When Maryland women’s lacrosse ended James Madison’s season in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last season, the Dukes’ goaltending struggled.
They used two goalies who combined for eight saves and 17 goals against.
Saturday’s contest was a near duplicate of that game. Seven Terps scored in a commanding 11-5 win over No. 12 James Madison at Sentara Park.
“I’m proud of the way we came out,” coach Cathy Reese said. “Our defense played phenomenal today … and came out with some fantastic stops which allowed us to have possession and the ball on offense.”
James Madison’s goaltending had struggled in prior matchups. The Dukes (4-2) started the season with junior Caitlin Boden — who started the year ranked No. 18 in all-time saves and save percentage.
But after a pair of games where Boden made zero saves, the Dukes switched goaltenders. The first time was against Virginia Tech, where Boden surrendered six goals before switching to Abigail Beattie.
The freshman did not fare any better. She also failed to record a save while allowing two goals, forcing James Madison to substitute her with senior Adanya Moyer to finish the game.
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Moyer struggled against No. 9 Maryland (4-1) in the first half, surrendering nine goals and making just four saves.
Junior Kori Edmondson dominated the last time she played the Dukes, scoring four first-half goals. The midfielder nearly replicated her first performance, scoring three first-half goals.
“Kori’s just such a leader on the field,” Reese said. “She organizes our offense [and] she’s a stud. She’s one of the best players in the country for sure and she’s a leader on our team.”
Even with Edmondson’s dominance, Maryland enjoyed one of its most balanced scoring outputs of the season. The Terps saw seven different players score at least one goal.
Despite James Madison playing three ranked opponents before its game against Maryland, it struggled to break Maryland’s defense.
The Dukes’ offense had primarily been led by midfielder Maddie Epke. The junior started the season on the Tewaaraton Award Watch List and scored eight combined goals in her prior two games against ranked opponents.
Reese said Tuesday that the defensive unit was “lost” while trying to recover after sending double teams against Denver.
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The Terps were much better with their double teams Saturday, consistently using them when Epke held possession. The double teams stifled Epke — she scored just once and didn’t get much support from her teammates.
“I think we were much more organized defensively,” Reese said. “When the ball was loose, we came up with it, and that was something we focused on all week.”
When Maryland’s defense did falter, goalkeeper JJ Suriano kept the Dukes off the scoreboard. The redshirt freshman struggled in her only other game against a ranked opponent, posting just four saves and a .250 save percentage.
Suriano was significantly better against James Madison, recording a season-high 13 saves, with her best coming against Epke.
With just over 10 minutes remaining in the third quarter, Epke stood on the eight-meter hash mark, crouching for a free position attempt. Epke attempted to rip the ball into the top left corner, but Suriano extended her stick and snagged the shot, keeping Maryland up 9-4.
While Maryland only scored twice, Suriano ensured the game stayed out of reach, finishing the game with a stellar .722 save percentage.
Suriano’s strong performance helped Maryland outscore James Madison 2-1 in the final half, giving Maryland its first win against a ranked opponent.
