COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Junior midfielder Taylor Cummings notched five points and eight draw controls as the No. 1 Maryland women's lacrosse team (4-0) took a 14-7 victory over UMBC (3-3) Wednesday evening at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex.
“It was a good game tonight,” said head coach Cathy Reese. “I thought UMBC came out and their players fought really hard. I saw a lot of good things tonight. We wanted to focus on taking care of the ball tonight, all over the field, and transition on the offensive end. I thought our players did a really nice job on that."
Cummings scored four goals and added an assist. Sophomore Zoe Stukenberg also tallied four goals, while freshman Megan Whittle notched a hat trick for the third straight game. Brooke Griffin, Taylor Salandra and Kristen Lamon each added a goal for the Terps. Griffin led the team with three assists.
Maryland started the game on a 4-0 run. Whittle scored at 29:22, and Stukenberg brought the Terps to 2-0 at 27:14 off a backdoor pass from Griffin. Stukenberg scored again 90 seconds later, and Lamon notched a top-shelf goal at 21:16.
Cummings scored the Terrapins' next three goals, including one on an open net as the Retrievers keeper misread the play and left the goal. Stukenberg and Griffin also scored as Maryland took a 9-2 lead into halftime.
The Terps' defense was stellar in the first half, holding UMBC to just two goals on five shots. The Retrievers held the ball in the Maryland zone for a three-minute period and were unable to get a shot off before turning the ball over.
The offense fired off three straight goals to start the second half, with two coming from Whittle and one from Stukenberg. UMBC was able to record three straight goals to make it a 12-5 game. Salandra scored her first goal of the season at 12:55, and Cummings tallied her last goal of the contest on a free-position shot at 9:59.
The Retrievers were able to add two more goals, including one with 0:02 remaining, but the Terps took the 14-7 win.
All three Maryland goalies saw playing time Wednesday. Redshirt senior Alex Fitzpatrick started the game and made two saves while allowed two goals in 20 minutes. Sophomore Emily Kift played for 18 minutes and made one save while allowing one goal. Freshman Emma Moss entered the cage for the first time this season and made seven saves, including three on free-position attempts, in 22 minutes to close the game.
UMBC goalkeeper Kelsey Major put in a strong outing, making 17 saves and picking up four ground balls.
The Terps held a 43-21 advantage in shots, taking a whopping 30 in the first half. Maryland also held a 17-5 advantage in draws.
Maryland is now 10-0 all-time against the Retrievers.
The Terrapins face No. 5 Syracuse on Saturday in a rematch of the 2014 NCAA Championship game. Opening draw is scheduled for noon. The game will be broadcast on BTN Plus.
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