Big Ten Tournament quarterfinal preview: Maryland women’s lacrosse vs. Rutgers

The Terps look to advance to their eighth straight conference tournament semifinal.

No. 3-seed Maryland women’s lacrosse will begin its postseason run Saturday when it hosts No. 6-seed Rutgers in the Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals.

The Terps had a chance to clinch a share of the Big Ten regular-season title — and a top-two seed in the conference tournament — when it welcomed Penn State to College Park on April 13, but they instead let an early lead slip en route to a 12-11 defeat.

Meanwhile, after a strong showing last season, Rutgers has faltered this year in Big Ten play. Its only conference win came against Ohio State in overtime.

Saturday’s game is set for 4 p.m. and will stream on Big Ten Plus.

What happened last time

Riding a three-game losing streak, the Scarlet Knights looked for an upset bid against Maryland in their Big Ten opener. On the flip side, the Terps were set to take over the No. 1 ranking with a win and did just that — prevailing by a score of 13-8.

The Terps netted six early goals, with Libby May and Hannah Leubecker combining for four.

For Rutgers, midfielder Cassidy Spilis did all she could to keep her team in it. She finished the game with a team-high five goals.

However, led by Leubecker’s season-high six goals and a hat trick by May, Maryland pulled away in the fourth quarter to begin conference play on a high note.

What’s happened since

The Terps have struggled down the stretch, dropping three of their final six games.

Despite that, each of their wins came against a ranked opponent and they have maintained a top-15 defense nationally.

After its defeat in College Park, Rutgers suffered a fifth straight loss to Northwestern. However, the Scarlet Knights have won two of their last five games, with two of those three losses coming by one goal.

Three things to watch

1. Maryland’s offense looks for consistency. Even with a plethora of all-conference selections, Maryland’s attack has struggled to efficiently score, ranking No. 96 in the country in shooting percentage.

2. Can the Terps contain Cassidy Spilis? The Terps' defense has allowed over 12 goals per contest over their past four games, an unsustainable recipe for success. Spilis is one of the most dangerous scorers in the conference and gave the Terps all sorts of trouble last time.

3. The start of Maryland’s postseason run. The Terps have won three Big Ten Tournament titles since joining the conference in 2015. “We need to make sure we’re putting together all the tools we’ve worked on and kinda accumulated over the course of the season and be able to execute as we go,” head coach Cathy Reese said.

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