Maryland men's and women's lacrosse players earn weekly Big Ten honors

Some Maryland notes from the week:

Men's Lacrosse

After seeing their game against Navy postponed due to the frigid cold, the Maryland men's lacrosse team opened the season with a 15-10 win over High Point. In the process, the Terrapins' Bryan Cole and Greg Danseglio took home B1G Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week honors respectively.

Brian Cole

Cole found the net three times and dealt out four assists in Maryland's season opener. The senior did much of his damage in the first half finding the net twice and assisting on Matt Rambo's goal that opened the scoring for the Terps. His second goal came with just 23 seconds remaining in the second quarter giving Maryland some much needed momentum as the Terps went into the break trailing 6-4.

Cole had already added two assists when he completed his hat trick by scoring a man up goal late in the third quarter. He added a fourth assist on Louis Gradinger's goal that put the Terps up 14-10. Cole's seven points were the most scored by a Terrapin player in a season opener since 2004. This is Cole's first Big Ten Player of the Week award.

Greg Danseglio

After a bit of a shaky start that allowed High Point to score six first half goals Danseglio, a transfer from Virginia, helped anchor a defense that held High Point to four scores in the second half. The critical aspect of Danseglio's performance was picking up six ground balls.

Matt Neufeldt led Maryland in ground balls in 2015 but was lost for the season when he tore his ACL in the fall. Combined with the graduation of Casey Ikeda, the Terps faced some unexpected questions on the defensive end of the field as they came into the 2016 season.  For one game at least, Danseglio provided some answers. Like Cole, Danseglio's award the first for the senior.

Women's Lacrosse

The Maryland women's lacrosse team cruised through their second tuneup racing to a 12-0 lead before thrashing Georgetown by an 18-8 final score.  The Terps are preparing for a non-conference gauntlet that in which they will face three of the nation's top seven teams in their next four games with only the game against unranked Hofstra coming in College Park. Junior Zoe Stukenberg notched the Co-Offensive Player of the Week while senior Taylor Cummings was named the conference's Defensive Player of the Week.

Zoe Stukenberg

Stukenberg, a junior midfielder was one of three Terrapins to score at least three times in the rout of the Hoyas. She was the most efficient of the three pulling the trigger just four times while teammates Caroline Steele (3) and Megan Whittle (4) needed five and six shots respectively.

Scoring twice in the decisive opening run, Stukenberg added two assists and three ground balls to her strong all-around performance. On a team filled with scoring threats, Stukenberg has the early team lead with seven goals. This is the second time in her career that she's picked up the B1G Offensive Player of the Week.

Taylor Cummings

The reigning two time Tewaaraton Award winner, Cummings showed the unique quality that sets her apart from her contemporaries. After scoring four times while also setting a career best five caused turnovers in the Terps season opening win over William & Mary Cummings was named the league's Offensive Player of the Week. She came back in the second game to secure six draw controls and cause two turnovers while adding a goal, three assists and picking up a ground ball in a performance that garnered her the Defensive Player of the Week honor.

Cummings is well aware that the Terps are replacing an All-American on defense in Megan Douty as well as Shanna Brady who was another stalwart who graduated from Maryland's back line. Accordingly, she has stepped up her defensive effort and output.

Two games into the season and Taylor Cummings has won both an Offensive Player of the Week and a Defensive Player of the Week (her second) in the conference. That is the definition of special.