Maryland
Penn
#2 Terps Host Unbeaten #8 Penn for Midweek Matchup
3/12/2019 4:39:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
THE MATCHUP
Wednesday, March 13 -- vs. No. 8 Penn
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The second-ranked Maryland women's lacrosse team will play its first midweek home game of the year, hosting unbeaten No. 8 Penn on Wednesday night at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium.
HOW WE GOT HERE
• Junior Kali Hartshorn scored the game winner off a junior Hannah Warther assist on a free position attempt in overtime to give Maryland a 12-11 overtime win over No. 4 Syracuse. Senior Megan Taylor had 12 saves in the win, including seven point blank stops in the second half.
• Sophomore Grace Griffin tallied a career-best six points (five goals, one assist) to lead the No. 2 Maryland women's lacrosse team (5-0) to a 17-9 win at Hofstra last Saturday.
• 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 February 24.
MEET THE TERPS
• The Terps are led by the midfield corps of senior Jen Giles and transfer Erica Evans. Giles is averaging three goals per game and leads the Terps with 18 goals, seven assists, 25 points, 13 groundballs and four caused turnovers. Evans is second on the team with 18 points and eight goals over the last three games.
• Maryland is once again be backlined by junior goalie Megan Taylor, who has had an impressive start to 2019, posting 56 saves at Big Ten Ten best .549 percentage. Taylor was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week in each of the past two weeks and this week named the IWLCA National Player of the Week.
• The attack is spearheaded by junior Kali Hartshorn and senior Caroline Steele. Hartshorn is second on the team with 13 goals leads with 30 draw controls, while Steele has 11 goals in just four games and had the game winner in overtime vs. No. 3 North Carolina.
• Senior Julia Braig and junior Lizzie Colson guide the Maryland defense. Colson is second on Maryland with 25 draw controls and the duo has combined for 15 groundballs and five caused turnovers.
MARYLAND LEADERS
GOALS - Jen Giles (18)
ASSISTS - Jen Giles (7)
POINTS - Jen Giles (25)
DRAW CONTROLS - Kali Hartshorn (30)
GROUNDBALLS - Jen Giles (13)
CAUSED TURNOVERS - Jen Giles (4)
SAVES - Megan Taylor (56)
JDRF GAME
• This weekend, Maryland will host their fifth annual JDRF Game, in support of the fight against Type 1 Diabetes. The team will be wearing blue warmups and socks and there will be a silent auction at the game with all bids going straight to JDRF.
• To read more on Maryland's JDRF game and to donate click here.
HOME DOMINANCE
• Maryland is on a 80-game win streak in College Park and hasn't lost since March 10, 2012.
• This is the longest home winning streak in program history, last year eclipsing the previous long of 62 games.
TAYLOR TABBED BIG TEN DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK IN BACK TO BACK WEEKS
• Senior Megan Taylor has been named the Big Ten Conference Defensive Player of the Week for the ninth and 10th time in her career, over the past two weeks.
• Taylor was sensational in Maryland's win over No. 4 Syracuse on Saturday, posting 12 saves to only 11 allowed goals, leading the Terps to the overtime victory. The senior made four game-saving stops with the game tied over the final 15 minutes and had seven point blank saves in the second half of the close game. Taylor, who helped hold the Orange to 0-for-3 on free position attempts, held Syracuse to their lowest goal total of the year.
• In Maryland's two wins at UMBC and Hofstra, Taylor posted 11 saves to only six goals allowed, a .647 save percentage. Taylor allowed only six goals in 64 minutes of play, a 5.63 goals against average. The Glenelg, Md. native was essential to holding UMBC to just one goal in the win, the lowest total Maryland has held an opponent to since 2003.
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.
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 QUAKERS
• No. 8 Syracuse stands at 6-0 this season with wins at No. 17 Johns Hopkins and vs. No. 21 Georgetown.
• Maryland is 24-2 all-time against Penn and hasn't lost to the Quakers since 2007.
• Last season, the Terps and Quakers met in Philadelphia, with Maryland winning 13-7. The Terps offense was led by the trio of senior Megan Whittle and junior's Jen Giles and Caroline Steele. Megan Taylor was strong in goal all afternoon, posting her highest save percentage of the season at .650. Taylor tied a season-high with 13 saves, seven in the first half and six in the second. The junior also totaled a season-best three groundballs.
