UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- The No. 13 Maryland women's lacrosse team used their defense, which shutout No. 13 Johns Hopkins in the first half, and a hat-trick by
Grace Griffin to survive the Blue Jays, 8-7, in the Big Ten Semifinals to advance to the Championship on Sunday.
"Proud of our team's effort tonight," said head coach
Cathy Reese. "We did what we needed to do to win. Huge credit to Grace and Lizzie, those two really controlled the field. Grace, controlling the field on both ends and Lizzie on the defensive end and she was huge in transition. Those two helped us take care of business tonight and give us an opportunity to compete on Sunday."
Lizzie Colson and
Tori Barretta led a phenomenal performance from the Maryland defense, both recording five groundballs and three caused turnovers, which marked career-bests for Barretta. Colson, a Tewaaraton Nominee and First Team All-Big Ten performer, made the play of the night, intercepting a Hopkins pass with one minute left in the game up a goal to seal the win for the Terps.
Emily Sterling was fantastic in the first half, pitching a shutout, making five saves. The Terps defense caused 10 turnovers on the night and held Johns Hopkins to a season-low seven goals on just 33-percent shooting.
Grace Griffin led the Maryland offense with three goals while also tallying three groundballs and a caused turnovers.
Brindi Griffin scored two goals in the first half to propel the Terps to a 4-0 halftime lead.
Johns Hopkins scored the first three goals of the second half to cut the Maryland lead to one.
Grace Griffin responded with two and
Hannah Leubecker netted one to give the Terps a 7-3 cushion. The Blue Jays scored three in a row again before a
Grace Griffin assist to
Libby May would end up being the game-winner for the Terps.
Maryland controlled possession in the second half, winning nine-of-11 draw controls.
Shaylan Ahearn and Colson each had four.
The semifinal win gives Maryland their fifth-straight appearance in the Big Ten Championship, dating back to 2016. The Terps are 3-1 in the Big Ten Championship game, winning in 2016-18 and falling in 2019.
The Terps will take on No. 2 Northwestern, who is 12-0 this season and beat Rutgers 24-14 in the other Big Ten Semifinal. The Terps and Wildcats will play for the title on Sunday, May 2 at Noon on the Big Ten Network.
