This story was originally published in US Lacrosse Magazine following the 2015 NCAA championship game. Because ESPNU is airing championship games from previous years this Memorial Day Weekend to fill the void left by COVID-19, we are resharing this article as it originally appeared.

Megan Whittle surprised one of her teammates when she first spoke up in a huddle.

“It talks!” the teammate joked.

Whittle, a sophomore at McDonogh (Md.) School at the time, was about to make an even louder statement. On April 21, 2012, in a national No. 1 vs. No. 2 showdown against Garden City, the little 5-foot-4 attacker whipped a behind-the-back shot that wooed the crowd and ignited a 20-9 blowout of the Trojans. Whittle scored seven goals that day, proving she could hold her own alongside the Eagles’ senior star named Taylor Cummings.

A wave of, “Oh my God, who’s this Megan Whittle?” swept through the nation as McDonogh swept the rest of its competition — as it has now for 133 straight games, a streak that has Cummings and Whittle’s imprints all over it.

Garden City coach Diane Chapman all but threw her hands up after that game. “They’re No. 1 for a reason,” she told the Baltimore Sun. “They’re in a league of their own.”

Everyone knew about Cummings. She was well on her way to becoming a two-time Nike/LM National Player of the Year. She scored game-winning goals with 9.8 seconds left and 59 seconds left in the 2011 and 2012 IAAM championship games, respectively.

“That’s Taylor Cummings for you,” Whittle said. “She’s the definition of clutch.”

But now they had deal with Whittle too.

“It was when Megan Whittle hit the spotlight,” said McDonogh coach Chris Robinson, who started working with Whittle when she was in fifth grade with M&D Lacrosse Club. “It was like her coming-out party.”

Early in 2011, Robinson saw his first glimpse of what Cummings and Whittle could do together. Against St. Anthony’s (N.Y.), Whittle came off the bench in the beginning of the second half and sprinted down the field. Cummings underthrew her. After stretching her left hand as far back as possible to grab it with the tip of her stick, Whittle shot a fastball into the upper corner of the cage while falling to the ground. 

Three years later, Whittle again let the lacrosse world know she was more than just Cummings’ sidekick, working in tandem with the two-time Tewaaraton winner to lead Maryland to a 9-8 comeback win over North Carolina in the NCAA championship game May 24 at PPL Park in Chester, Pa.

They punctuated a near-perfect season for the Terps en route to their second straight NCAA title, third in six years and 12th overall — a season that saw a couple of parallels between McDonogh and Maryland.

First, Robinson and Maryland coach Cathy Reese structure their programs similarly. They encourage creativity, but demand hustle. Players won’t get pulled out of a game for a missed shot or a dropped pass, but they’re expected to make up for it in the next play. 

Second, Cummings and Whittle know what to expect being No. 1 in the country. In 2012, McDonogh blew out everyone until facing stiffer competition in the playoffs, similar to when Maryland was stunned by Ohio State in the Big Ten tournament. The Terps would go on to say that the 11-10 loss, their lone defeat in 22 games this season, allowed them to refocus down the stretch.

“Something that I learned is that in college, it’s very hard to be perfect,” Whittle said. “Cathy was saying, ‘If you strive for perfection, you’ll land among excellence.’”

Robinson said McDonogh players develop a sense of fearlessness. “You’re going to take that punch in the first half all the time," he said. "Their experience here at McDonogh and what they’ve seen at Maryland helps them stay poised, but also allows them to dig deep and bring a whole other level of intensity when the team needs it.”

Maryland really needed it. The Terps had crushed Northwestern in the NCAA quarterfinals — ending the Wildcats’ run of 10 straight final fours — and milked a 10-8 semifinal win over Syracuse that loomed large in the NCAA rules committee's decision to recommend a shot clock (see page 2). But they trailed North Carolina 6-3 and were losing draws, a rare occurrence with Cummings at center.

“It’s an emotional turning point when you say, ‘I’m not losing this game,’” Whittle said.

Kelly McPartland and Brooke Griffin scored the first two goals of the second half to cut the deficit to one, at which point Alice Mercer, a junior All-American defender, turned to Whittle and said, “I don’t care if you’re a freshman. You can do this.”

First, Whittle drew a double team and found a wide-open Cummings at the top of the 8-meter for a goal to tie the game at 6. Then Whittle scored two goals in a span of 1:05 on nearly identical wing dodges from the left side to put Maryland up 8-6.

In the ultimate sign of respect for the freshman, North Carolina face-guarded Whittle for the rest of the game. Cummings took advantage of the extra elbowroom to score the eventual game-winner with 11:57 remaining.

“It was really a power trip,” said Megan Douty, Maryland’s senior All-American defender. “It was just a total 360. They definitely turned that game around.”

Watching Cummings and Whittle go to work reminded Robinson of that goal against St. Anthony’s and the numerous times they pulled his McDonogh team out of the mud.

“It’s nice to sit back and watch and know that they’re coming to Maryland,” Reese said. “When you sit back, you can be really excited for your future at that point. We knew that they were two special players.”

Cummings, already a favorite to become the first three-time Tewaaraton winner next year, took a larger role on defense this season in part to compensate for the graduation of Beth Glaros. She hit the 100-point mark with 63 goals and 37 assists to go with her 143 draw controls and 36 caused turnovers.

Cummings and Reese knew Whittle could make up the difference for Glaros on offense. Whittle scored 67 goals.

“We don’t always know a lot about the incoming freshman class, but it’s hard to not know when you’re getting the No. 1 recruit in the nation,” said Cummings, who could have been talking about herself circa 2013. “In the championship game, she didn’t play like a freshman, which was what we needed. I wouldn’t say she was necessarily unknown coming in, but she’s definitely known now.”