March 24, 2007
The University of Maryland women's water polo team downed Sonoma State and CSU Monterey Bay in tonight's double-header in Seaside, Calif. The Terrapins turned their defense around from yesterday's loss to UC Davis to shoot out to an early lead against the Seawolves. The Terps never trailed in the match-up, and walked away with a decisive 15-8 win.
Freshman Shannon Simerly led Maryland scorers with five goals. Sophomore Elizabeth Hopkins contributed three to the attack, and Blaise Stanicic and Bryndis Klein each netted two. Rachel Jordan, Christen Vagts, and Elizabeth Eicks also scored in the match-up.
"We were taking good shots from the outside," said Maryland head coach Carl Salyer. "Shannon Simerly and Elizabeth Hopkins hit some big shots for us."
Junior goalie Anna Gossett had a strong showing in the cage, blocking five while allowing four goals scored in just over quarters of play. Sophomore Ashleigh Jobson had started the game, earning one save and giving up four in one and a half periods.
"Our defense was very strong," said Salyer. "We created a lot of our offense out of our defense."
The same was true of the Terps' second match-up of the day against CSU Monterey Bay. The Otters led 3-2 at the end of the first quarter, but Maryland exploded in the second to go into halftime up 8-3. A 4-0 Otter fourth-quarter run was not enough to topple the Terps' lead, ending 11-8 in favor of Maryland.
Salyer said, "They gave us some different looks. They played a defense that took us a little while to get used to."
Maryland's defense turned the tide, creating opportunities for the counterattack. Hopkins paced the offense with four goals, and Jordan found the back of the net three times. Rounding out the offense for the Terps were Stanicic, Vagts, Simerly, and junior Allie Houseal.
Gossett earned a start between the pipes, saving eight while giving up only four goals in the first three periods. Jobson staved off the Otter run in the fourth quarter, blocking one and allowing four.
Maryland will close their California trip tomorrow with games against No. 14 Santa Clara and No. 1 Stanford in Palo Alto. The Terps are 4-2 for the trip, and 12-13 on the season.
