Maryland women’s lacrosse cruises past Hofstra, 17-9

Maryland women’s lacrosse used a strong first half on offense to defeat Hofstra, 17-9, on the road Saturday afternoon.

It was a tale of two halves for the No. 2 Terps, as they dominated the first 30 minutes with 18 shots—16 on target—but spent most of the second half on defense, with Hofstra having 15 shots and seven looks on target in the second 30 minutes.

Maryland’s Grace Griffin led all scorers with five goals, and Erica Evans also added her second hat trick in a row for the Terrapins.

Maryland got on the board early thanks to a goal by Evans less than a minute in. Hofstra would keep pace with Maryland for the first 8:16, tying the game at 3-3, but the Terps would respond. The Terrapins’ offense exploded during a 16-minute stretch of the first half, rattling off an eight-goal run to claim an 11-3 lead. The Pride added one goal with 3:52 remaining to make the halftime score 11-4.

In the first 30 minutes, Maryland finished with 18 shots, 16 of which were on target, and limited Hofstra to 13 shots with nine on goal. Two player-up chances, as well as a 10-5 lead in the draw circle, also helped the Terrapins gain separation despite nine first-half turnovers.

To start the second half, Hofstra came out strong trying to mount a comeback. Through the first 11:21 of the half, Maryland held on to a 4-3 back and forth, but a 15-7 lead overall. The Terrapin defense did its job, stopping four early free-position chances by Hofstra.

As time winded down, the Pride added two more goals to shrink Maryland’s lead to 15-9, but they were unable to close it out. The Terrapins would work to run out the clock and get two goals back at the end to win this matchup, 17-9.

Hofstra finished with the lead in shots with 35, but the Terrapins were more efficient in landing shots on net, with 28 of 32 shots being on goal.

Maryland will have a full week to rest and practice before hosting Syracuse next Saturday at noon ET.

Three things to know

1. Maryland’s offense worked well together as a whole. Especially in the first half, the Terrapins passed the ball around well and created space with movement, rather than relying on individual efforts against the Pride. Grace Griffin led the way with five goals and Erica Evans had a hat trick, but five other Terrapins found their way on the scoresheet around those individual performances.

2. Despite losing possession in the second half, the defense stood strong. The Terrapins dominated the possession game through the first 30 minutes, but gave a lot of chances up to Hofstra as the game came to a close. Even though they gave up 22 shots in the second frame, Maddie McSally and the rest of the defense closed down well and helped hold the Pride under 10 goals in this one.

3. Maryland continued to play fresh bodies for the second game in a row. Playing their third game in seven days, the Terrapins opted to keep Caroline Steele out for this matchup and play some younger team members to keep the team fresh as a whole. Freshman goalie Maddie McSally stepped in for the final 25:53 of this game and came up with three huge saves down the stretch. Fellow rookies Julia Hoffman and Hannah Glaros also found time on the field, but were unable to find their way onto the score sheet.