By Todd Carton –
One might be the loneliest number to the band Three Dog Night but it was the right number for the Maryland Terrapins women’s lacrosse team who escaped New Jersey with a come from behind 11-10 win over the upset minded Princeton Tigers Tuesday night. Princeton finished the game with one fewer turnover than Maryland’s 12 and edged the Terps in draw controls 12-11 while Maryland’s 12-11 edge in ground balls and saves provided just enough support in the right spots to allow the Terps to register their 11th straight win improving their record to 13-1 on the season.
Maryland’s senior star attacker Megan Whittle got the Terps on the board first scoring on a free position shot after a Princeton turnover. Another Whittle goal tied the score at two after the Tigers responded with consecutive scores. Princeton then dominated the remainder of the half clamping down on the potent Terrapins offense by winning just enough draw controls (4 of 7), pressuring the Terps into 5 turnovers and relying on strong goalkeeping by freshman Sam Fish who picked up six of her seven first half saves in the final 20 minutes of the first half.
The combination of strong defense and controlling time of possession allowed Princeton to build a 7-3 lead – the largest deficit the Terps have faced all season. Maryland cut the Tigers’ lead to 7-4 by halftime largely behind the play of Maryland goalie Megan Taylor who matched Fish’s performance with a half dozen saves of her own.
The first of two potentially game changing moments came when Princeton’s leading scorer for the season, Kyla Sears, was issued a yellow card for a check across the head in the midfield as Kathy Rudkin attempted to clear the ball for Maryland after one of those Taylor made saves. The importance of the play became clear just more than three and a half minutes later when Sears garnered a second yellow card with 26 seconds to lay in the half for a dangerous follow through which then made her ineligible for the remainder of the game.
The loss of their leading scorer didn’t daunt the Tigers early in the half as they continued to prowl the defensive end holding the Terps scoreless for nearly 14 minutes. However, Maryland’s defensive shell was nearly as strong allowing Princeton to add just a single goal to their halftime lead.
Whittle finally broke the nearly 21 minute Maryland scoring drought with her third of the night. It was the 267th of her illustrious career tying her with Jen Adams for first place as Maryland’s all-time career goal scorer.
Caroline Steele followed with a pair of goals – the first coming less than a minute after Whittle’s score to complete a hat trick of her own and draw the Terps within one at 8-7. After a timeout, the Tigers responded with a score to once again extend their lead to two.
The number one came into play on Maryland’s next two goals as first year player Grace Griffin scored twice to pull the Terps even at nine all. Griffin’s first goal came on a thread the needled precision pass from Steele through three Princeton defenders that Griffin dropped over Fish’s shoulder. The second came on a rebound after Fish made a save on Steele’s free position attempt.
But the run wasn’t quite finished. It took nearly five minutes of game time before Taylor Hensh scored on a free position to put the Terps ahead for the first time since Whittle’s score to open the game.
Princeton showed they weren’t going to fold under the Maryland onslaught and tied the score at 10 with just a minute and a half to play. The ensuing draw control, where the Tigers held a 12-9 edge would be crucial. And it was here that Maryland defensive star Lizzie Colson, who had been relatively quiet on the night, gobbled up a ground ball after being knocked to the turn for her second consecutive draw win. It then fell to Hensh who whipped home her second consecutive free position goal with 46 seconds left to again give Maryland a one goal edge. Sophomore Kali Hartshorn, who the Tigers held scoreless, won her ninth draw of the night allowing Maryland to hold possession and run out the clock.
Some say it’s lonely at the top and perhaps it is. But for the Maryland women’s lacrosse team, the defending national champions and ranked number one in the current season’s first RPI released midday Tuesday, it’s likely there’s no place they’d rather be.
Fish is tall with an upright stance and was outstanding for the Tigers. However, the Terps fed her stats with poor shot selection, especially high where her stature helped. But she is one to watch…she just needs to work on getting low. This is where the Terps should have been attacking from the start..I love the 3 Dog Night reference and to add another…”Ain’t No Mountain High Enough” Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell…Terps could have folded down by 4 goals twice but sucked it up and climbed the….well, you know…Thanks for the excellent recap TC..
The thing is, UVA’s goalie is also quite tall so the Terps should have been ready for this aspect of the game. What I had difficulty seeing on my phone is how much Princeton’s defense contributed to MD’s shot location.