Lauren LaPointe’s career day led a bounce-back performance from Maryland’s offense.
No. 6-seed Maryland women’s lacrosse hadn’t played a game in nearly two weeks entering its NCAA Tournament opening round clash with Fairfield. There was a chance that rust would play a factor early on for the Terps.
Those concerns quickly dissipated on Maryland’s first possession of the contest.
Kori Edmondson stood near the top of the Terps’ attacking zone, setting up her offense with plenty of time on the shot clock. However, the USA Lacrosse All-American first-teamer took it upon herself to generate Maryland’s first look. Edmondson weaved her way through the defense, embraced the contact and tucked her shot into the bottom corner.
After netting just seven scores their last time out, the Terps nearly matched that total in the opening quarter. A six-goal first quarter performance gave Maryland the cushion it needed to cruise to a 16-7 victory Friday afternoon in College Park.
“I did love the way that we started off the game,” head coach Cathy Reese said. “I thought our energy was good, and we had talked in the locker room about really just being disciplined and controlled when we were out there. I thought today we did a decent job of shooting.”
While Edmondson shouldered the scoring load in the Big Ten title game and produced the Terps’ opening tally on Friday, the junior wasn’t required to carry the team on her back against Fairfield. She was one of four goalscorers in the first quarter.
Maryland’s balanced attack was fueled by quick and decisive passes that left the Fairfield defense chasing all game. No score exemplified this more than the Terps’ seventh tally, which came in the opening minutes of the second quarter.
After a stout defensive possession, Neve O’Ferrall lobbed the ball ahead to Sophie Halus to start the break. Halus charged forward and dished the ball to Kate Sites, who immediately dumped it off to Lauren LaPointe standing right by the goal. The sophomore caught the pass in midair and fired off a shot just over the head of Fairfield goalie Keira Furey.
At times this season, Reese has wanted more from her team in transition. Reese got exactly that, with three of her team’s first seven scores coming on fast break chances.
LaPointe — who has become Maryland’s reliable third attacking option — was the recipient of several of those well-worked goals. Despite being held to one tally in the Terps’ last contest, she became the first of two players to record a hat trick. LaPointe finished with a career-high five goals.
“I think it’s just the chemistry with my teammates,” LaPointe said. “I think I’ve really grown a lot closer to them just through this tournament play and so many games in a short amount of time. I do really owe it to my teammates. They create offense for me so I appreciate that.”
Maryland’s quick start was the result of excellent defensive stands, leading to immediate offense the other way.
“I thought our [defense] played really well, huge in transition for us today,” Reese said. “A lot of transition opportunities, which is more than we’ve seen from us this season. I love that part of our game. It’s been fun to keep growing and getting better everyday.”
After holding Northwestern to a season-low eight goals in the Big Ten title game, the Terps’ defense put the clamps on Fairfield in the first half, limiting it to just two scores. Maryland forced the Stags to beat JJ Suriano from outside, a recipe for success.
But the defensive unit wasn’t under heavy pressure. While Fairfield midfielder Brynn Donnelly entered Friday’s contest with the 16th-most draw controls per game, the junior was outdueled by Kayla Gilmore in the faceoff circle. The freshman dominated as Maryland corralled 10 of the first 14 draw controls.
The Terps capitalized on the extra possessions, taking a commanding 10-2 lead into halftime. And Maryland kept Fairfield at arm’s length the rest of the way.
Chrissy Thomas has been the team’s top facilitator all season long. The graduate student finished with a game-high three assists and two goals, joining LaPointe and Edmondson as five-point performers.
Three things to know
1. Suriano wasn’t called upon much. The sophomore goaltender was under heavy fire in the Terps’ last game, facing 26 shots on frame. However, Suriano didn’t have to make many spectacular stops Friday, finishing with a 63.6% save percentage and seven saves recorded. Caroline Smith — who was subbed in late in the third quarter — made two saves and conceded two goals in her relief appearance. Sophomore Carly Peterson also saw minutes.
2. Offensive get-back performance. After being held to one score in the final 22 minutes of the Big Ten title game, Maryland’s attack immediately went full throttle against Fairfield. Nine players netted a goal — including Ava Kitt, who notched her first collegiate tally. Shelby Sullivan and Emma Abbazia scored their first career NCAA Tournament goals.
“We got time from everyone that could have played today, which was great,” Reese said. “I love when we can see the depth and everybody contributing. It’s something we’ve been emphasizing all year. When your name’s called and you’re up, step up and let’s give this what we got.”
3. Potential second round opponents. Following Maryland’s 18th straight NCAA Tournament opening round win, it will either face Penn or Army in the next round. The Terps fell to Penn in heartbreaking fashion earlier this season, allowing a game-winning goal with 24 seconds left in the contest. The second round contest will be played at noon on Sunday.