Maryland women’s lacrosse dominates Syracuse, 17-7

In a battle of undefeated teams, Maryland women’s lacrosse defeated Syracuse 17-7 Saturday afternoon.

The No. 1 Terps dominated from the opening draw to take down another top-five team and improve their record to 6-0. Maryland now owns a 21-1 all-time record against Syracuse.

Offensively, Megan Whittle lead the way, as her seven goals set a career high. Kali Hartshorn added four goals, her second straight hat trick, Zoe Stukenberg and Caroline Steele scored twice, and Jen Giles and Caroline Wannen each scored once.

Defensively, it was the Megan Taylor show. The junior tallied 18 saves on 25 tries, including many crucial saves to keep Syracuse guessing on offense. The .720 save percentage is her best of the year so far. Taylor and the Maryland defense also held the Orange to 1-13 on free position shots. Taylor continues to be the most important player on this team.

Additionally, Maryland got to Syracuse freshman goalkeeper Asa Goldstock, who came into the day with a .505 shooting percentage. The Terps converted 17 of their 26 shots on goal, totaling under 40 percent for Goldstock.

Maryland was in full control in the first half, orchestrating a 7-0 run over a 20-minute span. Megan Whittle totaled five goals in the half alone, and Kali Hartshorn got three of her own. Megan Taylor finished the half with a save percentage over 60, and the Terps entered the intermission with an 11-4 lead.

While Syracuse chipped into the Terps’ lead, Maryland held the the Orange off in the second half. Syracuse cut the lead to five at one point before the Terps scored three straight to take back the momentum, and they ended the game with a 5-0 run.

As a team, Syracuse entered Saturday averaging 14.7 goals scored and 8.14 goals against per game. Maryland not only flipped those numbers, but exceeded them as well. While they are only three spots apart in the rankings, Maryland looked like the far better team in this game.

Maryland’s next game takes place next Sunday against No. 18 Johns Hopkins.

Three things to know

1. It’s a good day to be named Megan. Make no mistake, Megan Whittle and Megan Taylor were the best two players on the field by far. The Orange had no answer to stopping Whittle or beating Taylor, who were both on a superior level once again.
2. Maryland shut down Syracuse’s best. Nicole Levy and Riley Donahue, the Orange’s two top players, each went pointless on the day. The two had combined for 46 total points in seven games prior to Saturday’s loss.
3. Two wins against top-five teams. With the win, Maryland has now beaten two of the best teams in the country in North Carolina. They might have one more top-five matchup this year as Florida visits College Park later this month.