There’s a difference to be seen in Megan Taylor this year, and a difference to be heard.

Maryland’s sophomore goalie was the Big Ten Goaltender of the Year last season in front of a veteran defense, yet like many recent Maryland goalies, she often was overshadowed by her team’s outstanding field players like three-time Tewaaraton Award winner Taylor Cummings. Cummings is gone, the Terrapins defense is younger, and Taylor has been playing and sounding more like a veteran.

“From this year to last year, she’s become more of a leader,” senior defender Nadine Hadnagy said. “Last year, she was a freshman and she’s not the most outspoken. She’s a very shy girl unless you to get to know her. This year, she’s so open and she’s there helping us. She’s communicating at all times and her speaking up extra helps us that much more defensively and hopefully giving her more lower angle shots to help herself as well.

“She’s a lot more open this year. Last year she was so quiet. You didn’t really hear her on defense.”

Taylor is talking more, and her statistics are talking loud and clear. They speak to a more comfortable, confident and experienced player.

“I feel like I’m talking more, but last year I said what I had to say,” Taylor said. “I didn’t have to say anything else because the other people, they got it.”

Taylor knew she could be a louder leader this year, and she also wanted to develop as a player. She didn’t have much to change, but she worked at improving her play.

“Looking back, I’m big into fundamentals,” she said. “I want to make sure I’m in the best spots to make the save. Last year, I got in the habit of going to the pipe too fast in my personal opinion. I felt like I was getting there, but I would never make the save. I was half a step too far to the left. This year, I’m really sitting down. I want to put myself in the best position to make the save because my defense plays so amazing in front of me.”

Taylor leads the country with a 55.8 save percentage, and she is averaging 9.87 saves per game, which is 17th best in the nation. She has seen a staggering increase in chances with 148 saves this year through 16 games compared to just 76 last year.

“We’ve had some teams in the past that have held the ball on us and are trying to limit the number of shots they’re taking, but now with the possession clock, you have to look to go to goal pretty quickly,” Maryland coach Cathy Reese said. “She is having more opportunities, I think. In the way I see it, when a team gets the ball on offense, more than likely they’re going to generate a shot within 90 seconds, so she’s having more opportunity there to do her thing.”

In some of Maryland’s toughest matchups, it’s Taylor that has shone brightest. In a 17-7 win over Syracuse, she stopped 18 shots, including 12 of 13 free position shots. She also stopped seven of eight free position shots among a career-high 20 saves against Florida, the No. 2 scoring offense in the country, in an 18-8 win.

“I have great coaches,” Taylor said. “Caitlyn [Phipps] and I work on it every day in practice. I have the best shooters in the country also shooting on me every day in practice. They line up for free positions all the time. If I can stop them, I think I can stop anybody.”

Said Reese: “She loves the thrill of the competition and has so much respect for her opponents that she is welcoming of the challenge to compete.”

Taylor doesn’t expect to stop every shot. She is quick to move on when opponents do score. Her only concern his helping the Terrapins win.

“She is one of the most happy-go-lucky, fun, sweet, light-hearted, great spirited people out there,” Reese said. “She is down to earth and really tries to enjoy every moment. She puts a smile on everyone’s face around her. She’s a really special person.”

Hadnagy, a returning All-American, calls Taylor “the backbone” of the Maryland defense and its “safety net.” Taylor, though, attributes Maryland’s defensive success to her teammates.

“I’m getting recognition because of the save count, but I couldn’t do that without the defense in front of me,” Taylor said. “They’re doing all the dirty work.”