Lauren LaPointe: Quiet Leader and Lethal Weapon

Lauren LaPointe lining up a shot is one of the most dangerous sights in collegiate lacrosse.

Maryland’s top scorer in its undefeated 2026 campaign is a junior who has always had the belief from her coaches and peers, but as LaPointe’s confidence in her own game grows, the Terps seem to get more lethal.

“Our coaches have confidence in each and every player on our team,” LaPointe said. “After I fully realized that they have that confidence in me, I truly found it in myself. Our coaching staff is great with how supportive they are on and off the field, so I think I just needed to find it in myself to really come out of my shell.”

LaPointe’s father, Maury, played lacrosse at Maryland, and she grew up just down the road in Glenelg, so Terrapin lacrosse was ingrained in her from a young age. She came to countless games growing up — both men’s and women’s — and could tell from the start how special of a program College Park had to offer.

“I could always just tell when I came to watch that they truly all looked like best friends,” LaPointe said. “I always wanted that. I truly do think we have that here. Coming to games, even starting in elementary school, it was always awesome to get autographs after the game and talk to the girls. When I finally took my visit here, it really felt like I was already friends with everyone, but I didn’t even know them yet. The culture here is great. Everyone's friends with everyone, and it really creates a winning culture.”

With a team-leading 43 goals and 20 assists through 12 games in 2026, LaPointe is on an absolute tear. In late March, she was added to the Tewaaraton Watch List, which rewards the top men’s and women’s players in the nation, with Maryland women winning eight of the last 13 Tewaaraton awards.

“Lauren is someone that doesn’t realize how good she is,” Reese said. “I think the sky is the limit for her, and the more confidence she gets, the better she’s going to be. She’s been really fun to watch, and it’s been cool to see her come into her own this season. She’s definitely proven herself as one of the best attackers in the game.”

LaPointe is the epitome of a “quiet leader” — a term often used in the sports realm, but seldom to describe a student-athlete in their third season with a program. Make no mistake, LaPointe is absolutely in a leadership role with the Terps, but her biggest influence somehow comes off the field. 

“I hear that term a lot,” LaPointe said. “I’m very glad that I could take on a leadership role this year and I'm glad the coaches and my teammates have looked to me for that. I definitely am not the loudest one on the field, but I think being able to be a person that people can come to for questions or look to for guidance is another form of leadership that I get to display.”

A marketing major, LaPointe — like so many of her teammates — spends her free time in the business school, grinding away to exemplify the “student” part of the student-athlete life. LaPointe sees her academia as twofold: a way to prepare for life after college and to bond with her teammates over shared experiences.

“Lacrosse can consume you sometimes,” LaPointe said. It's always nice to be able to take a step back. I think having chemistry on the field happens when you create it off the field.”

Team culture has been a part of the Maryland program, especially under Resse, for countless years, so LaPointe is no stranger to playing on a close-knit team. But there’s something about this 2026 squad, she says, that feels a bit special — a bit destined.

LaPointe and the Terps were a match made in heaven. The LaPointe family has deep roots to the state, and they’re only setting deeper with LaPointe dazzling in College Park and her brother, Drew, playing just up the road at UMBC.

“It’s a huge honor to have been recruited and to have played here so far,” LaPointe said. “Both my parents going to Maryland, me growing up in Maryland, and both me and my brother staying close to home does prove that I'm a little biased, but Maryland is the best place to be. It's always nice to know that you have people that want to support you and want to see you live out your dreams, and that's one of the reasons why I stayed so close to home.”

In her early years as a Terp, LaPointe embraced a program mantra of stacking plays and stacking moments to anchor herself as she grew into the task of playing at the collegiate level. She honed in on getting a little better every single day, knowing that eventually, the fruits of her labor would shine through and allow her to display the talent she and her coaches always knew she had. 

“Sometimes she does things and I’m like, ‘How did she just do that?’,” Reese said. “Sometimes she scores and I just start laughing because she pulls some of her shots out of nowhere. I’m so glad she’s on my team.”

In one of her first games of her collegiate career, LaPointe got the chance to play a big role in a game against No. 8 Johns Hopkins. The freshman took the field, and scored her first four goals of her career in a thrilling win.

“When coach told me to go in, I was so surprised,” LaPointe said. “But I knew that if she was telling me to go in, that she believed in me. That confidence I know she has in me really boosted mine. I think one of the reasons that game went so well for the team — as well as myself — is everyone was really having fun. I was playing loose and I wasn't even thinking, but it ended up working out because I was just having fun.”

Fast forward to 2026, and she’s one of the most fun players in the sport to watch. She’s tallied five or more goals in four separate games, including six against Oregon and a career-high seven against Johns Hopkins, which marked the most goals by a Terps since 2022.

“You just watch her get a little more confident every game,” Reese said. “I don’t always realize she has as many goals as she does. I had no idea she had seven against Johns Hopkins until I looked down at the scoresheet. She’s gaining confidence and experience going against some of the best defenders in the nation, and she’s continuing to dominate.”

Little by little, game by game, she’s establishing herself as one of the best players in the game. Her humility keeps her rooted, but her confidence is growing. The quiet leader’s resume is quickly becoming too boisterous to ignore.

She and the Terps have made it a goal this season to celebrate every goal in a way where it’s hard to tell who scores it. Their energy is infectious, no matter who scores, but No. 8 in red seems to be involved in just about every goal. 

“Another way I'm proud to wear the ‘quiet leader’ title is through sharing the ball on the field,” LaPointe said. “We have so many goal scorers this year, and I really enjoy when my other teammates score. No matter who scores, it's always the biggest celebration of the entire game.”