Maryland women’s lacrosse’s freshman class featured four players ranked within the top 30 of last year’s Inside Lacrosse’s class rankings, including two in the top 10.
But so far in the season, the best newcomer isn’t among them.
Freshman attacker Shelby Sullivan has started in every game this season, scoring in all but two contests and making an impact during draws. The Maryland native wasn’t highly ranked out of high school but has quickly become a reliable scorer.
“Earning a starting spot her freshman year just shows what she’s capable of,” coach Cathy Reese said. “She just has no idea how good she is [and] no idea how good she can be.”
Sullivan scored more than 200 goals during her prep career and was on the USA U18 team that won the Brogden Cup. She quickly caught the coaching staff’s attention.
“She … came to us kind of new,” Reese said. “When she started out day one, we were like, holy crap, this kid’s gonna be awesome.”
Maryland’s offense entered the season weakened, with three of its five leading point scorers from 2024 graduated. The Terps relied on their freshman class to boost the offense.
Sullivan used her off-ball movement to cut inside the eight-meter arc to score a bulk of her goals. The Bel Air native leads the Maryland freshmen in scoring, tallying 15 goals and 16 points.
“Coming from high school, I was more of a driver,” Sullivan said. “I feel like I’ve developed that [cutting] skill more.”
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All three of Sullivan’s goals against Saint Joseph’s on Feb. 22 came from off-ball cuts that left her unmarked in front of the net. The hat trick was the first time Sullivan scored multiple goals in a game and started a streak in which she scored at least two goals in three straight contests.
But Sullivan has made an impact on more than the offensive end. The freshman frequently aligns on the edge of the circle, grabbing any balls that slip away from the draw specialists.
She ranks third on the team with 33 draw controls.
“She’s done a really good job on the draw circle for us this year,” Reese said. “That wasn’t something she even started doing in the beginning of the year in the fall, it was something that we kind of transitioned her to.”
Sullivan has also shown advanced maturity for a freshman.
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Coming off Maryland’s worst loss this season to No. 3 Northwestern, Reese said her team lacked mental and physical toughness. Sullivan scored two goals to lead Maryland to a win against Oregon.
Sullivan missed a wide open shot in front of the net earlier in the first quarter against Oregon. Instead of letting the missed chance get in her head, Sullivan scored about four minutes later on another off-ball cut. She ignited Maryland to score on three consecutive possessions.
“I knew how great of feeders we have on this team, and as long as I cut hard and have my stick up, they’re normally going to feed it,” Sullivan said. “That’s [the] confidence between the both of us.”
