No. 7 Maryland women’s lacrosse surrendered three separate five-goal quarters in its recent four-game roadtrip. Its defense dazzled against Ohio State on Sunday.
The Terps limited the Buckeyes to one or fewer goals in all-but one quarter. Their offense responded after nearly every time Ohio State scored, securing an 8-5 home win in Maryland’s first Big Ten bout since March 27.
“I thought our defense was really disciplined today,” coach Cathy Reese said. “We had some lapses in our last couple games, and thought it was a little bit more complete in that way today.”
Maryland (10-4, 5-1 Big Ten) excelled defensively against a high-turnover Ohio State (8-6, 1-6 Big Ten) offense.
The Buckeyes’ offensive woes were a combination of poor offense and excellent Terps defense. Two of the first three turnovers came because of errant passes, while Maryland’s physical defenders caused the rest.
“If we can be in the right spots, then we’re going to cause turnovers because of the passes that the other team has to make,” Reese said.
[Maryland women’s lacrosse’s second quarter performances defined its road trip]
Ohio State, who entered the game averaging over 14 turnovers per game against conference foes, totaled 16 on Sunday. When it took care of the ball, it seldom capitalized.
The Buckeyes often elected to pass and set up their offense despite generating ten free positions. They only scored once off a free position, from sophomore attacker Kate Tyack in the third quarter. Tyack charged down from the center hash mark, faking a shot to her right before placing the ball in the lower left corner past sophomore JJ Suriano.
Suriano split time at goalkeeper with senior Caroline Smith, combining for a 54.5 percent save rate.
Tyack’s second goal of the day trimmed the Terps’ lead to two — Maryland responded with two goals within the next two minutes. But besides a few short stretches, Ohio State goalkeeper Jocelyn Torres fared well to prevent the Terps from securing a big lead.
The junior snagged seven of Maryland’s 12 first shots on goal, with several of her saves coming against unmarked players inside the eight-meter arc. She entered the halftime break with a 58.3 save percentage.
[No. 7 Maryland women’s lacrosse goalkeeping falters again in 13-9 loss to No. 10 Virginia]
Torres’ first-half success did not carry into the second half, though, as she recorded just one save in the third quarter.
The Terps were much more decisive with their shooting in many of the same offensive looks, unlike when they often held the ball inside the eight-meter arc in the first half. Maryland also varied its shot placement, as all three goals beat Torres in different spots.
Graduate student attacker Kate Sites displayed both skills on her second goal of the game, grabbing a pass from fellow graduate student attacker Chrissy Thomas to quickly rip a shot between the legs of Torres.
Thomas followed shortly after with the Terps’ final goal, the last of a three-shot stretch that featured scores on every look. Thomas finished with a game-high four points.
The third quarter was the lone bright spot for Maryland’s offense — Thomas played a role in two of its three goals in the frame. The Terps’ excellent defense overcame a lackluster offensive showing, as they shot less than 28 percent and were held scoreless in the final period.
“I think all game we had really great open looks,” Thomas said. “We just have a controllable that we can take care of, which is putting the ball in the back of the net.”
