Maryland women’s lacrosse coach Cathy Reese watched as Erica Evans raced from one end of the field to the other in an early fall ball game, then turned to her assistants in disbelief.

“Holy moly,” Reese said. “That was awesome.”

The bad news for opponents? Evans will be even faster this spring.

Reese and Evans’ new teammates say they can’t even tell, but their transfer midfielder isn’t quite fully recovered from the ACL tear that cost her senior season at Canisius.

“I know I’m very close,” Evans said. “It’s very positive for me because come springtime, I’m hoping to be 100 percent. Throughout the fall, I’ve felt stronger and faster and getting used to everything again. Overall, it’s been a positive thing.”

Evans was devastated when she felt her knee pop last fall in Canisius’ final fall ball weekend at Loyola. In her first three years at Canisius, she had become the program’s all-time leading scorer with 186 goals and 60 assists and its first-ever Tewaaraton semifinalist in 2017.

“At first, I didn’t really think about anything,” Evans said. “I was just worried about getting back and getting my surgery done. With [head coach Scott] Teeter leaving Canisius [for Louisville], I had my doors open there. I looked into other options. I had some friends that I played lacrosse with that sort of led me to pick Maryland.

“I thought about other places, but Maryland was my overall No. 1 pick. When I came to visit, it was just a done deal.”

Evans has been in recovery mode since having surgery last December. She rehabbed in the six weeks between her injury and surgery to get a head start on recovering, and it helped. Evans was back running and cutting in July.

“I wanted to push myself,” Evans said. “I didn’t want to think about [how] I could reinjure it. I’m going to trust it’s been fixed properly, and I’m going to work to get back.”

Evans missed some early practices while Maryland’s trainers assessed her, but she was able to join the Terps in mid-September for fall ball while also settling into graduate classes in supply chain management through Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School.

“She’s a crazy good athlete and has come back so fast,” Reese said. “Her speed is one of her strengths, and you could see that shine with how much she was able to play this fall. It’s been fun to see her integrate into our team and system of play.”

Evans chose Maryland in part because of its style of play. An All-World selection after helping Team Canada win silver at the 2017 FIL Women’s World Cup, she embraced Maryland’s style. She announced her decision on Instagram in April.

“It’s kind of similar to Team Canada,” Evans said. “We always wanted to push the ball, we always wanted to be aggressive, and be quick and make the other team be on their toes. That’s how Maryland is. They always have teams on their toes and they’re making it hard. Cathy always wants to push transition, which I love to do. I love to get the ball up the field. At Canisius, it was kind of the same, but not as fast a pace. The idea is still the same — we want to push and be aggressive.”

Evans added that the biggest adjustment has been on defense.

“Maryland is a 1v1, man-to-man defense and I’ve always played a zone,” she said. “That’s what I’m trying to get used to and get better at and focus on compared to Team Canada and Canisius.”

Maryland’s fast pace is why Evans needs to feel fully healthy. The fall was encouraging given that she’s still less than a year out of surgery, and Evans knows she has more in her.

“Where I was speed-wise last year in my junior season and even for Team Canada, my speed isn’t fully back yet,” Evans said. “That’s why I feel like I’m not 100 percent yet.”

Evans moves into a Maryland midfield that returns Jen Giles and Grace Griffin. She hopes to return to the level that made her a Tewaaraton candidate at Canisius.

“In the long run, I just want to win a national championship,” Evans said. “That’s the main reason I came here, to be in the final four at the end and be playing for that opportunity. Not a lot of people can say they did that in their lifetime. As a team sport, that’s the main reason you play. Individual accolades are great, but the main reason I came here is to win a national championship.”

Evans is willing to help any way possible to earn a ring. She’s already recognized how much more depth of talent there is at Maryland, and how that affects her role as a midfielder.

“It’ll be a lot different,” Evans said. “At Canisius, I felt like I was the go-to. I felt like I was the one that had to go to the net and drive. Here, being surrounded by so many talented players, it’s just so spread out. That’s an awesome thing to have too. It makes us an even bigger threat, having all those players like Jen [Giles], Caroline [Steele], Meg [Siverson], Kali [Hartshorn] and Brindi [Griffin] on offense and Grace [Griffin]. All of them can go to goal and score and feed. That’s the difference. I probably won’t have as many [points], but I’m hoping to help out in the long run too.”

Maryland welcomed the ways that Evans will add to their lineup. She brings talent and experience to a team that already had a lot returning.

“It’s a challenge for anybody that transfers into a program,” Reese said. “Where she’s different is the amount of experience she has. She has played against some of the best players in the sport, and she played at the World Cup level against the best players in the world. She brings a different perspective, but she has such a high level of experience. Sometimes when people transfer, they need to get experience. She’s coming from playing at the highest level of lacrosse and coming into us and becoming comfortable, understanding where she fits in.

“The challenge is she’s coming back from a knee injury,” Reese added. “That doesn’t just disappear. It takes a while to get yourself back where you’re comfortable and confident in what you’re doing. That’s the piece where she continues to work back to where she’s feeling 100 percent. That’s pretty much the challenge. She brings an amazing amount of experience into the team.”

Evans wasn’t happy about missing her senior year at Canisius, but she’s had people tell her that injuring her knee could be a blessing in disguise. Now almost fully recovered, she is excited to finish her college career in College Park.

“I get to play with some of the best lacrosse players in the country, be able to compete at the highest level and be able to push myself and my teammates to be in that final four weekend and be in the championship game and eventually winning the national championship,” Evans said. “I never had that ability at Canisius to do that. It was an amazing experience, and I think Canisius made me a better player too. But having this opportunity, especially in a fifth year and being able to come here, has been one of best things to happen.”

Fall Ball Focus
Big Ten

Maryland
20-2, 6-0 Big Ten

The Terrapins were young last year and have their core back. Important pieces on defense include Julia Braig, Lizzie Colson and Megan Taylor, while the offense still boasts Caroline Steele and Kali Hartshorn, and the midfield has Grace Griffin and Jen Giles. Erica Evans’s arrival will help an offense that graduated top scorer Megan Whittle. Maryland also added two top freshman attackers, Julia Hoffman and Madison Rielly, that could contribute. The Terrapins are the favorites again in the conference and nationally.

Northwestern
15-6, 5-1

The Wildcats graduated the season’s second-leading scorer Sheila Nesselbush, the program’s all-time draw control leader Shelby Fredericks, who also was third in the country in assists per game, and program top-20 scorer Danita Stroup. Northwestern hopes to return to the top 10 in scoring by reloading around Tewaaraton contender Selena Lasota, and their defense can lean on second-year goalie Julie Krupnick.

Penn State
10-10, 3-3

The Nittany Lions were only .500 but they can’t be overlooked. They lost five games by a goal apiece. Penn State will be looking to shore up a defense that ranked last in scoring defense among conference teams. Leading scorer Maria Auth and Madison Carter, who led the team in goals and draw controls, are back to lead an offense that placed top 15 nationally. Penn State is still a dangerous team capable of beating anyone.

Johns Hopkins
10-9, 3-3

The Blue Jays also lost five games by a goal apiece, and will be looking in particular for a better finish after dropping seven of their final 10 games. Hopkins can focus on being more efficient on free positions, where they ranked last in the conference. Sophomore midfielder Shelby Harrison is one of the best on the draw in the league and Jeanne Kachris is a top defender in front of returning goalie Haley Crosson. Hopkins also has its top three scorers back.

Michigan
7-10, 2-4

The Wolverines' first season under head coach Hannah Nielsen ended with a thrilling 12-11 win over Penn State with two goals in the final six seconds. Michigan’s only significant graduation loss is second leading scorer, Bianca Brueckner. The conference’s lowest scoring offense will be helped by improving a draw control ranked last as well. Midfielder Molly Garrett, who led the team with 50 draw controls, is their top returning player.

Rutgers
7-10, 1-5

Samantha Budd and Taralyn Naslonski will bolster the scoring on offense and top assister Abbey Brooks returns as well for the Scarlet Knights. Rutgers hurt itself with the lowest shooting percentage in the conference. Rutgers also returns its starting defense with Christine DiLullo, Regina Sharp, Brianna Cirino and Jenna Martinelli. Returning starter Devon Kearns and Kameron Halsall will contend for the goalie spot as the team looks to be more competitive.

Ohio State
5-10, 1-5

Jill Rizzo led the NCAA in saves per game and topped the conference in ground balls, but for the Buckeyes to improve they don’t want their junior goalie having that much action. Baley Parrott returns to ignite the attack. Turnovers were a particularly troubling area a year ago. Ohio State would love to snap a trend that has seen them win fewer games for four consecutive years.