One Year Older, One Year Better: Maryland Women’s Lacrosse 2026 Season Preview

Maryland women’s lacrosse is back for another season of excitement, expectation, and experience. 

The Terps are coming off an impressive 2025 campaign season that saw them go 15-6 and 7-1 in the talented Big Ten Conference. This season, the roster looks pretty similar, boasting a squad of elite players ready to continue the program’s climb to the apex of collegiate lacrosse.

“We have a really fun group that's all bought into what Maryland lacrosse is all about,” head coach Cathy Reese said. “They genuinely love competing for the University of Maryland. They love playing together. They're excited for each other. They're selfless. They're hard working. They’re really great representatives of what we're all about. I’m so excited to kind of get this group going.”

A freshman-heavy team from a season ago brings back seven sophomores, all now with a taste of collegiate lacrosse and hungry for more. 

“Last year was a chance for everyone to figure everything out,” graduate defender Kennedy Major said. “It’s like night and day now. We’re so confident now, so I think this extra year that we’ve gotten for the now-sophomores is beneficial, and I know it’s going to show when we play.”

Even with an overflow of youth a season ago, Maryland was the runner-up in the 2025 Big Ten Tournament and made an NCAA Tournament appearance, winning a game over Fairfield in the opening round.

“I do think another year of experience for them is huge,” Reese said. “Kayla Gilmore is a sophomore now, and she’ll lead us on the draw. JJ Suriano is now a strong junior in goal. Those two in those two positions — coming back with a year of experience playing against some of the best teams in college lacrosse — will come back with another level of confidence and experience, which will be good for us.”

Maryland has also reloaded with key transfer additions Keeley Block and Kristen Shanahan. Block comes from Penn with 93 goals in 54 games. Shanahan comes to College Park via Notre Dame with 53 goals under her belt.

“Having Keeley and Kristen join our team is huge for us,” senior middie Kori Edmondson said. “We’re a very veteran-heavy squad now, which is something that we haven’t seen in a while here, and I’m excited for Terp Nation to see.”

Edmondson led the squad last season with 59 goals and 73 points. She and a strong returning core will headline a Maryland roster that also boasts nine new freshmen who’ll boost the Terps’ depth.

“Our freshmen are amazing,” Edmondson said. “Our vets that have transferred in are amazing. Everyone brings something so special to this team this year. Everyone plays a role. It’s not just one person. Everyone brings something special this year. We’re very dynamic, which will be fun for everyone to watch.”

As a middie, Edmonson gets the chance to work with both the offensive and defensive fronts. There’s talent on both sides, she says, and the two studded groups have different identities, but one shared goal of dominance.

“Our defense is rock-solid,” Edmondson said. “Everyone is a vet, so everyone is gelling and everyone is flowing. We have a lot of new faces on offense, but it feels like we’ve been playing for four or five years together. We’re clicking, and it’s going to be so fun to be a part of.”

As the group has meshed and clicked, it’s found its identity. The Terps are ready to outwork and outscheme its opponents, both on and off the field. 

“We’re gritty,” Major said. “Just from a few weeks of practice, we can tell that we’re gritty with one another, and that’s going to translate so well onto the field. We all want to get better. We’re all doing those things outside of practice that we haven’t always done in the past, and that’s also going to translate onto the field.”

“We want to win,” Edmondson said. “We attack every practice with the mindset of knowing that practice is going to make us better, so we need to push ourselves and push each other. What we do during these days is what’s going to get us to the Final Four Weekend.”

Edmondson is part of a core group of returning players that has Reese full of optimism ahead of a season slate full of ranked opponents.

“We've got a really strong returning core group of players this year,” Reese said. “Everybody has another year of experience under their belts. We've got great leadership in our four captains: Kennedy Major, Kori Edmondson, Jordyn Lipkin, and Neve O'Ferrall. We're a year older and more experienced, and I think that leadership has been something that's been a huge asset to us as we've started this season.”

Lipkin netted 40 goals a season ago, while O’Ferrall and Major captained one of the nation's best defenses. They’re back to make Suriano’s 2026 season easy in net after she posted 180 saves a season ago.

“Our depth is really good,” Reese said. “I love that we're seeing a lot from a lot of people, and people are ready to go when their name is called. I love that we've got people that are ready to step up as needed, and I'm hopeful that we can use that to our advantage.”

Maryland opens the season with two huge games against No. 13 Syracuse and No. 10 Virginia, two talented squads that Edmondson pointed out beat the Terps last year, putting an early chip on this year’s shoulders. 

“It’s something that we’re really excited for,” Edmondson said. “We want to take that big step early and prove to everyone that Maryland’s back and better than ever.”

It won’t get much easier after that. Maryland’s non-conference schedule includes meetings with No. 6 Princeton, No. 9 Penn, and No. 19 James Madison. Once Big Ten play starts, the Terps face clashes with No. 2 Northwestern, No. 8 John Hopkins, No. 15 Michigan, and No. 24 Penn State. 

“We’ll play one of the toughest schedules in the nation,” Reese said. “We love the competition. That's how we get better, and that's how we learn about ourselves and what we need to improve on.”

Eight of Maryland’s 16 games will happen right here in College Park. As the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex undergoes renovations, the Terps will play their home games at SECU Stadium in 2026.

“It’s exciting that we’ll be on a bigger stage,” Major said. “It gives more people the chance to see us and see this special team. It’s really exciting when younger girls can get out and see us play. That just gives us more incentive to get out there and play well.”

The team is ready to go. The Terps will hit the ground running against Syracuse on Feb. 5. From there, it’s a non-stop grind through the end, one the squad knows it’s built for.

“We have some doubters,” Major said. “It’s fueling a lot of our fires. We try to block things out, but you do hear things around the lacrosse community, and that’s fine. We’re all ready to prove everyone wrong, each and every game, until we reach the Final Four.”