#3 Maryland (12-4) vs. #6 Rutgers (7-9)
April 27, 2024
Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex
4 p.m. ET
B1G+
COLLEGE PARK, MD - The No. 3 seeded Terps open up the postseason this Saturday, April 27 with the Big Ten Tournament Quarterfinals against No. 6 seeded Rutgers at 4:00 p.m. at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex. The contest will air live on Big Ten Plus. Admission is free for college students with a valid ID
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Where we are
- Maryland looks to build momentum in the postseason after taking a 16-12 win over No. 17 Princeton in its regular season finale a week ago.Â
- The Terps tied their second-highest goal output of the season at 16 goals behind four hat tricks from Hannah Leubecker, Kori Edmondson, Eloise Clevenger and Chrissy Thomas. Shaylan Ahearn dominated the draw with 8 controls and Emily Sterling made an impressive 12 saves in the cage
- Maryland finished the regular season 12-4 with a perfect, 9-0, record on the road. The Terps closed out conference play at 4-2 and collected wins against Ohio State, Rutgers, Michigan and Johns Hopkins.
- Maryland led the conference with eight All-Big Ten honorees announced by the conference on Wednesday. Ahearn, Meghan Ball and Clevenger were named to the First Team. Five Terps - Edmondson, Leubecker, Kennedy Major, Libby May and Sterling - were selected to the Second Team, the most in the Big Ten. Julia Hammerschlag collected the Sportsmanship Team honor.
- Ball and Sterling were selected as Tewaaraton Nominees at the conclusion of the regular season.
Championship facility
- The Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex completed renovations this fall, achieving a comprehensive enhancement of the facility transforming the existing 5,500 square foot facility into a 17,193 square foot team house.
- The facility features larger, separated locker rooms for Field Hockey and Women's Lacrosse student-athletes with spacious team rooms with all-new technologies, an increased Sports Medicine room with new rehabilitative and recovery equipment, inclusive of hydrotherapy space, a signature lobby to recognize and celebrate the championships and success of both programs, a relocated fan entrance for ease of access to the complex seating areas and a second floor addition with coaching offices and meeting spaces.
- This season, Terp Nation set a new attendance record at the Complex with 2,400 in attendance on April 6.
New attendance record for a women's lacrosse game set on April 6, 2024
2024 standouts
- Hannah Leubecker leads Maryland in scoring with 45 goals. She ranks second in points behind Eloise Clevenger who leads the team in points (70), as well as assists 47. She averages 2.94 assists per game, leading the Big Ten, and 4.38 points per game ranking fifth in the conference. Her assists per game average ranks tenth in the nation.Â
- Maryland's 'Defender U' defensive unit currently ranks second in the conference and eighth in the nation in scoring defense (8.81). They have forced 19 shot clock violations through 16 games.
- Chrissy Thomas has added 16 points in her last four games, from 10 goals and six assists. The senior tied her season-high five points (3G, 2A) against Princeton in the regular season finale.
- Meghan Ball has been a dominant presence on defense for the Terps. She ranks third in the conference in caused turnovers per game (1.88) and eighth in ground balls per game (1.94).
- Emily Sterling continues her outstanding play in net for the Terps. She owns the fourth-best save percentage in the country of .524. Sterling leads the conference in saves per game (9.38).
Draw Queens
- Shaylan Ahearn, a First Team All-Big Ten selection, continues her dominant play in the center circle for the Terps. After taking a heavy majority of the draws in the regular season, Ahearn and the Terps own a 61-2 percent win rate, the eighth-best in the country.
- Ahearn ranks third all-time in career draws (399) and ranks fifth in the Big Ten with 4.88 draws per game.
- Ahearn, Meghan Ball and Shannon Smith combine for 80 percent of the 239 team draw controls. Ahearn leads the team with 78 draws, followed by Ball with 61 and Smith with 53. Smith sits sixth in the conference with 4.42 controls per game, while Ball ranks eighth with 3.81.
Shaylan Ahearn competing for the draw against Georgetown, March 20, 2024
Dominance Under Reese
- Head Coach Cathy Reese enters her 18th season at the helm of Maryland women's lacrosse. The winningest coach in program history, Reese is 329-45 as head coach and has led the Terps to five National Championships, 12 Final Fours and 22 Conference Championships.
- Maryland is 171-10 at home under Reese, with eight undefeated home campaigns in the last 11 seasons (2013, '14, '15, '16, '17, '18, '19, '21).
- Reese is the fifth all-time winningest active head coach and the seventh-winningest coach of all-time in Division 1 women's lacrosse at 359-74. Former Maryland head coach Cindy Timchal is the all-time winningest women's lacrosse coach with 576 wins.
History vs. Rutgers
- Maryland is 26-1 all-time against Rutgers, and has won five in a row against the Scarlet Knights, including a win in the conference opener earlier this season.
- When these programs faced off in March in College Park, Maryland took a, 13-8, victory behind a six-goal performance from Hannah Leubecker and four assists from Eloise Clevenger. The Maryland defense came up strong with eight saves from Emily Sterling. Brianna Lamoureux caused three turnovers and grabbed two ground balls.
- The Terps faced the Scarlet Knights in the 2023 Big Ten Tournament semifinals. Maryland advanced past the Scarlet Knights with a 15-9 win in Columbus behind seven points from Chrissy Thomas (one goal, six assists) and four goals from Eloise Clevenger. Shaylan Ahearn won ten draws and Emily Sterling made eight saves in goal.
Click here for this week's game notes.
