Maryland women’s lacrosse’s goalkeeping struggled in its recent road trip, as sophomore JJ Suriano was pulled in two of her past three starts.
A game closer to home didn’t cure Suriano’s woes, as she was pulled again on Wednesday in No. 7 Maryland’s 13-9 to Virginia at Notre Dame Prep in Baltimore. The loss is Maryland’s first against Virginia since 2008.
The goalie allowed 10 goals and only saved six attempts, finishing with a 37.5 save percentage. Virginia scored three more goals than Maryland despite taking fewer shots.
Suriano returned to the game midway through the second quarter against Arizona State last Thursday. The goalie was drastically better during her second stint in the net as she failed to surrender a goal until the final two minutes of the game, allowing Maryland (9-4, 4-1 Big Ten) to mount a near comeback.
The two games were nearly identical for Suriano, as she was stable in the first quarter but was substituted in the following quarter after goals on three consecutive shots.
But similar to Maryland’s game against Arizona State, Suriano did not stay on the sidelines for long. Suriano was off the field for just under 10 minutes against the Cavaliers.
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The goalie made just two stops on eight shots before getting pulled. She was better upon her return, making four saves on eight more shots, but it was not enough to allow Maryland to generate a comeback.
While the Terps’ goalkeeping struggled, junior Mel Josephson was stellar for Virginia.
Josephson racked up consecutive games in which her save rate was at least .500, and she continued that on Wednesday. The junior recorded nine saves, with her best sequence coming in the opening quarter.
After stopping midfielder Kori Edmondson on a tight shot, the ball bounced directly to midfielder Shelby Sullivan. The freshman attempted to throw a quick shot on net, but Josephson recovered in time to prevent Maryland from scoring its second goal.
No. 10 Virginia (10-4, 4-3 ACC) entered the game as winners of five of its past six games. At the forefront of the Cavaliers’ offense was attacker Madison Alaimo, who recorded 20 points during that stretch.
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The sophomore represented team USA spent last summer in Hong Kong, representing the U20 women’s team. Alaimo dominated during international play, setting a tournament record 25 assists en route to the USA securing a gold medal.
Maryland’s defense generated two turnovers on Virginia’s opening two possessions. The Terps’ devoted multiple defenders to cover Alaimo and the strategy worked early.
But Alaimo overcame her struggles in the second quarter, tallying an assist to tie the game at three apiece.
That was one of five goals the Cavaliers scored in the second quarter. Virginia spread its offense out in the period, adjusting to disperse Maryland’s defense.
Virginia’s change pushed it out to a 7-4 lead at halftime, allowing Virginia to hold a three-goal lead throughout the game.
The loss dropped Maryland to 3-4 against ranked opponents. It’s a troubling sign for a program that consistently wants to compete for championships, but the Terps only play one ranked opponent the remainder of the season.
