Maryland women’s lacrosse blows past Robert Morris in first round of NCAA Tournament, 17-1

The Terps dominate in their largest NCAA Tournament win since 2009.

Following an upset loss to Rutgers in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament, Maryland women’s lacrosse had a chance to redeem the rare home playoff loss, hosting Robert Morris in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday.

As the tournament’s No. 4 seed, the Terps didn’t waste the opportunity. Maryland rattled off three goals in the game’s opening six minutes, and continued to lay it on the Colonials en route to a 17-1 win from the Field Hockey and Women’s Lacrosse Complex.

Maryland (13-5) had five players score multiple goals, while senior goalkeeper Julia Hammerschlag excelled in her first career start, thwarting nearly every shot from Robert Morris (8-12) in a seven-save effort.

“We talk about doing your job and being ready when your name is called … and there’s no better example of that than Julia,” Maryland head coach Cathy Reese said. “She came in and anchored our defense.”

“She proved to herself and everyone else that she does belong on the field at that moment,” graduate midfielder Shaylan Ahearn added.

After putting up its lowest-scoring first quarter of the season against Rutgers, Maryland came out as the aggressors against Robert Morris.

The Terps responded to the one-goal opening quarter in the Big Ten Tournament loss by posting a five-goal first quarter on Friday. Eloise Clevenger and Kori Edmondson each netted their first two goals on the afternoon, while Ahearn powered Maryland to a 6-0 draw control advantage.

“We all got together and settled in,” Ahearn said. “We realized that … if we played hard, [the game] would build upon itself.”

The eventual game-winner came off the stick of sophomore midfielder Edmondson less than five minutes in. As part of a three goal performance, Edmondson worked off an eight meter, pivoting in front of Robert Morris junior goalkeeper Sydney Riker before finding the bottom left corner.

Facing a big deficit early, Robert Morris found a response to begin the second quarter, converting on its second of only two free position opportunities in the first half. Colonials’ junior midfielder Jenna Irwin dug in from straightaway against Hammerschlag, jabbing left and firing bottom right for her team-leading 37th goal of the season.

The score was Robert Morris’ first NCAA Tournament goal in program history.

But after Irwin’s historic shot, Maryland settled back into its first quarter form, scoring two goals in a 45-second span to pace what ended up being an 8-1 advantage at the half.

Hannah Leubecker’s second and Kate Sites’ first goal of the game kept the Terps firmly in control, further relieving the pressure off Hammerschlag.

“We were feeding off of the defense’s energy,” Edmondson said of the first quarter’s end. “Julia was making great saves which carried over to the offense.”

With the win, Maryland advances to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the 17th consecutive time. There, the Terps will host the winner of Friday afternoon’s JMU/Penn State first round matchup on Sunday at 12:30 p.m.

Three Things to Know

1. Sites’ career day. Playing from a reserve role and seeing extended second-half minutes, Sites netted four total goals and recorded her first career hat trick on Friday. The redshirt sophomore attacker only had two goals through Maryland’s first 17 games this season.

2. Lopsided tournament win. Maryland’s 17-1 win over Robert Morris represents the largest goal differential for the Terps in an NCAA Tournament game since they beat Colgate, 20-3, in the first round in 2009.

3. Rest pays off. Maryland’s win over Robert Morris came 13 days removed from the Terps’ last game, a 9-8 loss to Rutgers in the Big Ten Tournament. The break between the two games is Maryland’s longest since joining the Big Ten.

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