THE MATCHUP
Saturday, March 2 -- at Hofstra, 12:00 p.m.
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The No. 2 Maryland women's lacrosse team will travel to Long Island this weekend to take on Hofstra at noon on Saturday.
HOW WE GOT HERE
• Led by a defensive effort that saw the Terps allow their lowest goal total in 16 years, the No. 2 Maryland women's lacrosse team (4-0) ran past UMBC, 18-1, on Wednesday night.
• In the second period of overtime, senior Caroline Steele won the draw control, sprinted down the field and darted the game-winning goal to give the No. 2 Maryland women's lacrosse team (3-0) a 13-12 overtime win over No. 3 North Carolina (2-1) on Sunday afternoon.
• Seniors Jen Giles and Caroline Steele and junior Kali Hartshorn each scored four goals as the No. 2 Maryland women's lacrosse team (2-0) took down No. 4 Florida on February 14 to give head coach Cathy Reese her 250th win at Maryland. Reese's 250th win as the leader of the Terrapins comes in her 271st game as head coach in her 13th season.
MEET THE TERPS
• The Terps are led by the midfield corps of senior Jen Giles and transfer Erica Evans. Giles leads the Big Ten, averaging 3.5 goals per game over the Terps first goals and leads Maryland with 18 points and nine groundballs. Evans has scored eight goals in her first four games and now has 194 in her career.
• Maryland is once again be backlined by junior goalie Megan Taylor, who has had an impressive start to 2019, posting 38 saves over the first three games at a .559 save percentage, the 10th best mark in the country. .
• The attack is spearheaded by senior Caroline Steele and junior Kali Hartshorn. The duo stands right behind Giles with 11 (Hartshorn) and nine (Steele) goals apiece through four games. Hartshorn has 15 draw controls, while Steele had the game-winning goal vs. No. 3 North Carolina.
• Senior Julia Braig and junior Lizzie Colson guide the Maryland defense. Both Braig and Colson received IWLCA All-American honors in 2018. Colson leads Maryland with 16 draw controls.
MARYLAND LEADERS
GOALS - Jen Giles (14)
ASSISTS - Erica Evans & Jen Giles (4)
POINTS - Jen Giles (18)
DRAW CONTROLS - Lizzie Colson (16)
GROUNDBALLS - Jen Giles (9)
CAUSED TURNOVERS - Grace Griffin (8)
SAVES - Megan Taylor (38)
SIX TERPS SELECTED TO TEWAARATON WATCH LIST
• Six members of the No. 2 Maryland women's lacrosse team, the most in the country, were named to the initial Tewaaraton Watch List, as announced by the Tewaaraton Foundation Thursday evening.
• Graduate midfielder Erica Evans, four seniors: Julia Braig, Jen Giles, Caroline Steele and Megan Taylor and junior defender Lizzie Colson were all selected for the watch list.
• The Terps have the most players in the country named to the watch list. Each Terp named to the list was selected as a preseason All-American by Inside Lacrosse, while Braig, Giles and Taylor were named Maryland's Big Ten Players to Watch.
NATION BEST NINE TERPS NAMED PRESEASON ALL-AMERICANS
• A nation-best nine members of the Maryland women's lacrosse team were selected to Inside Lacrosse's preseason All-Americans lists.
• Graduate midfielder Erica Evans, senior defender Julia Braig and senior midfielder Jen Giles were all named to the first team, senior attacker Caroline Steele, junior defender Lizzie Colson and junior attacker Kali Hartshorn were named to the second team, senior goalkeeper Megan Taylor was placed on the third team, while redshirt junior defender Meghan Doherty and sophomore midfielder Grace Griffin were selected as honorable mentions selection.
TERPS SELECT 2019 TEAM CAPTAINS
• Maryland has selected seniors Julia Braig, Jen Giles and Megan Taylor as team captains for the upcoming season. All three have played in every game of their Maryland career and are All-Americans. This is the second straight year Braig and Giles will serve as the team's captains and the first time for Taylor.
• Braig is the reigning Big Ten Defender of the Year and a First Team All-American. Giles was also a First Team All-American last season and recently played with Team USA at the Spring Premiere in California. Taylor has backlined for the Terps since the day she stepped foot and is the three-time reigning Big Ten Goaltender of the year. She was the 2017 IWLCA National Goaltender of the Year.
SCOUTING THE PRIDE
• Hofstra stands at 4-1 so far this season and has won four straight after opening the year with a 15-10 loss at #24 USC.
• Maryland is 7-0 all-time against Hofstra.
• Last season, the Terps and Pride met in College Park with Maryland winning 17-10 behind a then-career-best four points from Brindi Griffin. Megan Whittle led the way with seven points on five goals and two assists, while Griffin tallied a first half hat-trick and added an assist on a Caroline Steele goal. Jen Giles notched her fourth hat-trick of the young season as well. The Whittle, Griffin, Giles trio accounted for 11 of Maryland's 17 goals. Megan Taylor had a strong game in the cage, tallying a season-best 13 saves on 23 shots, a .565 percentage.
