COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Senior midfielder Taylor Cummings and sophomore attacker Megan Whittle each tallied five points as the No. 1 Maryland women's lacrosse team routed James Madison, 18-6, Saturday afternoon at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex.
“It was really nice to play back at home today,” head coach Cathy Reese said. “I thought we saw a lot of great things from our group today, and everyone contributed. Everyone had a special role in a day where we were able to raise over $10,000 to support JDRF and fight Type 1 diabetes. Overall it was an outstanding day and we feel lucky to be part of it.”
Maryland held its second annual JDRF Awareness Game against the Dukes. The team wore blue warmup shirts and socks to support the cause. Reese's son, Riley, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes four years ago.
Whittle scored five goals while Cummings notched three goals and two assists. Freshman midfielder Caroline Steele, sophomore midfielder Kacie Longo and freshman midfielder Jen Giles each scored twice while senior midfielder Bryn Boucher, freshman attacker Kelsey Cummings, sophomore midfielder Taylor Hensh and junior attacker Theo Kwas each added one goal.
Cummings also recorded seven draw controls, four ground balls and four caused turnovers. Senior defender Alice Mercer and junior defender Morgan Torggler each caused three turnovers.
Whittle scored two quick goals and Steele and Boucher each added one as Maryland took a 4-0 lead at 22:59. James Madison scored three straight to pull within one before the Terps went on a 10-0 run. Cummings and Giles scored within 30 seconds of each other before Whittle again scored twice. Steele, Hensh and Giles notched goals in the final 3:07 as Maryland took a 12-3 lead into halftime.
Cummings started the second-half scoring and Whittle added her fifth goal at 22:56. Cummings tallied two straight goals assisted by Zoe Stukenberg as the Terps pushed the lead to 16-3. The Dukes scored at 13:26 but Longo and Kwas scored late goals. James Madison added the final two tallies of the game but the Terps held on for the dominant 18-6 win.
Freshman goalie Megan Taylor made five saves while allowing just four goals in cage. Junior Emily Kift also saw time in the crease.
The teams were even in draw controls with 13 each. Maryland held a 21-14 advantage in ground balls and a 32-13 advantage in shots.
The Terps open Big Ten play against Northwestern (4-4) next Thursday, March 31 at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast on the Big Ten Network. The teams will be filmed leading up to the game for BTN's all-access special, B1G Close Up.
– Maryland –
