many saves.”
She was helpless against another solo effort from Giles, though. With 7:33 remaining in the first, Giles beat her defender with pace, accelerating left and firing across Halsall to extend the Maryland lead to five.
The Terps only picked up speed from there. Five goals in the last six minutes of the half negated any slow downs earlier in the period. By halftime, the Terps led 11-1 and were in full control.
“Everybody played really well,” midfielder Kylie Davis said. “We have such a talented team.”
The Scarlet Knights offered more fight in the second half, but the game was already well out of reach. Griffin built on a solid day, scoring her fourth goal of the game less than a minute into the final 30.
While Rutgers scored twice down the stretch, there was no catching Maryland. Scarlet Knights attacker Marin Hartshorn — sister of Terps goalscorer Kali — emulated her older sister’s signature move, firing a sidearm shot top shelf for a fine solo effort with 23:51 remaining.
“It was so fun, seeing the two sisters playing against each other,” Griffin said.
For the remainder of the game, coach Cathy Reese rotated the lineup. She started the half by taking Taylor out of goal in favor of Maddie McSally. Further substitution followed, as the Terps incorporated fresh faces on both ends of the field.
And multiple replacements made an impact. Davis took a feed from Siverson, cut towards the cage, and fired into the bottom corner for a 14-2 Maryland lead.
The reserves delivered a strong performance to see out the game. They added six more goals, while conceding one en route to another blowout Maryland win.
“We had a lot of people in the game today and they all did a really good job to limit Rutgers to three goals,” Reese said. “That was phenomenal.”
