THE MATCHUP
Sunday, March 24 -- at #7 James Madison
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COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- The second-ranked Maryland women's lacrosse team will play their second road game against a ranked team this week, as the Terps travel to face the defending National Champions, No. 7 James Madison. The game will air on television on NBC Sports Washington and online on Lax Sports Network.
HOW WE GOT HERE
• Led by six points (one goal, five assists) from Brindi Griffin and five points (four goals, one assist) from Grace Griffin, the No. 2 Maryland women's lacrosse used a dominant second half effort to take down No. 23 Penn State, 17-6 on Thursday night.
• 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 last 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.
MEET THE TERPS
• The Terps are led by the midfield corps of senior Jen Giles and transfer Erica Evans. Giles leads the Terps with 24 goals, 11 assists, 35 points, 17 groundballs and is second with five caused turnovers. Evans, a transfer from Canisius, is third on the team with 23 points and eight assists.
• Maryland is once again backlined by junior goalie Megan Taylor, who has had an incredible start to 2019, leading the country with a .582 save percentage at 85 saves to 61 goals allowed. Taylor was named the B1G Defensive Player of the Week in each of the past three weeks and the IWLCA National Player of the Week for the last two.
• 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 23 and 21 respectively, while Hartshorn leads the team with 51 draw controls and Steele leads the team with three goals per game.
• Senior Julia Braig and junior Lizzie Colson guide the Maryland defense. Colson is second on Maryland with 39 draw controls and the duo has combined for 26 groundballs and nine caused turnovers.
MARYLAND LEADERS
GOALS - Jen Giles (24)
ASSISTS - Jen Giles, Brindi Griffin (11)
POINTS - Jen Giles (35)
DRAW CONTROLS - Kali Hartshorn (51)
GROUNDBALLS - Jen Giles (17)
CAUSED TURNOVERS - Grace Griffin (7)
SAVES - Megan Taylor (85)
REESE • 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 .582 save percentage, having saved 85 shots to only allowing 61 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.
SEVEN 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 on February 27.
• 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.
• This past week, junior Kali Hartshorn was added to the list in the first round of additions.
• 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 DUKES
• No. 7 James Madison stands at 7-2 on the season with win over No. 14 Virginia Tech and No. 19 Penn State. Last year, the Dukes won their first ever National Championship, defeating Boston College in the title game.
• Maryland is 41-3 all-time against James Madison.
• Last year, senior attacker Megan Whittle and freshman midfielder Grace Griffin recorded five points each to help the No. 2 Maryland women's lacrosse team (8-1) top No. 4 James Madison (8-1) 15-12 in front of 2,361 fans, setting a new attendance record for the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex.
