Maryland women’s lacrosse led Penn State by four in last year’s meeting but failed to maintain the lead, ultimately falling in the second half. On Thursday, the Nittany Lions found themselves in a similar position — holding a four-goal lead in the second quarter.
This time, the Terps finished the quarter on a 7-1 scoring run and continued the momentum with a six-goal third quarter.
Backed by the offensive surge in the middle periods, No. 5 Maryland cruised past Penn State 19-11 at Panzer Stadium. It is Maryland’s 11th consecutive road win and first at University Park 2019. Midfielder Jordyn Lipken finished with a career-best four goals.
“Over the last few years, we’ve really struggled in these matchups,” coach Cathy Reese said. “At first, we dug ourselves into a hole, and then just took a little break to reset and came out firing in that second quarter to go up.”
Lipkins opened scoring in both the third and first quarter, marking the fourth time this season Lipkin scored Maryland’s first goal. The senior missed nearly all of last season due to injury but has been a consistent scoring presence for Maryland (5-1, 1-0 Big Ten) through six games.
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Her best goal came on her last score, ripping a free-position shot into the upper left side of the net past senior goalkeeper Ashley Bowan.
The Terps’ second-quarter run forced a goaltending change from Penn State, substituting Brown for sophomore Sydney Manning. Bowan also struggled, surrendering six goals in less than eight minutes and forcing the Nittany Lions to return to Manning. Manning finished with 13 goals allowed and seven saves.
The Terps’ defense struggled in the opening 20 minutes. Suriano made two saves while Maryland’s defense struggled to keep Penn State out of the eight-meter arc. The Nittany Lions (2-6, 0-1 Big Ten) capitalized on the miscues, scoring four unanswered goals between the end of the first quarter and the beginning of the second. With Penn State leading 7-3, coach Cathy Reese called an early timeout.
Maryland’s defense drastically improved out of the timeout, surrendering just four goals the rest of the game, including a third-quarter shutout.
“To shutout a team like Penn State in the third quarter, I thought they played excellent,” Reese said. “They communicated well, they got their doubles where they needed to be … and they put JJ in a position to make saves.
After Reese’s second-quarter timeout, Maryland’s freshmen helped the offense regain its rhythm.
Attacker Shelby Sullivan netted her second of three goals two minutes after the timeouts. Forty-seven seconds later, fellow freshman Emma Abbazia scored.
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Maryland extended its run with stout defensive play and quickly turned Penn State’s errors into goals.
The Terps’ defense also forced five turnovers after Reese’s timeout as the Terps broke a seven-goal tie with less than five minutes remaining in the second quarter.
Midfielder Kori Edmondson scored the go-ahead goal, her second of a hat-trick. After Edmondson forced the ball loose from midfielder Lauren Saltz’s stick, defender Sophie Halus scooped the ground ball and sprinted through the neutral zone.
The ball again found Edmondson’s stick as the junior whipped a shot past Manning with 4:33 left in the second quarter. Edmondson finished the game with five points.
The Nittany Lions had a chance to even the game a minute later on a free position chance, but a false start allowed Abbazia to score on the ensuing Maryland possession.
Maryland’s freshmen and Lipkin’s four-goal performance accounted for 12 of Maryland’s season-best 19 goals. It’s a good sign for the Terps, who play No. 12 Michigan and No. 3 Northwestern in their next two contests.
Both teams rank inside the Big Ten’s top three in average goals per game, and the Terps will need consistent depth scoring in the matchups.
