Against Penn last weekend in the NCAA quarterfinals, the Terrapin women’s lacrosse team had one of its worst draw control performances in half of the season.
The Quakers had taken control with an 8-3 draw control advantage, but still fell behind by two goals. Still, coach Cathy Reese and her Terps were not pleased with the showing. I’m guessing they’ve put some work into that this week.
The Terps completely outplayed Syracuse in the first half of this Final Four game and boast a 7-1 lead. The biggest reason? A 8-2 draw control advantage.
Also important, the Terps are getting everyone involved unlike the Penn game, where attackers Sarah Mollison and Karri Ellen Johnson and midfielder Caitlyn McFadden combined for 14 of the 15 goals. Today, Laura Merrifield scored two of the Terps’ first three goals, with Schwarzmann scoring the other.
On defense, Brittany Dipper has come up with a few great saves and Syracuse’s slow it down approach hasn’t warranted the goals it thought it would.
Terps’ scorers – Merrifield (2), Mollison (2), Schwarzmann, McFadden, Johnson.
Shots – Terps 17, Orange 9
Ground balls – Terps 11, Orange 8
Draw Controls – Terps 8, Orange 2
Saves – Terps 3, Orange 6
Turnovers – Terps 7, Orange 7