No. 9 Maryland women’s lacrosse silences No. 2 James Madison, 11-8

The Terps scored nine of the game’s final 13 goals.

Emily Sterling would not let No. 9 Maryland women’s lacrosse lose Sunday against No. 9 James Madison.

The graduate goalkeeper put up a season-high 14 saves against the nation’s second-highest scoring offense as the Terps pulled off a massive home victory, 11-8.

The Terps held James Madison to just four goals in the final three quarters. Graduate defender Brianna Lamoureux bested the team with four ground balls.

“We’re being battle-tested early in the season,” Sterling said.

The first quarter was filled with action as James Madison netted three of the game’s first four goals. There were 11 combined shots on goal in the period, but the teams also managed 11 turnovers. However, James Madison was the better team in possession, able to score late to take a 4-2 lead at the end of the quarter

The second quarter saw a slow start on the offensive end, with neither team able to net a goal for nearly the first six minutes. Turnovers continued to be a theme in the frame, with eight combined. Sophie Halus had a standout quarter for the Terps, forcing two takeaways.

Maryland was unable to capitalize on any of James Madison’s three fouls, though, and the Dukes eventually extended their lead back to three when junior attacker Savannah Derey found the back of the net.

However, Hannah Leubecker responded only 20 seconds later with her first of two goals on the afternoon, which proved to spark the rest of the team.

Libby May than began to take over, scoring two goals in four minutes to bring the game back to even.

“Something we’ve been working on kind of our whole time at Maryland is just trying to stay positive and keep the momentum,” May said. “So when times get tough, we really got to lean on each other.”

While James Madison went back ahead early in the third, it was all Terps after that. They scored six of the final eight goals.

Shaylan Ahearn, who was excellent in the center circle, tied the game with 3:29 left in the third frame.

Eloise Clevinger then netted her second score of the game just over a minute later, and May followed that up with her hat trick goal to give Maryland an 8-6 lead headed into the fourth quarter. May finished the game with a season-high four goals on five shots.

The Terps continued to build off their momentum as the fourth quarter started, with Leubecker and Hailey Russo recording back-to-back goals.

“Attack did a great job at pushing our limits,” said Sterling. “They really set us up.”

But the Dukes, who beat Maryland twice last year, wouldn’t go down easy.

“This was going to be a battle,” head coach Cathy Reese said. “The first time we played them last year was 7-6 and the second time, 15-14.”

James Madison fired 10 shots on goal in the final frame, with senior Isabella Peterson scoring two of her team-high four goals.

Up 11-8 in the final minutes, Maryland was able to hold on for its third top-10 victory of the season, backstopped by Sterling’s eight saves in the final 15 minutes.

“There are things that need to be worked on and things that need to be celebrated, but the fact that we’re finding ways to gut it out and find ways to win is huge,” said Reese.

Three things to know

1. Sterling was dominant. The Terps’ goalie posted a save percentage of .636, making a staggering eight saves in the final frame.

2. Thomas continued her sharp play. Senior attacker Chrissy Thomas had three assists in her first three games combined this season. She dished out four helpers Sunday, her second consecutive game doing so.

3. Another top-10 victory. Reese’s squad has stepped up to the challenge this season, having been perfect through the first seven games of a daunting schedule. The Terps have three victories this season against top-10 teams, with their only blemish coming in an overtime defeat to then-No. 16 Florida.

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