The 2024 Division I women's college lacrosse season kicks off February 9. As is our annual tradition, we’re featuring every team ranked in the USA Lacrosse Preseason Top 20 in the lead up to opening day. Check back to USALaxMagazine.com each weekday this month for new previews, scouting reports and rival analysis.
NO. 6 MARYLAND
2023 Record: 15-7 (4-2, Big Ten)
Final Ranking (2023): No. 11
Head Coach: Cathy Reese
Assistants: Lauri Kenis, Caitlyn Phipps, Nadine Hadnagy, Alex Aust Holman
One of the most historic programs in women’s lacrosse history has a new home. The Maryland Field Hockey and Women’s Lacrosse Complex has gotten a major facelift, and the December grand opening made way for the lacrosse players to move in when they returned to campus earlier this month.
The once-5,500 square foot space has more than tripled to 17,193 square feet. New locker rooms, team spaces, rehab and recovery equipment and more have Cathy Reese amped for what’s to come.
“It’s awesome,” Reese said. “We’ve been over in a different part of campus, which was fine, but to be able to come back home and compete … we have everything here now.”
The Terps had been playing home games at SECU Stadium, home of the football and men’s lacrosse teams, but Reese missed the friendly confines of their own home space. When the Plex is full, the energy is hard to match.
Maybe there will be an increased energy around the Terps this spring after a second-round NCAA tournament exit in May.
“If you look at our sport and how it continues to grow, and you look at how many teams are competing at the Division I level, we’ve got a great thing going here right now,” Reese said. “We see the investments these athletic departments are putting into women’s sports.”
TOP RETURNERS
Emily Sterling, G, Gr. (47.4 SV%, 9.60 GAA)
Shaylan Ahearn, M, Gr. (22G, 16A, 139DC)
Eloise Clevenger, A, Sr. (26G, 47A)
There’s experience in spades for a Maryland team that was infused with youth during the shortened 2020 season, a campaign that followed a 2019 national championship roster chock full of senior leaders. Choosing just three names for this bucket meant leaving off other key contributors.
“I do think we’re deeper than we’ve been in the past,” Reese said. “The challenge for us will be to continue to develop that.”
KEY ADDITIONS
Meghan Ball, D, Gr. (154CT, 308DC at Rutgers)
Sophie Halus, D, Jr. (19-game starter in 2023 at Colorado)
Lexi Dupack, M, Fr. (300 career goals at Calvert Hall, Md.)
Meghan Ball and Sophie Halus are the headliners here, with Ball earning Big Ten and national accolades during her decorated career at Rutgers. They’ll help solidify the defense. From there, Reese expects contributions from a deep freshman class, including Dupack, Maisy Clevenger, Lauren Lapointe and JJ Suriano.
NOTABLE DEPARTURES
Graduations: Abby Bosco, D; Maddie Sanchez, D
Transfers: Natalie Pansini, M; Demma Hall, M; Emma Muchnick, M
X-FACTOR
Hailey Russo, A, Jr. (8DC, 1CT) and Kate Sites, A, Jr. (8G, 3GB)
Russo and Sites didn’t play a ton in 2023, but Reese said to expect bigger contributions this spring.
“They’re two names we haven’t heard a lot of yet,” she said.
THE NARRATIVE
Reese isn’t in the excuse-making business, but the reality of Maryland women’s lacrosse since 2020 has been one of growing pains — even if the Terps’ year-over-year records have been enviable to 90 percent of teams across the country.
That 2019 national championship, headlined by seniors and graduate students like Jen Giles, Caroline Steele, Julia Braig, Erica Evans and Megan Taylor left a void on the 2020 roster. Normally, that wouldn’t be much of a problem for Reese and Co. But because the pandemic shortened the season, those young players didn’t have much game experience to use as a springboard to future success.
“In 2019, it was that next fall the freshman class came in,” Reese said. “We won that national championship with a strong group of upperclassmen. When this group started in 2020, they were learning. They were babies. Then they didn’t really have a season.”
So many of those youngsters are savvy veterans now, and with the addition of some key graduate transfers, Maryland is gearing up for a run it hopes is reminiscent to 2019.
“I think over the last couple years, our offense was really young,” Reese said. “We were developing and growing. We had Aurora [Cordingley] in 2022, and she was a strong offensive leader, but a lot of these guys had played with us since they were freshmen.”
There are four seniors and two graduate students — Victoria Hensh, Eloise Clevenger, Libby May, Chrissy Thomas, Kate Sites and Hannah Leubecker — on the attack, all primed as on-field leaders and off-field mentors. There are two graduate students and one senior on defense, and the midfield also has two such players. And goalie Emily Sterling has seen it all during her time in College Park.
“These guys have really grown a lot,” Reese said.
ENEMY LINES
“Maryland will be interesting. There are so many good teams now. Maryland has always been one of them. The question is, do they have the firepower to get back in the top five and stay there?”
The Maryland Terrapins’ 2024 roster suggests a promising blend of experience and fresh talent, particularly on offense, where they return 97% of their offensive production from a year ago. With the likes of Libby May, Eloise Clevenger, Chrissy Thomas and Shaylan Ahearn back, the Terps will look to improve on an offense that finished 20th in opponent-adjusted efficiency. The real task for Maryland is on defense, where they return just 36% of their experience from a year ago, measured by games played among defenders. Emily Sterling is back in net, but whether the players in front of her can gel is the biggest question facing Coach Reese’s squad.
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