COLLEGE PARK, MD – No. 2 seed and No. 7-ranked Maryland women's lacrosse was defeated by No. 1 seed and No. 3-ranked Northwestern, 8-7, in the Big Ten Tournament title game before 1,403 fans at Maryland Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex on Saturday. This was Maryland's eighth championship game appearance since joining the Big Ten in 2015.
Maryland is 14-5 overall heading into the NCAA Tournament. The 2025 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship bracket will be announced during the selection show on ESPNU on May 4. The first round of the tournament is set for May 9 and will be hosted at non-predetermined campus sites.
The Terps scored four of the game's first five goals and used an incredible defensive performance to sustain a lead until the 2:38 mark of the fourth. Kori Edmondson's third goal of the game at the 7:30 mark of the third quarter put Maryland ahead 6-2, its largest lead of the game. The Terps held the Wildcats (16-2) scoreless for 18:50 through the second and third quarters. In that span, Northwestern took 16 shots without scoring a goal.
However, despite a career game from JJ Suriano, Northwestern tied the game at 6-6 with a goal at the 2:54 mark of the fourth and took its first lead, 7-6, at the 2:38 mark. The Wildcats scored five unanswered before
Kori Edmondson tied the game with a goal at the 1:04 mark, but Aditi Foster scored the game-winner with 15 seconds left to play.
A game after matching her career-high in saves, Suriano set a career-high 18 saves between the pipes. She tied for the most in Big Ten Tournament history, matching Penn State's Taylor Suplee in 2019. Suriano's save total was also the most by a Maryland goalie since Megan Taylor's 20 saves vs. Florida on March 29, 2017. She had 11 stops in the first half alone and was the main catalyst in Northwestern going just 0-of-9 from the free-position line.
Edmondson (4 goals) led Maryland's offense, posting her 30th career hat trick and team-leading 13 of the season. She also won two draws and picked up a ground ball. Shelby Sullivan, Kayla Gilmore and Lauren LaPointe also netted scores. Neve O'Ferrall caused two turnovers and Sophie Halus added a caused turnover defensively.
Chrissy Thomas recorded one assist, surpassing Taylor Cummings on Maryland's career assists list. The fifth-year attacker now sits at 10th place on the leaderboard, with 95 career dimes.
Another testament to the dominant defensive performance by the Terps was limiting the Wildcats to two goals at halftime. It was their fewest goals allowed in the first half since also being held to two in a 9-8 loss to Duke on Feb. 18, 2018. Northwestern also scored a season-low goals, despite outshooting Maryland 41-19.
For Maryland, Edmondson, Halus and Suriano were named to the Big Ten All-Tournament team. Northwestern's Jane Hansen was named the tournament's most outstanding player.
Reese's Take
- "I'm really proud of our team, I'm proud of our effort out there," said Maryland head coach Cathy Reese. "I'm proud of how we we competed and stuck with our game plan. I thought our defense was phenomenal today. JJ was outstanding in the cage. Sophie [Halus] played outstanding."
- "To know that you can play with one of the best teams in the country, and you can compete at a really high level and play some really good lacrosse, I think, is something that they need to hang on to as we prepare. So we have a lot to pull from this that was really positive."
Breaking Down The Action
- Kori Edmondson put the Terps on the board early, scoring on the first free-position opportunity of the game. Following two clutch saves by JJ Suriano, including denying a Northwestern free-position shot, the Wildcats put one through. Shelby Sullivan answered on the next possession with a free-position goal. Lauren LaPointe added another Terps score in the closing minutes of the first quarter. Maryland entered the second quarter up 3-1.
- Suriano opened the second quarter with a save before Edmondson converted on a free-position shot. The Wildcats scored again, but the Terps immediately answered, as Kayla Gilmore scored, assisted by Chrissy Thomas. Suriano made more key saves, including preventing a trio of Northwestern free-position shots. Maryland led 5-2 at the break, holding the Wildcats to its lowest first-half scoring performance since 2018.
- Suriano maintained her lockdown presence between the pipes, saving two Northwestern shots in the first five minutes of the third quarter. Suriano then surpassed her career-high for single-game saves with her 14th save of the game midway through the third frame. Edmondson notched a hat trick with a goal in the frame. The Wildcats put three scores through, but the Terps maintained a 6-5 advantage heading into the final frame.
- The fourth quarter opened with a back-and-forth battle. Soriano continued making saves, and the Terps' offense continued taking shots against a tricky Wildcats defense until Northwestern tied it up and achieved the go-ahead goal with less than three minutes to go. Kori Edmondson netted her fourth free-position goal of the game to tie it back up with one minute remaining, but Northwestern scored the final go-ahead score with 15 seconds left in the game. The Terps had a final chance to tie the game on a free-position shot and send the game to overtime with two seconds remaining but missed high.
Hat Trick Terps
Multi-Terps Update
- Kori Edmondson (four goals) recorded multiple points for the 42nd time in her career. She has scored multiple goals 40 times.
B1G Tourney Time
- Maryland is now 16-6 all-time in the Big Ten Tournament and has made the championship game in every season except for 2015 and 2024 (excluding 2020, where the Big Ten Tournament was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic).
- The Terps have four Big Ten Tournament championships, winning in three straight seasons from 2016-18 and 2022.
- Reese is 31-8 as the coach of Maryland in conference tournament games.
Numbers To Know
- 2: The Terps are the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten Tournament.
- 7: The Terps are ranked No. 7 in the Inside Lacrosse/Women's Coaches Association Top 25 Poll.
- 8: This was the Terps' eighth Big Ten Tournament Championship appearance.
- 10: Thomas moved to 10th all-time on Maryland's assists list with 95 assists.
- 18: Suriano tied the Big Ten Tournament record with 18 saves in this game.
- 22: Edmondson has 22 straight games with a goal.
- 34: The Terps have scored 34 hat tricks as a team this season.
- 30: Edmondson recorded her 30th career hat trick and her 13th of the season.
- 54: Edmondson has 54 goals to lead the Terps.
- 65: Edmonson leads the Terps with 65 points.
- 36: Thomas leads the Terps with 36 assists.
Up Next
- The 2025 NCAA Division I Women's Lacrosse Championship bracket will be announced during the selection show on ESPNU on May 4. The first round of the tournament is set for May 9 and will be hosted at non-predetermined campus sites.
