TOWSON, Md. – Freshman Megan Whittle and junior Taylor Cummings each recorded six points as the No. 1 Maryland women’s lacrosse team routed Towson, 17-2, Wednesday evening.
“I thought we played really well today, all over the field,” said head coach Cathy Reese. “Our shooting was so much better. We took really good care of the ball, and we made some nice decisions on offense. Defensively, Alex Fitzpatrick made some huge saves, and our defense really took care of the ball.”
Whittle scored six goals while Cummings notched two goals and four assists. Brooke Griffin, Taylor Hensh and Zoe Stukenberg also scored twice while Alice Mercer, Erin Collins and Kacie Longo all added goals.
Collins got on the board first as she cut toward the goal and scored off a pass from Shanna Brady at 28:24. Whittle tallied a free-position goal at 23:20. Mercer tallied her first career goal at 21:54, bringing the ball from the Terps’ defensive end and shooting past the Tiger goalkeeper, and Maryland took a 3-0 lead.
Cummings scored her first goal of the game on a free-position attempt at 17:32. Whittle cut in front of the goal and scored off a pass from Mercer at 14:38 as the Terps increased their lead to five. Griffin continued the Maryland scoring with a sharp-angled shot off an assist from Cummings at 13:41.
The Tigers scored at 13:04 to bring the game to 6-1. After nearly 10 minutes, Hensh scored at 4:48. Griffin notched her second goal of the game – with her second assist from Cummings – at 1:14 as the Terps took an 8-2 lead into halftime.
Whittle started the second-half scoring at 28:40, completing her first hat trick of the game. Cummings scored again at 26:18 with a low, bouncing shot beating the goalie. Stukenberg scored on a free-position at 20:56 as the Terps increased their lead to 11-2.
Whittle tallied the next three Terrapins’ goals for her second hat trick of the game. The freshman scored off a shot in front of the crease, assisted by Cummings, at 19:57. She scored again at 15:44 off a sharp angle, and added another one after picking up a rebound and hitting the back of the net with just over 13 minutes remaining and Maryland took a 13-2 lead.
Stukenberg tallied her second goal at 12:14, and Hensh added her second of the game at just over six minutes remaining. Longo notched a free-position shot for her first career goal at 2:07, and the Terps took the 17-2 win.
Fitzpatrick recorded 10 saves, one ground ball and one caused turnover. The Tigers scored no goals in the second half.
Maryland held a 19-9 ground ball advantage, and the Terps turned the ball over only four times in the contest.
The Terps return to the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex Saturday to face No. 7/5 Florida for the first time in program history. Opening draw is scheduled for noon.
-Maryland-
