Story By: Erin Zollars
Photos By: Sol Tucker
College Park, MD–
If there is one womens lacrosse program that is just overwhelmingly dominating, that would be the Maryland Terps squad. While this match-up was slightly closer than last week against UMASS, the Terps found a way to dismantle Northwestern in the second half.
The Terps had another strong performance from Seniors Brooke Griffin and Erin Collins who were part of the 11 goal second half effort.
Griffin (South River) had four goals while Erin Collins had three goals and an assist. Kelly McPartland had two goals and three assists and Taylor Cummings (McDonogh) and Zoe Stukenberg (Marriotts Ridge) contributed three points each. Leading scorer Megan Whittle (McDonogh) added a goal and Mattie Meredith (Roland Park) had an assist.
“First off, I’d like to congratulate Northwestern on a great season,” head coach Cathy Reese said. “They came out fighting hard today and we knew it was going to be a really great game with the tradition and history of these programs. I’m really proud of my team’s effort. I can’t even speak enough to how we came out in the second half, and I’m just super proud of how they fought and played hard.”
“You have to give a lot of respect for Cathy and her team. She makes it very challenging to put the ball inside of the crease for open shots. When we did get the ball in the first half, I thought we did a good job of finding the net, the second half was just too much for our girls on both ends,” said NU Coach Kelly Amonte Hiller.
“I just think all their players stepped up,” Amonte Hiller said. “They’re a tough team to stop because they have so many weapons. When their fifth and sixth attackers (Collins and Lamon) get four and six points, it’s tough to stop.”
The Terps led in shots, 24-19, and finished with 21 shots on goal. Maryland held an 11-6 ground ball advantage. The Terps went 5-of-6 on free-position shots while holding Northwestern to no 8-meter shots.
Through two 2015 NCAA games, the Terrapins are averaging 18 goals per game while holding opponents to 6.5 goals per game. Maryland snapped Northwestern’s 10-year streak of Final Four appearances.
The Terps will face No. 4 seed Syracuse in the NCAA semifinals Friday at 7:30 p.m. at PPL Park. Maryland defeated the Orange, 10-7, on March 7 in College Park.
