Maryland women’s lacrosse attacker Hannah Leubecker lined up eight meters from the cage late in the fourth quarter. She’s converted over half of her free position opportunities this season, and possessed the chance to tie the score for the Terps.
Leubecker’s shot blazed over the crossbar and out of play. She then committed a turnover after Maryland recycled the ball back in the offensive zone. The scoring chance was thwarted.
The Terps’ poor shooting hindered their offensive production against the Scarlet Knights. Third-seeded Maryland shot at just a 26 percent clip in an upset loss in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals to sixth-seeded Rutgers, 9-8, on Saturday at the Maryland Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex.
The Scarlet Knights earned their first-ever win in College Park to advance to the semifinals. Maryland will now wait until the NCAA Tournament for its next game, which starts May 10.
“We now have two weeks to just really focus on ourselves,” defender Sophie Halus said. “We’re going to push each other and make practices more competitive, and really just get after it and fine tune what we need to do.”
Maryland opened the game goal-less for the first eight minutes. It failed to convert its two free position shots and couldn’t score on an early player-up opportunity. Rutgers’ goalie Sophia Cardello made four saves in the Terps stretch without a score, finishing the opening frame with six.
Attacker Eloise Clevenger netted Maryland’s lone first-quarter score. The one-goal period was the Terps’ lowest scoring output in the opening period this year.
[Maryland women’s lacrosse hopes its fourth quarter woes are a problem of the past]
Maryland’s quarter worsened when reigning Big Ten Goaltender of the Year Emily Sterling injured herself while making a save. Julia Hammerschlag replaced Sterling for half of the second quarter, conceding once to midfielder Mikayla Dever from a free position shot.
Scarlet Knights midfielder Cassidy Spilis tallied Rutgers’ first two scores and later completed a hat trick in the opening 15 minutes to move into second place in the nation in goals scored. She reached 70 goals for the first time in her career with her second goal of the game.
“She’s one of the best players in Division I lacrosse,” coach Cathy Reese said. “A great finisher … she can find openings and finish.”
Midfielder Payton Tini added a score to aid a four-goal first quarter for Rutgers.
The Terps’ attack was stifled by the Scarlet Knights’ defense in the first half. The top-50 ranked unit in defensive efficiency, according to Lacrosse Reference, forced six Maryland turnovers while Cardello produced two more saves to end the half with eight. The Terps didn’t score on any of their four power plays.
Attackers Hannah Leubecker and Libby May were the only two Maryland goal scorers in the second quarter. They both scored successfully on free position shots. The Terps placed 11 shots on goal, but only struck three times, resulting in a 5-3 deficit at halftime.
[9 Maryland women’s lacrosse players claim Big Ten yearly honors]
Maryland’s attack experienced similar shortcomings in goal-scoring production in the second half.
Attackers Victoria Hensh and Chrissy Thomas fired the Terps’ first three shots on the cage, only to find the pocket of Cardello’s goalie stick. Their fourth shot finally evaded the shot stopper.
Thomas searched for a fellow attacker to deliver a pass to, finding May open — the graduate student cut to the middle of the shooting arc. She caught Thomas’ pass and quickly turned the ball toward the goal, rising the shot to beat Cardello for Maryland’s first second-half goal.
Thomas extended her goal run to five straight games with a score with each of the Terps’ next two goals. They outscored Rutgers, 3-1, in the third quarter to tie the game.
Hensh connected with Thomas to give Maryland its first lead of the game three minutes into the final period, but Rutgers tallied twice in a two-minute span to regain its advantage.
As the Terps searched for another game-tying score in the fourth quarter, their offensive deficiencies occurred once again.
Maryland outshot the Scarlet Knights in the last two frames, but it suffered through a 10-minute scoring drought in the fourth quarter. The Terps only generated two shots and committed three turnovers during that time as Rutgers scored three times.
The three-goal barrage put the Scarlet Knights ahead for the remainder of the contest.
Cardello staved off two Leubecker shots in the final seconds to preserve the win. She finished with a season-high 15 saves.
“We went eight-for-[31], giving a goalie 15 saves. That’s not going to beat anybody,” Reese said. “We had some great looks on goal. We had some great offense. There’s some great opportunities and we just didn’t finish.”
