The stars of the Terrapin women’s lacrosse team came out to play against No. 8 seed Penn on Saturday and elevated the Terps into the Final Four for the second consecutive year.
Midfielder Caitlyn McFadden scored five goals to go along with three assists, while attacker Sarah Mollison also scored five goals. Attacker Karri Ellen Johnson scored four as the No. 1 Terps (20-1, 4-1 ACC) defeated Penn 15-10 at Ludwig Field on Saturday.
The Terps now face unseeded Syracuse, which knocked off No. 4 seed Georgetown and No. 5 seed James Madison en route to the Final Four. That game is set to start at 5:30 p.m. at Johnny Unitas Stadium in Towson, Md.
Despite getting dominated in draw controls (16-to-11) against the Quakers, the Terps took heed to coach Cathy Reese’s desire for shooting proficiency. The Terps scored 15 goals on only 23 shots. Instead of taking risky free position shots, many times the Terps pulled out and looked for an open shot. McFadden, Johnson and Mollison on 14 of their 17 shots.
After allowing the Quakers to score in the first minute of the game, the Terps took control with four consecutive goals and never relinquished the lead. But Penn never back down, unlike its previous matchup with the Terps, and narrowed the deficit to one in the opening minutes of the second half.
McFadden and Mollison silenced the comeback with four combined goals to start the second half and keep their team ahead.
“I was looking to draw players and whoever’s open, any of my teammates [who are] open, I’ll hit them and if they get out of my way, I’ll take my opportunities,” Mollison said. ” Obviously all seven of us are just trying to work for each other to put our shots away when we had the opportunity.”
The Terps now move on to face Syracuse (15-6). I will be back here to preview them as well as delve deeper into several positive factors going Reese’s way for a potential National Championship (the return of Iliana Sanza on the backline).
Chris Eckard is the Terrapin women’s lacrosse beat reporter for the Diamondback. He can be reached at ceckard@umdbk.com