Maryland
Penn State
#2 Terps Head to #23 Penn State Thursday
3/20/2019 11:07:00 AM | Women's Lacrosse
THE MATCHUP
Thursday, March 21 -- at #23 Penn State
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The second-ranked Maryland women's lacrosse team will play its first Big Ten road game of the season, traveling to No. 23 Penn State on Thursday evening. The game will have an opening draw of 5:00 p.m. and air on ESPNU with Jay Alter and Sheehan Stanwick Burch on the call.
HOW WE GOT HERE
• A dominant defensive effort that held Ohio State to just one goal on 19 shots and forced 10 turnovers led the No. 2 Maryland women's lacrosse team to a Big Ten opening 16-1 rout of Ohio State on Saturday afternoon.
• Jolted by an 8-0 first half run that featured four goals in a row from senior Caroline Steele, the No. 2 Maryland women's lacrosse team defeated No. 8 Penn, 14-9 last Wednesday night.
• 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.
MEET THE TERPS
• The Terps are led by the midfield corps of senior Jen Giles and transfer Erica Evans. Giles leads the Terps with 22 goals, 10 assists, 32 points, 17 groundballs and five caused turnovers. Evans, a transfer from Canisius, is second on the team with 23 points and eightt assists.
• Maryland is once again backlined by junior goalie Megan Taylor, who has had an incredible start to 2019, leading the counttry with a .583 save perentage at 77 saves to 55 goals allowed. Taylor was named the B1G 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 and Steele are second and third in the team in goals with 20 and 18 respectively, while Hartshorn leads the team with 40 draw controls and Steele had five goals in this past week's win over No. 8 Penn.
• Senior Julia Braig and junior Lizzie Colson guide the Maryland defense. Colson is second on Maryland with 33 draw controls and the duo has combined for 19 groundballs and seven caused turnovers.
MARYLAND LEADERS
GOALS - Jen Giles (22)
ASSISTS - Jen Giles (10)
POINTS - Jen Giles (32)
DRAW CONTROLS - Kali Hartshorn (40)
GROUNDBALLS - Jen Giles (17)
CAUSED TURNOVERS - Julia Braig, Grace Griffin (6)
SAVES - Megan Taylor (77)
BIG TEN DOMINANCE
• The Terps have won the last four Big Ten regular season titles and have not lost a regular season game in conference play since joining the conference for the 2015 season, standing at 23-0. Including tournament games, Maryland is 30-1 against Big Ten opponents since entering the conference.
• Maryland has also won the previous three Big Ten Tournament titles, last year defeating Penn State in the Championship.
AWARD TIME FOR MEGAN TAYLOR
• Senior Megan Taylor has won a handful of awards over the past weeks, garnering IWLCA National Player of the Week honors in each of the past two weeks and Big Ten Defensive Player of the Week honors in each of the past three weeks.
• Taylor now leads the NCAA with a .583 save percentage, having saved 77 shots to only allowing 55 goals. The senior also leads the Big Ten in goals against average and has the fifth best mark in the country at 8.14 goals. Taylor and Maryland have the fifth best scoring defense in the country, only allowing 7.50 goals per game.
• Over the three week time frame in which Taylor has won her five awards, the senior has 44 saves to only 26 goals allowed, a .629 percentage.
• With her 600th career save in this past weekend's game against Ohio State, Taylor is also the current NCAA save leader, having the most in her career of any goalkeeper in the country.
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 NITTANY LIONS
• No. 23 Penn State stands at 4-4 on the season with an 0-1 mark in the Big Ten after falling to No. 10 Michigan this past weekend.
• Maryland is 41-14-1 all-time against Penn State and hasn't lost to the Nittany Lions since Maryland joined the Big Ten in 2015, including wins in last year's Big Ten Tournament Championship game and the 2017 NCAA Semifinals.
• The Terps beat Penn State in last year's Big Ten Tournament Championship game, 21-12, behind a career-high eight goals by senior attacker Megan Whittle and a career-high 15 draw controls by sophomore attacker Kali Hartshorn. This marked Maryland's third-straight Big Ten Tournament Championship.
