No. 2 seed Maryland women’s lacrosse returns to NCAA Final Four for 12th time in 13 seasons with 18-5 thumping of No. 7 Florida

In the world of women’s college lacrosse, all is right — at least from Maryland’s perspective.

After a 2021 season in which the Terps were restricted by the Big Ten to conference-only competition and were forced to deal with other coronavirus pandemic-related limitations before absorbing a premature second-round exit from the NCAA Tournament, they will be one of the last four teams with a chance to capture the 2022 national title.

No. 2 seed Maryland outscored No. 7 seed Florida 15-3 over the final three quarters Thursday afternoon to cruise to an 18-5 drubbing in an NCAA Tournament quarterfinal before an announced 744 at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex.

The Terps (19-1) earned their 12th Final Four appearance in the last 13 full seasons (2020 not included). They will meet No. 3 seed and reigning national champion Boston College (18-3) — a 20-13 winner over No. 6 seed Loyola Maryland (20-2) — on Friday at either noon or 2:30 p.m. at Johns Hopkins’ Homewood Field.

Maryland’s march to the NCAA semifinals might go a long way toward helping the players, coaches and fans forget last year’s 13-12 loss to unseeded Duke.

“We’ve been working so hard the past couple of years to get to this point,” said junior attacker Libby May, a Sparks resident and Hereford graduate who led all players with five goals. “We’re so proud of ourselves. It’s been a journey, but we’re really excited for next weekend. We know that if we just focus on us and playing our game, any outcome is going to take care of itself.”

Of the 36 players on the Terps roster, only graduate student midfielder Grace Griffin and graduate student defender Torie Barretta played substantial minutes for the 2018 squad that reached the Final Four and the 2019 team that collected the school’s NCAA-record 14th national title.

“Most of our team hasn’t even competed in this round,” coach Cathy Reese said. “But it’s another game. We’ve just got to come out and play lacrosse. … Just trying to keep us composed where we can just take things one play at a time and not let the environment get too big for us, and it didn’t. They just played, and they competed. This is what they wanted, this was one of their goals, and we get another week together, and I’m excited about that.”

Besides May, Maryland got three goals each from a trio of attackers in junior Hannah Leubecker, a Forest Hill resident, graduate student Aurora Cordingley and sophomore Victoria Hensh, a Woodstock resident and Marriotts Ridge graduate. Another attacker, sophomore Eloise Clevenger, a Woodstock resident and Marriotts Ridge graduate, added a game-high four assists.

The offense was afforded several opportunities by a draw unit led by junior Shaylan Ahearn. The Woodbine resident and Glenelg Country graduate controlled 11 draws, and graduate student defender Abby Bosco added four of her own as the Terps won 16 of 27.

After the Gators won six consecutive draws spanning the first two quarters, Ahearn corralled four straight to help Maryland take a 6-3 lead into halftime. The draw unit controlled 7 of 9 in the third quarter to spark an 8-1 run.

“Once she kind of settled in and could figure out what was happening and make adjustments we talked about, she made those changes, and they were huge because obviously we were having to make stops in order to have possession,” Reese said of Ahearn. “She’s been playing out of her mind in the center circle these past couple of games, and it’s been awesome.”

The Terps were just as stellar on defense. Junior goalkeeper Emily Sterling, a Bel Air resident and John Carroll graduate, gave up only five goals and made eight saves for a .615 save percentage.

Bosco compiled four ground balls and two caused turnovers while limiting sophomore midfielder Danielle Pavinelli, Florida’s leader in both goals (73) and points (99), to one goal on seven shots and one assist. Junior defender Brianna Lamoureux contained Gators freshman attacker Emma LoPinto, who entered the game with 62 goals and 34 assists, to one goal on four shots and zero assists.

Maryland also held Florida to season-low goal totals in the first half (three) and the game (five), and the Gators were tagged with their most lopsided NCAA postseason loss.

“We wanted to know where they wanted to drive from, and we needed to send the help to those spots and then recover through the middle,” said Sterling, who was replaced by senior Maddie McSally, a West Friendship resident and Glenelg graduate who made four stops and did not allow a goal in 7:27. “I think our defense did such a good job at explaining that to each other, communicating that to each other, and taking away what Florida wanted to look at. They made my job super easy back there by just taking all of their looks away.”

Redshirt sophomore goalie Sarah Reznick made nine saves for Florida (17-5), which has not advanced to the Final Four since 2012. Coach Amanda O’Leary said she did not notice many differences between the current Terps squad and previous teams that reached the national semifinals 11 times in Reese’s 16-year tenure.

“This is a fantastic team,” O’Leary said. “Cathy and her staff have done an amazing job with them. She’s got some great transfers that have added into the program. I just see this as a really solid team from top to bottom — good offensively, good defensively and they have a solid keeper and certainly some really good middies.”

NCAA Final Four

NO. 3 BOSTON COLLEGE VS. NO. 2 MARYLAND

At Johns Hopkins’ Homewood Field

Next Friday, noon or 2:30 p.m.

TV: ESPNU