Terps Return to Dominant Ways, Beat Stanford
by Andy Krauss | Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online | Game Blog
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Sophomore attacker Karri Ellen Johnson scored four goals in the first half of No. 2-ranked Maryland's decisive, 20-8 victory over No. 8-ranked Stanford. |
COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The women’s lacrosse
season is a long road. In its search for its 11th national title,
but first since 2001, second-ranked Maryland has to expect to
suffer a bump or two on that road. The key is bouncing back from
that bump and rebounding with a resounding win to regain
confidence.
Thursday night was just that for the Terps, who jumped out a 13-4
halftime lead on eighth-ranked Stanford and rolled to a 20-8
victory at their Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex.
The bump came last Saturday, when they held on to beat
then-unranked Boston College, 7-6.
“After the BC game, we had to move on, restart and get back
to where we were all season,” said senior midfielder Caitlyn
McFadden.
Prior to the BC nailbiter, Maryland's closest affair was an 11-5
win over Virginia. The Terps aren't exactly accustomed to close
wins. They were determined to get back on track and do it soon.
“We wanted to focus on the little things and focus on the
style of Maryland lacrosse that we’ve been working
towards,” said head coach Cathy Reese.
The 443 in attendance were taken aback by that Maryland-style
lacrosse that dominated their guests from the West in the first
half. Maryland won the game’s first five draw controls and
outshot the Cardinal in the first half by a staggering 28-6 count.
The Terps also forced nine Stanford turnovers in the first half.
Reese credits the draw control domination to the early
success. “Our girls came up with a lot of draws that
helped create momentum,” said Reese.
Sophomore attacker Karri Ellen Johnson led the Terps' first-half
attack with four goals.
The Cardinal dug into its nine-goal deficit quickly in the second
half by scoring the stanza’s first three goals and cutting
the lead to 13-7 with 18:38 left in the game. Reese called a
timeout, and the Terps responded with seven unanswered goals to put
the game out of reach.
“The national championship is obviously in the back of our
minds, but the game we’re playing is the most important game
of the season,” said McFadden. “You’re
going to have bumps in the road, but it's how you react to it and
learn from it that really matters.”
The Cardinal is in the midst of a week-long trip that will next
send it to play at Towson’s Johnny Unitas Stadium on Sunday
against the No. 10-ranked Tigers. A whopping 12 members of
the Cardinal hail from either Maryland, Virginia or D.C.
“We always want to put our girls up against the best,”
said Stanford head coach Amy Bokker. “I think
there’s a lot of criticism coming from the West Coast.
It’s stressful for our team to come back to the East Coast.
They want family and friend time, but we have to stay focused and
put ourselves in a position to compete against the best teams in
the country.”
They’ll have that chance again Sunday.
