Terps secure top seed in ACC Tournament with 22-12 win over Virginia Tech

The Maryland Terrapins women's lacrosse team took the field on senior day at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. With a win over the visiting Virginia Tech Hokies, the Terps would secure the number one seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament. The Terps did just that with a 22-12 rout of the Hokies.

Maryland got off to a quick start scoring just forty-two seconds into the game. Shanna Brady controlled the draw and fittingly, the Terps set an isolation play for Beth Glaros and the senior responded with a dodge from straight on that put Maryland on the board quickly. Though the play looked designed to get the senior an early chance, Glaros said afterward, "It was just a coincidence. It's just fun to be out there playing lacrosse."

The Hokies had a quick answer controlling the draw and knotting the score at one less than two minutes later.

Rapid fire Part I

Maryland won the next draw and Brooke Griffin passed up the shot on a free position chance because of a rapidly closing Virginia Tech defense. But the Terps opened some space for a Kelly McPartland dodge from the left and the junior used it well to put the home team up 2-1 with 26:20 to play in the half. McPartland's score launched a rapid fire spree of three consecutive Terrapins' scores.

Glaros got her second of the game and the second in the sequence after a Hokies foul on the draw when she took a pass from Taylor Cummings straight down the field through an unsettled Virginia Tech defense to record the easy score. Nineteen seconds later Maryland led 4-1 despite the Hokies controlling the draw following Glaros' goal. Cummings caused a turnover in the midfield and Halle Majorana scored the first of her four goals starting her attack from behind the net. Of her scoring outburst Majorana said, "I think I was being patient. Everyone was moving off ball so I was able to get open a lot."

The Hokies closed to 4-2 after the teams traded turnovers but with Maryland being Maryland they needed just fourteen seconds to boost the lead back to three on a two pass attack. Erin Collins picked up the ball on the draw and made a long pass to Kelly McPartland. McPartland followed with a pass to Griffin in stride for another easy goal.

Rapid fire Part II

Repeating the earlier pattern - though using a bit more time to do so - the Terps again put together a three goal run. Goal number six came from Majorana and Griffin scored number seven on an assist from Zoe Stukenberg. The teams traded goals over the next thirteen minutes starting with Tech's goal with 17:21 to play in the half that made the score seven to four. Credit Virginia Tech for not trying the slowdown game that Maryland has seen so often this season though the fact that they trailed early may have had something to do with that. During this score swapping exchange, Cummings and Collins each scored her first of the game sandwiching a goal by Glaros who completed a first half hat trick. With Collins' goal, the went up 10-5 Terps doubling up the Hokies for the first time on the day.

Glaros racked up score number four taking a flip from Cummings and dodging through the Hokies defense. Majorana added a goal taking a pass Cummings pass from the right as she flashed in front of the far post. The score put Maryland up 12-5 and Majorana joined Glaros with a hat trick in the half.

The squads again traded goals with McPartland scoring for the Terrapins on a free position shot with six seconds to play in the half as she picked up the foul after making a determined run through three Tech defenders. Maryland led 13-6 as the teams went to the break.

A bump in the road

With a comfortable lead and the possibility of playing three games in three days at the ACC Tournament in Boston beginning Thursday, Terrapins coach Cathy Reese began the second half substituting even more liberally that she had in the first half. It didn't appear to matter much as first Majorana then Bryn Boucher would pick up back to back goals to put the Terps up by nine at 15-6. However, at this point, Virginia Tech began to control the draws and the visitors rattled off four straight before Reese returned some of the big guns to the field.

Ka-Boom! Ridiculously rapid fire Part III

Once again armed with more potent offensive weapons, Maryland made an unrestrained rapid fire assault on Virginia Tech's goal. Over the course of three minutes and thirty-three seconds of game time the Terps found the back of the net six times. Glaros, scoring her fifth and final goal on what had to be a satisfying senior day for her, ended the Hokies run scoring on a free position with 16:23 to play. Of her senior, Reese said, "That's Beth. She's fun to watch.There's never a dull moment on the field. She's always very entertaining but she makes some things look very easy, too."

Once Glaros got them started, keeping my notes up with the goals became a challenge. Cummings scored her second, Griffin equaled Majorana's output picking up goals three and four and Zoe Stukenberg started the clock running when she scored with 14:11 left allowing the Terps to again double up the Hokies and lead 20-10. Even with the clock running, Mattie Meredith needed only fifty-seven seconds to register her third goal of the season.

Tech's Meg Bartley finally stopped the Maryland attack when she picked up her second goal of the game. Aussie freshman Theo Kwas answered for the Terps picking up the second goal of her Maryland career. The Hokies added one more goal but once Maryland regained possession the Terps were content to run out the clock closing out the 22-12 win and wrapping up the number one seed in the upcoming ACC Tournament. Maryland finished their final season in the ACC with a 6-1 record to tie Syracuse for the regular season championship. They have the top seed by virtue of their 12-10 win in the Carrier Dome early this season with the only blemish on their 16-1 season the 17-15 loss at North Carolina in early April.

Just as the men's team won at Notre Dame to claim the top seed in the men's lacrosse tournament and will have to face the Irish again on Friday in their first game, the women's first round opponent on Thursday will be these same Virginia Tech Hokies. The Terps and Hokies will face off in the tournament's opening game at 11:00 am.