WASHINGTON — Eloise Clevenger began with the ball behind the goal line.
It’s been a familiar position for Maryland’s opponents to find her in this year, an area where the fifth-year senior attacker can find her teammates. Nobody has been able to stop her from doing so.
Clevenger fed her attacking partner, Hannah Leubecker, who’d darted from the top of the shooting space. Leubecker caught the pass in stride before scoring her first goal of the game. The goal gave Maryland women’s lacrosse an early lead and foretold two veterans’ exceptional days.
The duo combined for 10 points as No. 2 Maryland defeated Georgetown, 13-7, Wednesday at Cooper Field. Clevenger and Leubecker rank first and second among the team in points, respectively.
Last weekend, seven Maryland (8-1) players scored in a six-goal win at Ohio State. But against the Hoyas, Clevenger and Leubecker led the Terps to their fifth straight win.
“She’s just super explosive. She’s not only dangerous in transition, she’s dangerous when we’re in settled seven-on-seven offense.” Maryland coach Cathy Reese said of Leubecker. “She’s someone that teams have to put a lot of attention towards. She can dodge, and she’s so explosive out of it, and can shoot. So that’s a really tough combination to defend.
[Strong defense leads Maryland women’s lacrosse to 12-6 win over Ohio State]
Maryland scored five in the first quarter. Kori Edmondson and Leubecker each scored twice each while Maisy Clevenger scored her sixth of the year.
Eloise Clevenger added three more assists after tallying her 30th of the season on the early dish to Leubecker.
“I see Eloise as a QB1. She’s like our point guard out there,” midfielder Shaylan Ahearn said. “She’s so talented when it comes to feeding and just seeing the field. But she also is a really big threat on offense for goalscoring, which I think opens her teammates up a lot.”
Leubecker scored from a free position shot early in the second quarter, marking her fourth hat trick of the season. She finished with a game-high five and became the first Terps’ attacker to eclipse 20 goals this year.
Edmonson, second on the team in goals, scored three times on Wednesday to up her total to 18.
Maryland only led by four after a first half where it struggled with turnovers.
The Terps committed seven turnovers, one happening during a player-up opportunity. Maryland also earned a shot clock violation after failing to get a shot on target during the 90-second timer.
Maryland limited the damages off those giveaways.
[Maryland women’s lacrosse’s offense flashed its potential in win over James Madison]
The Hoyas scored three goals in the first quarter but just one in the second. Maryland goalie Emily Sterling made seven first-half saves to subdue Georgetown’s attack.
Then, the Terps’ balanced attack took over.
Chrissy Thomas, Eloise Clevenger, Hailey Russo and Victoria Hensh scored their first goals of the game. Russo, Maisy Clevenger and Maggie Weisman all registered their first assists. Leubecker and Edmonson also scored.
Maryland scored six straight — all by different players — to push its lead to 13-5 early in the fourth quarter. The Hoyas never recovered.
“It’s really hard to scout a team that has six different goal scorers in one quarter,” Ahearn said. “I think that it just goes to show that everyone is a threat.”
The Terps’ turnover problem persisted in the later half, with another shot clock violation and a failed clear. Maryland finished with 14 total giveaways, four more than Georgetown.
Turnovers could become a problem in the Terps’ next Big Ten game against Rutgers Sunday. The Scarlet Knights rank 45th nationally in caused turnovers.
But against Georgetown, Maryland’s fifth-year seniors helped it overcome those issues.
“We forced it a few too many times offensively, and sometimes it was early in the shot clock too,” Reese said. “Some of those things are just more game sense that we need to just smarten up on and tighten up.”