No. 3 Maryland women’s lacrosse implodes in 15-4 loss to No. 11 Michigan

Despite standing as the highest-ranked program in the country as recently as Sunday, No. 3 Maryland women’s lacrosse suffered a total team collapse in one of its worst losses in recent memory.

With the Terps shooting 13.3% on the night and failing to stop No. 11 Michigan’s fiery attack, they suffered their second-largest loss since 2021. Following a 13-0 start to the season, Maryland dropped its second straight game, a 15-4 blowout defeat Thursday in Ann Arbor.

Michigan’s prized attacker Emma Bradbury opened up the scoring 42 seconds into the contest before scoring ceased for the following eight minutes. Each team failed to score on five shot attempts during that stretch.

Then Maryland’s offense exploded for a pair of goals. Kristen Shanahan netted the Terps’ first — a point-blank strike with seven minutes left in the opening frame — before Lauren LaPointe matched her a minute later.

But those were the only two scores it mustered in the period. Head coach Cathy Reese has emphasized a 50% shooting percentage goal for all her players, but Maryland fell well short Thursday, scoring twice on seven total attempts in the first quarter.

These misfires allowed Michigan to launch a 6-0 run on just seven shots in a six minute span. The Wolverines completely dismantled JJ Suriano, who posted a 27.2% first-half save percentage in one of her worst performances of the year as shot after shot slipped past the junior’s extended stick.

Coming off her best offensive performance to date, Kayla Gilmore struggled to control possession in the circle during this stretch. Michigan claimed three of the five draw controls over this period and kept that aspect of the game competitive — Maryland won 11 of 20 draws.

Following the destructive run, Shanahan stopped the bleeding on yet another highlight-reel shot. The graduate student curled around the crease and was checked to the ground, but still found nylon from a seated position a meter outside the cage with 10 minutes left in the half.

However, this was the bright spot of the first half for the Terps, as a whole-field collapse settled the game. The backline only caused a single turnover over 30 minutes, and lost the first-half ground ball battle, 5-2. Meanwhile, Maryland couldn’t find the frame, only shooting 6 of 14 attempts on goal. It struggled to claw back, falling to a five-goal deficit.

The Wolverines offensive dominance was largely due to a faulty Terp man-to-man concept. Michigan’s attackers employed isolation tactics, putting immense pressure on individual Maryland defenders to perform.

This allowed the Wolverines to continue their momentum into the third frame, scoring two goals in 13 seconds four minutes into the half.

Both recent Terp draftees struggled mightily in Thursday’s bout. Kori Edmondson logged just one point and was a large factor behind the offensive stagnation, committing three of Maryland’s 14 turnovers. Maddy Sterling stumbled in her role as well, struggling to mark Bradbury all night long and as the attacker notched four goals.

The Wolverines exploded once more in the third quarter, going on a 5-1 run with a precise 55.5% shooting percentage. Maryland outshot Michigan 10-9 in the frame, but the Terps only put four of those shots on frame and scored just once — on a LaPointe snipe with seven minutes left in the period.

With Calli Norris securing a hat trick just two minutes into the fourth quarter, the officials instituted a running clock as Reese shrugged on the sideline. After a swift, painful fourth quarter, Maryland sulked off the field following the first loss to Michigan in program history.

Three things to know

1. Couldn’t find the net. Despite boasting one of the nation’s strongest attacks and netting double-digit goals all but once this season, the Terps failed to put the ball in the goal. A nine-save performance from Michigan’s Elizabeth Johnson combined with lackluster shooting and passing saw Maryland tying its lowest single-game goal total since 1982.

2. First round bye slipping away. The Terps have led the Big Ten standings since the start of conference play, but back-to-back losses have all but removed them from contention in the race for the lead. Even a win on Saturday at Ohio State will still likely leave Maryland in second place in the Big Ten heading into the conference tournament.
3. Mental lapses. Reese claimed that locker room vibes remained positive following the narrow loss to Northwestern and that the team was focused on cleaning up strategic and on-field errors. But after Thursday’s monumental loss, the Terps may struggle to stay positive and patch up exposed holes for a quick two-day turnaround.

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