Maryland women’s lacrosse scored 17 goals in each of its first two NCAA tournament games while converting on nearly half of its attempts.
The Terps’ attack experienced stretches of lethal shooting as well as poor performances throughout their season. The latter was the case in their NCAA tournament quarterfinal against Florida.
A season-low 25 shooting percentage doomed No. 4 seed Maryland, leading to an 15-9 season-ending loss to the Gators on Thursday at the Maryland Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex.
Maryland failed to advance to the Final Four for the third time in four years — its last coming in 2022 — following 11 straight appearances. The Terps will now go five consecutive seasons without a national championship.
“It was a tough day for us in,” coach Cathy Reese said. “We dug ourselves into a hole, for whatever reason, and it was tough to kind of crawl our way out.”
Florida tallied 379 goals entering the quarterfinal and averaged just over 18 per game — leading the NCAA in both marks.
The Gators flashed their offensive prowess early in the contest.
Florida converted on five of its first six shots in the first six minutes and shot 9-for-11 in the opening frame. It was the most goals Maryland conceded in a quarter all season.
[Maryland women’s lacrosse tops James Madison, 17-7, advances to NCAA tourney quarterfinals]
The Terps entered the game allowing the sixth-fewest goals per game in the country. They conceded just eight goals over their first and second round matchups. That number was quickly eclipsed.
Attacker Danielle Pavinelli and Maggi Hall — the Gators’ two leading goalscorers — each scored twice in the first quarter. Four other players netted a goal for Florida in the outburst.
“We’ve had a lot of situations this year, I’ve never had that one,” Reese said. “Florida came out shooting lights out in the beginning of the game, and when we did have the ball, we didn’t put it away.”
Hall led all scorers with six, bringing her season total to 60.
The Terps scored once in the first, but their early eight-goal deficit was insurmountable.
The Terps outshot the Gators in the first half, but made just two of their 17 shots. Only nine were fired on goal while Florida goalie Elyse Finnelle stopped seven attempts.
Attackers Hannah Leubecker and Lauren LaPointe were the only two Maryland goalscorers in the Terps’ joint-lowest scoring half this season.
Maryland’s defense stifled Florida’s attack in the ensuing quarters. The Gators only managed four goals in the second and third quarters, allowing the Terps to cut into their deficit slightly.
[Maryland women’s lacrosse obliterates Robert Morris in first round of NCAA tourney, 17-1]
Maryland won the draw control battle against the best team in the country in that regard. Still, the extra possessions yielded few scores for the Terps.
Four Maryland goals in the third period brought the Terps within seven. They tallied 14 shots in the quarter, but only fired six on goal.
The Gators put all but two of their shots on target while Maryland placed just 19 of its 36 on goal. Only Leubecker and midfielder Kori Edmondson recorded multiple goals for the Terps.
Maryland’s poor first quarter defense and lack of attacking output contributed to the Terps’ season-ending defeat. Shooting lulls were apparent all season long — the Terps shot over 50 percent just three times — and that denied Maryland a trip to the Final Four.
“It’s hard because I think we came off such a great weekend last weekend where we were playing our best lacrosse,” Reese said. “This stinks. It stinks to feel like you fall short of making it to the Final Four where we would have had a chance to compete for a championship.”
