Sharp-Shooting Terps Down Penn 12-6
by Clare Lochary | Lacrosse Magazine Online Staff | Game Blog
PHILADELPHIA - Pinpoint shooting and persistent
defense combined to lift No. 2 Maryland over No. 6 Penn,
12-6, at Franklin Field. Midfielder Karri Ellen Johnson (4g, 1a)
led five different Terp scorers, and got a welcome boost from
fellow sophomore Kristy Black, who came off the bench to score her
first career hat trick.
"We've been working on our passes, and we're really good at
picking and rolling for each other," said Black, who had five
career goals entering the game.
Maryland, now 12-0, scored its 12 goals on just 22 shots,
putting up the most goals this season against the Quakers' vaunted
defense and goalie Emily Szelest (4 saves). The Terps also
dominated the draw, winning 14 out of 20 attempts.
"Draws were huge, and we played well with forced turnovers and
loose balls," said Maryland head coach Cathy Reese. "Defensively we
were able to force them where we wanted, and offensively we moved
the ball really well and found our openings."
Penn (8-2) struck first on an unassisted goal from senior midfielder Emma Spiro (2g), and the teams traded goals for most of the first half. But senior Sarah Mollison (2g, 1a) and Black scored back-to-back goals to give Maryland a 5-3 edge going into halftime.
Terps sophomore keeper Mary Jordan got her first career start
after playing the majority of the game in Maryland's 12-10 comeback
win over Towson on Wednesday. Jordan made just two saves, but with
stout defenders like seniors Brittany Poist and Karissa Taylor
limiting the
Quakers to just 13 shots, two was plenty.
"It was the early doubles. In past games, we've been crashing at
the 8, which is way too late, and today we wanted to crash at the
12, and they had very few shots," said Poist.
In the second half, the Terps' offense heated up and began to pull away from the Quakers. Johnson scored back-to-back goals just 1:39 apart to open the stanza, and Maryland never looked back.
"Teams tend to hold the ball against us, but once we get possession we use our speed and push on our transition. We're the fastest team in the country, and we're going to use that," said Johnson.
Penn was uncharacteristically plagued by turnovers (13), especially in the offensive end. Sophomore attacker Erin Brennan had three turnovers, and for the first time in her career, was held to zero points. Senior Ali DeLuca contributed two goals, tying Spiro for the lead.
"We got opportunities on attack and threw them away. We didn't
connect on our passes. The fundamentals have been plaguing us a bit
this year," said Penn head coach Karin Brower Corbett.
Maryland is too good to play defense that long.
