COLUMBUS, OH – Second-seeded and 10th-ranked Maryland scored the game's first eight goals and defeated sixth-seeded and 23rd-ranked Rutgers, 15-9, in the Big Ten Tournament Semifinals to advance to the 2023 Championship Game.
The Terps will take on No. 1-seeded and No. 1-ranked Northwestern (16-1) on Saturday May 6 at 8 p.m., in Columbus, Ohio, in the title game that will air on Big Ten Network. The defending Big Ten Champion Terps will be vying for their fifth Big Ten title winning in 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2022. Maryland will be playing in its seventh Big Ten Tournament Championship game in a row.
Maryland improved to 14-5 overall overall, having won 11 of its last 13 games as the Terps surge towards the NCAA Tournament.
Eloise Clevenger had a career-high tying four goals – all in a row over a span of 11:28 bridging the first and second quarters.
Libby May had her 11th hat trick of the season.
Shaylan Ahearn and
Shannon Smith scored two goals apiece.
Chrissy Thomas had a career-high six assists as part of a career-high tying seven-point game. That assist total is the second-highest in a Big Ten Tournament game ever.
Ahearn had 10 draw controls to go along with three points.
Kori Edmondson,
Hannah Leubecker and
Kate Sites also had goals for the Terps.
In the goal, Emily Sterling made eight saves, allowing just one first-half goal. Reigning Big Ten Defender of the Year
Abby Bosco had three groundballs and a caused turnover.
The Terps jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the first 10 minutes of the game as Smith scored twice along with tallies from Leubecker, May and Clevenger as Maryland never looked back. Thomas assisted four of the first five goals.
The lead expanded to 8-0 midway through the second quarter as Clevenger scored her fourth of the game. The Terps' defense pitched a shutout for the game's first 26:24. Maryland led 10-1 at halftime and cruised to the win.
Marin Hartshorn led the Scarlet Knights (8-9) with four goals. Ava Kane also had a hat trick.
Breaking Down The Action
- Maryland raced out to a 6-0 lead after the first quarter as four different Terps scored in the first quarter with Smith and Clevenger scoring a pair each along Leubecker and May each tallying once. It was the eighth time this year the Terps had six or more goals in the first period. Sterling made three saves to preserve the first-quarter shutout.
- Clevenger continued her run of four consecutive goals to take an 8-0 lead with 8:41 left in the second quarter. The Terps didn't allow a goal until 3:36 was left in the first half. It was the longest scoreless streak to start a game for Maryland since March 1, 2022 when Delaware was shutout for the first 41:46 of the game. After May scored her second of the game with 14 seconds left, Ahearn won the ensuing draw and took the ball to goal and scored with 3.7 seconds left to make it 10-1 at halftime.
- After Rutgers scored the first two goals of the third quarter, Thomas took it to the goal and scored a goal after dishing off five first-half assists. That made the score 11-3. Sites' goal with 29 seconds left in the third made it 12-4 after 45 minutes.
- Ahearn's goal off Thomas' sixth feed of the game pushed the lead back to nine at 13-4 in the fourth quarter. Rutgers scored four of the final five goals in the game for the final score of 15-9.
B1G Tourney Time
- Maryland is now 13-3 all-time in the Big Ten Tournament and has made the championship game in every season except for 2015.
- The Terps have four Big Ten Tournament championships, winning in three straight seasons from 2016-18 and last season, 2022.
- Maryland has won 15 Conference Tournament Championships in program history, with 10 of those coming since Cathy Reese became the head coach in 2007 (six ACC, four Big Ten). The Terps took home six-straight ACC titles from 2009-14 and three-straight B1G titles from 2016-18.
- Reese is 28-5 as the coach of Maryland in conference tournament games.
- The Terps are 58-9 against Big Ten opponents since joining the conference in 2015.
Terps On The Charts
- Ahearn added to her fourth all-time career total of draw controls with 10 in the game. She now has 311 in her career. Next on the list is No. 3 Lizzie Colson, who had 324 from 2017-21. The all-time time draw controls record is held by Taylor Cummings, who had 509 from 2013-16.
- Sterling holds stead at seventh in career saves with eight in the game. She now has 474. Next up is No. 6 Brittany Dipper, who had 490 from 2009-12. The all-time saves record is held by Alex Kahoe, who had 968 from 1997-2000.
Multi-Terps Update
- May (three goals) recorded her 15th multi-point game, 14th multi-goal game, and 11th hat trick in 19 games this season. In her career, she now has 48 multi-point games, 44 multi-goal games and 29 hat tricks in 63 career games.
- Smith (two goals) had her third multi-goal game and sixth multi-point game of the season. In her two-year career at Maryland, she has 10 multi-goal games and 18 multi-point games as a Terp.
- Clevenger (career-high tying four goals) had her 14th multi-point game and sixth multi-goal games this year. In her career, she now has 31 multi-point games. It was her third hat trick this season and eighth in her career.
- Ahearn (two goals and one assist) recorded her sixth multi-goal game this season and 12th multi-point game this year. In her career, she now has 12 multi-goal games and 22 multi-point games.
- Thomas (one goal, career-high six assists) had her ninth multi-point and fifth multi-assist game this season – the only such games in her her career.
Dominance Under Reese
- Head Coach Cathy Reese is in her 17th season at the helm of Maryland women's lacrosse. The winningest coach in program history, Reese is 315-39 as head coach and has led the Terps to five National Championships, 12 Final Fours and 22 Conference Championships.
- Maryland is an amazing 168-6 at home under Reese, with nine undefeated home campaigns in the last 11 seasons (2013, '14, '15, '16, '17, '18, '19, '21).
- Reese is 58-9 against Big Ten opponents since joining the conference in 2015.
- Reese has never lost a conference game at home, in the ACC or the Big Ten.
Numbers To Know
- 4: Clevenger had a career-high four goals.
- 6: Thomas had a career-hifh six assists, the second-most in a Big Ten Tournament game ever.
- 6: It was the eighth time the Terps scored six goals in the first quarter of the game.
- 7: The Terps will be playing in their seventh consecutive Big Ten Tournament Championship game.
- 7: Thomas equaled her career-high with seven points.
- 8: Ahearn had her eighth career game with 10 or more draw controls with four this year.
- 25: The Terps are now 25-1 all-time against Rutgers
- 26:24: Rutgers was shutout for the first 26:24 of the game.
- 58: As head coach, Reese is 58-9 against Big Ten opponents since the Terps joined the Big Ten in 2015.
The Series With Rutgers
- Maryland is now 25-1 all-time against Rutgers, and has won four in a row against the Scarlet Knights, including last year's Big Ten Championship game.
- Earlier this season, the Terps defeated Rutgers 16-8 in New Jersey behind eight points from Eloise Clevenger (three goals, five assists) and five goals from Hannah Leubecker.
- In last year's Big Ten Championship game, Maryland went on an 11-1 second half run to beat Rutgers 18-8 with the game tied at seven at haltime. Libby May netted five goals and also collected an assist. Eloise Clevenger had a pair of goals and four assists as well.
Up Next
- The Terps will take on top-seeded Northwestern for the Big Ten Tournament Championship on Saturday at 8 p.m., in Columbus, Ohio. The game will air on Big Ten Network.
