HEMPSTEAD, N.Y. – Sophomore Taylor Cummings recorded seven points as the No. 2 Maryland women's lacrosse team moved to 5-0 in 2014 with a 14-3 victory at Hofstra Tuesday night.
Cummings, who leads the Terps with 23 points this season, recorded three goals and four assists while a staunch defensive effort held a fifth-straight opponent to eight or fewer goals. Maryland (5-0) also picked up strong offensive performances from Kelly McPartland (3g, 2a) and Jen Mendez, Zoe Stukenberg and reigning ACC Co-Offensive Player of the Week Brooke Griffin, who each added two goals.
Cummings put the Terps on the board first with a tally at 24:55 before a lull in scoring resulted in nearly 12 minutes of scoreless lacrosse. Hofstra knotted the game at 1-1 with 12:04 remaining in the period. Maryland capped the half with three unanswered goals which the Terps would later roll into the second stanza for a 6-0 run. Two Cummings' goals sandwiched a score from McPartland in the final 10 minutes of the first half for a 4-1 cushion through 30 minutes.
Stukenberg needed all of 12 seconds to push the Terps' lead to four after the opening draw of the second half. McPartland moved that advantage to 7-1 with goals at 29:02 and 27:05. Hofstra added its second goal of the game when Becky Conto found the back of the net at the 25-minute mark to shrink Maryland's lead to five but a pair of goals from Griffin 32 seconds apart with 23 minutes remaining pushed the score to 9-2.
Lindsay McKinnon gave the Pride its third and final score of the game at 22:28. Maryland's defense kept Hofstra off the board for the remainder of the contest. Halle Majorana, Erin Collins and two scores from Mendez capped the Terrapins' offensive output.
Cummings recorded a team-high five draw controls and Collins posted four ground balls to lead the Terps. Abbey Clipp, who was named ACC Defensive Player of the Week Tuesday, recorded the win in the cage with five saves.
“I thought defensively we were solid all night against a strong Hofstra team,” head coach Cathy Reese said. “Offensively, we were able to come out of halftime, create a lot of opportunities and really get our attack going. This is a tough road stretch for our team and I think we are learning and growing each game while having the chance to utilize a lot of our players.”
Maryland caps a three-game road trip with its conference opener at No. 6 Duke Saturday at 1 p.m.
