Emily Sterling waited until the ball rolled away to show any emotion.
The Maryland women’s lacrosse team cruised to a 17-7 win over James Madison on Sunday afternoon in College Park, a victory that sent the Terrapins to Thursday’s NCAA tournament quarterfinal against Florida (noon, ESPNU). But early in Sunday’s second-round matchup, it appeared the Terps’ standout goalie had been beaten.
A JMU attacker drew two Maryland defenders to the right edge of the net, leaving Kacey Knobloch open on the opposite side. Sterling flashed from left to right. Knobloch shot low. Sterling dropped down, and her left ankle made the save.
As the ricochet left the field of play, the fourth-seeded Terps’ goaltender jumped up and brought her arms down with a flourish before she stalked around the net — her net, recaptured.
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Sterling, the 2022 and 2023 Big Ten goaltender of the year, exited the Terps’ Big Ten tournament title game loss to Rutgers on April 27 with an undisclosed injury and then missed Friday’s first-round win over Robert Morris. But she showed few ill effects Sunday, making six saves in the first half. She faced just one shot in the third quarter before exiting in the fourth with the outcome decided.
“Emily is a force,” defender Meghan Ball said. “ … She just continues to amaze me. She just does her thing back there.”
The Terps were eliminated in this round last year, blowing a four-goal fourth-quarter lead to these Dukes in Harrisonburg, Va. In a regular season rematch, Maryland trailed by three before roaring back to win.
Maryland needed no such comeback this time. Nine Terps notched at least one point, eight scored, and four had multiple goals. Eloise Clevenger (Marriotts Ridge) had a career-high five goals to go with three assists, and Kori Edmondson scored four times.
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The Terps scored eight times before the Dukes could. Maryland (14-5) finished with 12 more shots and 10 more shots on goal than JMU (14-6).
“Our defense was fantastic. Emily had great saves back there. We had some great stops. We cleared the ball really well, and our offense was able to feed off that energy,” Terps Coach Cathy Reese said. “So all in all, it was a great team effort. Everyone did their job, they did their role, and we were successful today because of it.”
Clevenger started the scoring on the game’s first possession. Edmondson then netted two goals before Shaylan Ahearn bounced in a free position shot to put the Terps up 4-0.
JMU responded with a prolonged possession. But while the Dukes held the ball, they managed no scoring opportunities — Maryland kept them to the outside and swarmed the lone cutter who found space inside to deny a shot attempt.
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The possession ended when Ball, a four-time first-team all-Big Ten pick in her first season at Maryland after transferring from Rutgers, delivered a resounding stick check to force a turnover. A quick transition gave Maryland its fifth offensive possession, and Hannah Leubecker ended it with her squad’s fifth goal.
“We’ve changed our mind-set a lot this year from ‘I want to’ to ‘I will’ — and I think that we executed today,” Ahearn said.
JMU started goalie Emily Evans, a freshman who impressed in relief during the Dukes’ first-round win over Penn State on Friday. But Evans, who entered Sunday with seven career saves, was yanked without one after less than eight minutes.
Her replacement, Caitlin Boden, fared slightly better by making eight saves, but it mattered little as the Terps controlled possession. Ball, who caused two turnovers, also had three draw controls. Ahearn (Glenelg Country) had 11 draw controls — as many as JMU’s entire roster — and added two goals.
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“To have that dominance in the middle of the field and give our offense the chance to have those possessions was fantastic,” Reese said.
Maryland entered halftime up 12-2, and JMU never cut its deficit to single digits in the second half. A three-goal JMU run made it 15-5 early in the fourth quarter, but Leubecker stopped the surge with her team-best 52nd goal.
“By the end of the game, we started competing and found some energy,” Dukes Coach Shelley Klaes said. “… But just too many goals had been scored.”
Virginia women fall
In Charlottesville, No. 5 seed Virginia lost, 13-8, to Florida and was denied a quarterfinal matchup with Maryland. Mackenzie Hoeg and Katia Carnevale scored two goals apiece for the Cavaliers (15-5); Danielle Pavinelli had four for the Gators (19-2).
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