Maryland continued its assault on the ACC Player of the Week awards Tuesday when Senior Attacker Sarah Mollison won the Offensive POW Award.
In the midst of an incredible season for the Terrapins, Mollison helped the team to two wins this week, a 17-8 beatdown of Towson and a 16-4 thrashing of #8 Penn.
Starting the week on the road at Towson, playing in front of her mother and brother who flew in from Melbourne, Australia, Mollison tallied 10 points on five goals and five assists, and moved into 4th place on the all-time assists list at Maryland. It further cemented another dominant performance for Mollison, who is the team's offensive architect from behind the cage and leads the conference with 35 assists on the year.
In the second game of the week, Mollison helped design five more goals for the Terps against Penn's 3rd ranked defense, accounting for two goals and three assists. Mollison moved around to the front of the cage more in this game and let Sophomore Alex Aust handle a majority of the behind-the-cage offense, showcasing her flexibility in the Maryland attack.
The Senior from Melbourne needs only one more assist to tie Assistant Coach Quinn Carney and Tewaaraton Trophy winner Caitlyn McFadden for 3rd on the all-time assists list, an honor she most likely will achieve Saturday against #4 North Carolina.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Monday, April 4, 2011
Shaking the Quakers
Coming to College Park with the third-best defense in the country, only allowing 6.25 goals per game, the #8 Penn Quakers looked like they might dig deep in the ground and not let the #1 Terps get at the cage. But after 60 minutes of action, Maryland reassured lacrosse fans everywhere why they are still the favorites to repeat.
Even without Preseason Player of the Year Karri Ellen Johnson, the vaunted Terrpain offense went to work early, and often. After a long first possession by the Quakers ended in a save for Junior goalie Brittany Dipper, the Terp offense jumped on the board with two quick goals. By the end of the first half, the Terps had an 8 goal lead behind hat tricks from Super Sophomore Katie Schwarzmann and Senior captain Laura Merrifield.
After 15 minutes in the second half, the Quakers had closed the lead to 7, but that was as close as they would get, with the Terrapins registering the last 5 goals of the game for another dominating win, final score: 16-4.
Now its seven up, seven down, in terms of nationally ranked opponents that have fallen by the wayside against the defending national champs. And its not like the games have even been close. Other than the Syracuse game, which ended 7-5 solely based on the Syracuse Stall tactics, the closest margin between the Terps and a ranked opponent was 7 against the at-the-time #3 Duke Blue Devils. The average margin of victory for the Terrapins in those 7 games against ranked opponents? 8.9, and 10 if you take out the Syracuse game.
So it's not just that the Terps are beating good teams, they are crushing them. The absolute dominance the Terrapins have shown up until this point in the season will be tested Saturday when the up-and-coming lacrosse powerhouse North Carolina Tar Heels, currently ranked #5 in the nation, come to the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex for an ACC battle.
Even without Preseason Player of the Year Karri Ellen Johnson, the vaunted Terrpain offense went to work early, and often. After a long first possession by the Quakers ended in a save for Junior goalie Brittany Dipper, the Terp offense jumped on the board with two quick goals. By the end of the first half, the Terps had an 8 goal lead behind hat tricks from Super Sophomore Katie Schwarzmann and Senior captain Laura Merrifield.
After 15 minutes in the second half, the Quakers had closed the lead to 7, but that was as close as they would get, with the Terrapins registering the last 5 goals of the game for another dominating win, final score: 16-4.
Now its seven up, seven down, in terms of nationally ranked opponents that have fallen by the wayside against the defending national champs. And its not like the games have even been close. Other than the Syracuse game, which ended 7-5 solely based on the Syracuse Stall tactics, the closest margin between the Terps and a ranked opponent was 7 against the at-the-time #3 Duke Blue Devils. The average margin of victory for the Terrapins in those 7 games against ranked opponents? 8.9, and 10 if you take out the Syracuse game.
So it's not just that the Terps are beating good teams, they are crushing them. The absolute dominance the Terrapins have shown up until this point in the season will be tested Saturday when the up-and-coming lacrosse powerhouse North Carolina Tar Heels, currently ranked #5 in the nation, come to the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex for an ACC battle.
As the number one seed in last year's NCAA Tournament, Maryland only had to play either Northwestern or UNC, as the two teams were on the other half of the bracket from the Terps. If the Terps want that same scenario again this year, a win against North Carolina Saturday is a must. And with the way the Terrapins have been firing on all cylinders against ranked and unranked opponents alike, the offensive machine will most certainly be present at the FH and Lax Complex.
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Game Links
Relive any or all of the Terps game broadcasts below:
Delaware -- W 17-8
Duke -- W 18-11
Virginia -- W 18-6
George Mason -- W 21-2
Syracuse -- W 7-5
Stony Brook -- W 19-5
James Madison -- W 17-8
Towson -- W 17-8
We'll have highlights of the games up shortly for those who don't want the full 60 minutes of action.
Delaware -- W 17-8
Duke -- W 18-11
Virginia -- W 18-6
George Mason -- W 21-2
Syracuse -- W 7-5
Stony Brook -- W 19-5
James Madison -- W 17-8
Towson -- W 17-8
We'll have highlights of the games up shortly for those who don't want the full 60 minutes of action.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Defending the Trophy
The date: May 30th, 2010. The dynasty was toppled, as the call goes, and the Maryland Terrapins had added a tenth National Championship trophy to their storied history.
As the months passed and players graduated, the next chapter in that history was just beginning. Minus Tewaaraton and Honda Sports Award Winner (not to mention ACC POY and Tournament MVP among many other awards) Caitlyn McFadden, who had moved on to an Assistant Coaching gig at the University of Florida, minus defensive anchor and All-American Karissa Taylor, minus a handful of other key Terps in all areas of the field, the stage was set for the Terps' title defense.
The questions were there. How would this team work offensively without McFadden? How about defensively without Taylor?
A tireless work ethic and excellent teaching and coaching from 8-time National Champion Cathy Reese (4 as a player, 3 as an assistant, and last year's as head coach) led the Terps through the Fall and Winter months and into the start of the 2011 season.
------
It started just as it did last year with the Richmond Spiders at the top of the schedule. However, this year's opener wouldn't be played among the mounds of snow on the football practice field. Rather it was played on a beautiful Spring-like day in Richmond, just the kind of day that makes for great lacrosse.
The questions were answered fairly succinctly in the first 60 minutes of the season, as the Terps rolled to an 18-7 victory over the Spiders highlighted by Preseason National Player of the Year Karri Ellen Johnson's career best 7 goals and Sarah Mollison with a school record-tying 6 assists. Sophomore Katie Schwarzmann wasn't shy in adding her name to the stat sheet either, racking up 5 goals in the season opener. And after coming up huge in the ACC Tournament and on into the NCAA's, Terp netminder Brittany Dipper kept her play at an elevated level tallying 5 saves on the afternoon while allowing only 7 goals.
------
As the season rolled on and the victories piled up, the Terps received a welcomed boost to their already potent attack when Senior captain Laura Merrifield returned to the lineup against the #3 Duke Blue Devils. Although inferior in goals scored, only one to her teammates Johnson's and Schwarzmann's five apiece afternoon, Merrifield's leadership was evident in the Terps first true test of the season. The 18-11 victory reinforced the team's confidence as it continued to move through the early parts of the schedule.
A few more double-digit wins, by 12 at Virginia and by 19 against George Mason, paved the way into a tough battle with the "Syracuse Stall". Syracuse Head Coach and lacrosse legend Gary Gait knew the potency of the Terps' attack and had his team milk the clock as much as possible to limit the possessions and shots Maryland had on National Goalkeeper of the Year Liz Hogan. But while the strategy paid of in the short run as the Orange held Maryland to a mere 7 goals, the Terps had the last laugh, walking away from the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex with win number 7 under their belts.
------
It's now already halfway through the 2011 Women's Lacrosse season and the #1-ranked and defending National Champion Terps are still perfect; 9-0 to be exact. Getting scoring from everywhere, 16 out of 26 (not counting the 3 goalies) Terps have tallied at least a goal this season, the Terps have only scored in single-digits once (the Syracuse Stall game). Maryland has already knocked off #16 Penn State, #3 Duke, #5 Virginia (on the road), #12 Syracuse, and #20 Boston College (road win) and still have 5 more chances to rack up the wins over top 25 opponents in #10 James Madison, #4 Penn, #6 North Carolina, #13 Princeton (all at home) and #20 Georgetown on the road.
With one of, if not THE toughest schedule in collegiate lacrosse, the road back to the title game is not paved smoothly with flowers and trees lining the way. The goals are coming in bunches, the defense is stonewalling excellent attackers, The Big Dipper is telling everyone to "get off her lawn" as Brian eloquently puts it, and the Terps are looking to keep the pedal to the metal. Stony Brook or bust.
-Jason Murphy
As the months passed and players graduated, the next chapter in that history was just beginning. Minus Tewaaraton and Honda Sports Award Winner (not to mention ACC POY and Tournament MVP among many other awards) Caitlyn McFadden, who had moved on to an Assistant Coaching gig at the University of Florida, minus defensive anchor and All-American Karissa Taylor, minus a handful of other key Terps in all areas of the field, the stage was set for the Terps' title defense.
The questions were there. How would this team work offensively without McFadden? How about defensively without Taylor?
A tireless work ethic and excellent teaching and coaching from 8-time National Champion Cathy Reese (4 as a player, 3 as an assistant, and last year's as head coach) led the Terps through the Fall and Winter months and into the start of the 2011 season.
------
It started just as it did last year with the Richmond Spiders at the top of the schedule. However, this year's opener wouldn't be played among the mounds of snow on the football practice field. Rather it was played on a beautiful Spring-like day in Richmond, just the kind of day that makes for great lacrosse.
The questions were answered fairly succinctly in the first 60 minutes of the season, as the Terps rolled to an 18-7 victory over the Spiders highlighted by Preseason National Player of the Year Karri Ellen Johnson's career best 7 goals and Sarah Mollison with a school record-tying 6 assists. Sophomore Katie Schwarzmann wasn't shy in adding her name to the stat sheet either, racking up 5 goals in the season opener. And after coming up huge in the ACC Tournament and on into the NCAA's, Terp netminder Brittany Dipper kept her play at an elevated level tallying 5 saves on the afternoon while allowing only 7 goals.
------
As the season rolled on and the victories piled up, the Terps received a welcomed boost to their already potent attack when Senior captain Laura Merrifield returned to the lineup against the #3 Duke Blue Devils. Although inferior in goals scored, only one to her teammates Johnson's and Schwarzmann's five apiece afternoon, Merrifield's leadership was evident in the Terps first true test of the season. The 18-11 victory reinforced the team's confidence as it continued to move through the early parts of the schedule.
A few more double-digit wins, by 12 at Virginia and by 19 against George Mason, paved the way into a tough battle with the "Syracuse Stall". Syracuse Head Coach and lacrosse legend Gary Gait knew the potency of the Terps' attack and had his team milk the clock as much as possible to limit the possessions and shots Maryland had on National Goalkeeper of the Year Liz Hogan. But while the strategy paid of in the short run as the Orange held Maryland to a mere 7 goals, the Terps had the last laugh, walking away from the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex with win number 7 under their belts.
------
It's now already halfway through the 2011 Women's Lacrosse season and the #1-ranked and defending National Champion Terps are still perfect; 9-0 to be exact. Getting scoring from everywhere, 16 out of 26 (not counting the 3 goalies) Terps have tallied at least a goal this season, the Terps have only scored in single-digits once (the Syracuse Stall game). Maryland has already knocked off #16 Penn State, #3 Duke, #5 Virginia (on the road), #12 Syracuse, and #20 Boston College (road win) and still have 5 more chances to rack up the wins over top 25 opponents in #10 James Madison, #4 Penn, #6 North Carolina, #13 Princeton (all at home) and #20 Georgetown on the road.
With one of, if not THE toughest schedule in collegiate lacrosse, the road back to the title game is not paved smoothly with flowers and trees lining the way. The goals are coming in bunches, the defense is stonewalling excellent attackers, The Big Dipper is telling everyone to "get off her lawn" as Brian eloquently puts it, and the Terps are looking to keep the pedal to the metal. Stony Brook or bust.
-Jason Murphy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)