Maryland women’s lacrosse entered its Sunday matchup against Ohio State averaging more than 14 goals per game against the Buckeyes since joining the Big Ten. But for the first time in series history, No. 8 Maryland failed to reach double digits in an 8-5 win in College Park.
The Terps finished with a shooting percentage of just 27.6, their second-lowest mark of the season. When asked what adjustments needed to be made, coach Cathy Reese’s answer was blunt, stating that her offense needs to “put the ball in the net, not in the goalie’s stick.”
“We shot less than 30 percent, and that’s unacceptable,” Reese said. “We want to be over 50 percent as a team, and if we are, we’re putting up 15 goals in a game and that’s where we expect to be.”
Part of the reason for Maryland’s low shooting percentage was the play of Ohio State goalkeeper Jocelyn Torres, who stifled the Terps’ offense throughout the game, limiting them to their second-lowest scoring output of the season.
[No. 7 Maryland women’s lacrosse tops Ohio State, 8-5, behind strong defensive outing]
The junior was aggressive on Sunday, standing near the top of her crease and cutting down the angle for Maryland’s shooters.
This aggressiveness was evident early in the game. On Maryland’s third offensive possession, freshman midfielder Emma Abbazia passed the ball to freshman attacker Shelby Sullivan, who was unmarked in the eight-meter arc.
Sullivan attempted to hurl a shot across her body into the upper left corner, but Torres stepped up, knocking down Sullivan’s shot and scooping up the ground ball.
“I think we [had] really great looks, we just have to take the time to have the mental discipline to put it in the back of the net,” graduate student attacker Chrissy Thomas said. “It’s a mental thing, but it’s definitely controllable and I think it’s something that we all can do individually to be a much better offense.”
Another cause of the Terps’ poor offense was their inability to convert in man-up situations. The Buckeyes were carded six times, leading to 12 combined minutes in which Maryland had a player advantage. But the Terps failed to score a single goal during these chances.
[Maryland women’s lacrosse’s second quarter performances defined its road trip]
“We were not good on man-up today,” Reese said. “That is obviously something we need to address and work on and make sure that that’s going to be changed.”
When Maryland did score, it often came during timely moments. The Terps were able to directly respond to most of the Buckeyes’ goals, allowing back-to-back scores just once all game. A key to this was dominating the draw circle.
Maryland won 12 of 16 draws on Sunday and lost just one in the second half. The extra possessions proved pivotal in the third quarter, leading directly to two Maryland goals in less than one minute, after Ohio State cut its deficit to two.
“They get us possessions, they get us opportunities,” Reese said of her draw unit. “When we shoot less than 30 percent, we need as many opportunities as we can get.”
