After a disappointing season-opening loss at home against Syracuse, Maryland women’s lacrosse breezed past its next two opponents in Georgetown and Saint Joseph’s. 

The Terps sustained that momentum once more on Saturday, notching a close 14-10 win against Denver at Maryland’s Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex. 

In a similar vein to Maryland, Denver entered play on a three game winning streak after losing its first two games of the season.

With Emelia Bohi in goal — the shot stopper who held an NCAA-leading 6.43 GAA in 2023 — it was unknown how many of Maryland’s shots would translate into goals. But from the first whistle, the Terps put Bohi under immense pressure with each shot that left their sticks. 

The Terps got on the board early as Jordyn Lipkin scored her then fifth goal of the season, which was assisted by junior Kori Edmondson. But 12 seconds later Denver’s Caroline Colimore fired back by winning the draw and taking the ball to the back of the net by herself. 

Despite the early goal trade, Maryland dominated the opening quarter and got one last goal by Chrissy Thomas to finish the period with a 5-2 advantage. 

Contrasting to the first quarter, Denver’s offensive presence took over as the Pioneers embarked on a 4-0 run in only six minutes. 

Constant penalties against Maryland allowed the Pioneers to score a plethora of their goals. Raegan Wilson scored the third goal to tie the game 5-5 on a man-up free position. Shortly after, freshman Eva Thomsen-Marr scored the free position that allowed Denver to take its first lead of the game.

During halftime, Maryland head coach Cathy Reese talked to her team in an effort to regain the momentum that her side carried in the opening quarter.

Edmondson said she felt the speech turned a page for herself and the team.

Reese critically made a change on draws coming out of halftime, swapping Kayla Gilmore for Haily Russo. That shift changed the narrative of the game for the second half as Maryland consistently capitalized by gaining possessions from the start of each play. 

“Sometimes players are gonna match up better than others so when we went to that switch it thankfully turned out to be the right move” Reese said. 

Maryland went on a three-goal run for the first three minutes of the third quarter, but that was soon interrupted when Denver’s Caroline Bowers scored. Luckily, that wasn’t the end of the Terps’ halftime momentum. They scored four more goals by the end of the quarter. 

On the last of those one for the third quarter goals, Maryland found itself at a two player advantage for 42 seconds, encouraging Reese to call a timeout as she worked out a strategy that would push her team’s lead to five. 

Following the stoppage, Edmondson converted for the Terps, pushing their lead to 12-7. It was her third, but not final, goal of the day. She scored one more during the game’s final moments, finishing the day with four goals and two assists.

After Edmondson’s hat trick, Denver had a quick goalie switch for a last minute attempt to find the equalizer. Beginning the fourth quarter Denver did force some tension among the Maryland faithful, as the Pioneers scored three consecutive goals. But that later spurt wasn’t enough to overcome their third-quarter deficit.

Thomas halted Denver’s three-goal run when she scored her second of the game, and third of the season, with a free position. That score virtually iced the game as Maryland shut down Denver’s offense over the final five minutes.

The Terps will hit the road for the first time this season, when they head to Harrison, Virginia next Saturday. They’ll face James Madison at noon, with the hopes of extending their winning streak to four.