TERPS IN FINAL:
Maryland routs Penn St., 20-10, to return to title game
Maryland defeated Penn State to reach the NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse championship game, but the Navy women fell to Boston College in their semifinal.
FOXBOROUGH, MASS. — When it came down to a final analysis, Maryland midfielder Jen Giles probably summed it up best.
Top-seeded Maryland had too much balance and power on offense, and overwhelmed fourth-seeded Penn State, 20-10, in an NCAA Division I women’s lacrosse semifinal at Gillette Stadium Friday night.
Maryland (22-0) will play in the championship Sunday morning in Foxborough, Mass., against the Navy-Boston College winner. But in the earlier semifinal, the Terps had too much firepower, as Giles (Mount Hebron), fellow midfielder Kali Hartshorn and attack Taylor Hensh (Marriotts Ridge) each had four goals to lead Maryland. Giles also had four assists.
Midfielder Zoe Stukenberg (Marriotts Ridge) and attack Megan Whittle (McDonogh) each had three goals for the Terps. Midfielder Katie O’Donnell led Penn State (17-4) with four goals.
“The balance of our offense is definitely such a major factor in scoring and obviously coming out with a win,” Giles said. “But I think making sure that everyone is a threat, which we focused on for this game, that everyone is moving, opening up opportunities for each other [is also important].
“And it doesn’t matter if you start the drive because if they send the double team we can swing it around to someone else for the goal. So everyone is attacking and everyone has to have that mentality.”
On top of the relentless attack, Maryland also dominated the draw. The Terps
held a 22-10 advantage with Hartshorn winning nine. Penn State had opportunities and made the best of them on offense, but the Nittany Lions were limited.
Maryland wore down the Penn State defense, controlling the pace.
“The draw controls reflected the score almost exactly,” O’Donnell said. “You can’t win if you don’t have the ball and we were on defense a lot today. And I think Maryland was just making plays. I mean, they were on offense a lot.”
The win put Maryland back in the title game against Boston College, which defeated Navy, 16-15. Maryland is making its 28th consecutive appearance in the NCAA tournament and the Terps lead the nation with 33 NCAA appearances overall.
A year ago, Maryland was unbeaten before losing to North Carolina in the title game. The Terps aren’t out for revenge Sunday, but pointed out the value of gaining experience playing in big games. Giles, Hensh and Whittle were underclassmen last year.
“It’s awesome to see the confidence out of our younger players,” Stukenberg said. “That poise and confidence rubs off in the locker room and in practice, and you saw that in the first five minutes of that game. I think that’s the most important part of our team, is the confidence.”
Maryland controlled the tempo of the first half because it won 12 of 17 draws, including the first seven. Penn State won its first draw of the half with 19:01 remaining. By then, the Terps were ahead, 5-2, and went on to lead 11-5 at halftime.
The Nittany Lions couldn’t find a way to stymie Maryland’s offense, which was effective from up top or behind the crease. Caroline Wannen was the Terps’ top passer in front of the goal and Stukenberg was the dominant feeder behind the net.
Stukenberg, a senior, had two assists. It was basically a clinic for the Terps, a highlight reel of action.
The Terps had five players score two goals in the first half and Maryland scored nearly every possible way before the break. Hensh converted on goals in the middle from some excellent passes from Stukenberg and Giles just blew past the Nittany Lions off split dodges.
Whittle had two first-half goals for Maryland, including one where she backed in defender Natalie Schmitt and left her standing outside the crease with a near-360 turnaround move.
Maryland was up 5-2 after that Whittle goal with 19:17 left in the first half. The Terps’ lead got as big as 10-4 on a goal from Hartshorn with 9:15 left.
Penn State stayed within striking distance, exploiting some weaknesses in the Maryland defense, especially using weakside cutters.
But that didn’t keep the Terps from leading by six at halftime.
Maryland outshot Penn State 17-13 in the first half, but Terps goalie Megan Taylor played well with five saves, and finished with 10.
“They have some great scorers,” Penn State coach Missy Doherty said.“They see each other well inside.’’