BALTIMORE — Senior Eloise Clevenger held the ball in her stick, which had more pink on it than normal. She passed to her sister, freshman Maisy Clevenger.
The younger Clevenger wrapped around the goal. She jumped and placed a shot high over the stick of Johns Hopkins goalie Madison Doucette. She dropped her stick — also wrapped in pink — before being embraced by her sister and teammates, who all donned pink wristbands.
The pink was for the Clevengers’ mother, Elizabeth, who died in April 2023 from cancer. Maryland women’s lacrosse honored her during its 13-8 win Wednesday over the Blue Jays in Baltimore. Eloise and Maisy Clevenger combined for two goals and two assists.
“It’s tough. This has been one year since they lost their mom,” coach Cathy Reese said of the wristbands. “As teammates, they want to show that they’ve got their backs … It’s hard because sometimes you don’t really know what to do, but that was a way that they felt they could step up for each other.”
The Terps (11-3, 4-1 Big Ten) remained perfect in program history against their in-state rivals, winning their 26th straight over the Blue Jays (10-4, 2-2 Big Ten).
Maryland’s defense limited the Blue Jays to a season-low in goals, locking down the second-best scoring side in the conference entering the game.
Meanwhile, its attack hasn’t been as lethal as it was earlier this season. The Terps haven’t scored double-digit goals since March 24. But those issues aren’t because of a lack of possessions.
Midfielder Shaylan Ahearn leads a draw control unit that entered the game winning over 60 percent of the toss ups. The Terps asserted that dominance in the center circle all night against Johns Hopkins.
[Sophie Halus’ quickness spearheads Maryland women’s lacrosse’s push attack]
Maryland won seven of eight draw controls in the first quarter, extra time that helped it eliminate an early three-goal Blue Jays’ lead.
Kori Edmondson tallied two scores — hitting 25 goals for the second consecutive season— and Lauren LaPointe netted her first career goal. All came off draw control wins by midfielder Shannon Smith. She finished with a career-high 11 draw controls.
“Obviously, a lot of credit to [Ahearn],” Smith said. “She tells me back where to go. And I feel like our whole draw team, we kind of trust each other enough where she does it, and we kind of all just click.”
Attacker Libby May scored to complete a four-goal run to end the opening quarter for the Terps. Maryland scored four goals on seven shots.
The Terps’ attacking prowess slowed in the ensuing quarter, scoring just a single goal, also coming from May. Instead, their defense helped keep the game tied at the half.
Maryland caused two of Johns Hopkins’ four turnovers in the quarter. Goalie Emily Sterling made three saves and conceded two goals, one on a Blue Jays’ player-up opportunity.
Throughout the season, turnovers have impeded Maryland’s offense. The Terps entered the game committing almost 15 per game. The problem carried over on Wednesday during the near-goalless second quarter.
The Terps had three turnovers. Blue Jays’ defender Jordan Carr forced two. Maryland didn’t score on its final five shots of the half.
Johns Hopkins scored twice during the Terps’ dry spell and tied the score at five at the halftime break.
[Maryland women’s lacrosse couldn’t handle Northwestern’s defensive pressure in loss]
Maryland ended its goalless streak just 27 seconds into the new half as Chrissy Thomas sent home an Eloise Clevenger feed for her first of two third quarter scores. In between Thomas’ tallies, LaPointe scored her second career goal.
“We wanted to attack, we haven’t attacked the last couple games,” Reese said. “I think we’ve been more hesitant, so that’s what we’ve been talking about all week … and [Ahearn], [Smith] and [Meghan Ball] did an excellent job of putting the ball in attackers hands to give us those opportunities.”
Sterling made four saves in the third quarter and Johns Hopkins committed three more turnovers. Maryland outshot the Blue Jays by six and scored three of the four goals in the frame.
Attacker Hannah Leubecker scored her lone goal in the fourth quarter. She caught a pass outside the eight meter arc before sprinting inside the shooting space. Her maneuver split two Blue Jays’ defenders en route to goal. She freed her hands and unleashed a shot that went just under the crossbar.
It was one of five Maryland fourth quarter scores. LaPointe netted her first career hat trick and Edmondson converted her fourth of the season.
“It’s awesome. You see that, at any point, it’s anyone’s time,” Edmondson said of LaPointe. “That’s what matters in games like these. At any point, anyone can step up and put the ball in the back of the net, and anyone can step up and be a leader.”
The Terps stay in contention for first place in the conference with one Big Ten game remaining on Saturday. They will need to beat Penn State and have Northwestern lose one of its final two games against Ohio State or Michigan.
