After suffering its first loss of the season last Thursday, No. 3 Maryland women’s lacrosse ends its regular season on a road trip.
The Terps will play No. 11 Michigan on Thursday at 8 p.m. in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in their second-to-last regular-season game as they gear up for Big Ten play.
Michigan
Michigan currently has a record of 10-4 on the season and has a Big Ten Conference record of 4-2. The Wolverines lost to No. 9 Johns Hopkins on April 12 by a significant margin of 13-6.
Three of their six goals were scored by sophomore attacker Caroline Byrd, who was a standout as a freshman last year, earning a spot on the Big Ten Freshman Team.
Byrd has a high average shots on goal percentage of 84% and is second on Michigan for assists and fourth for points overall.
Junior attacker Emma Bradbury has the most points with 32 goals and 12 assists.
In the midfield, the team has an exceptional player in draw control, Emma Burke, who is ranked second in the conference with 130 draw controls, only six shy of her record at Michigan.
In goal, the Wolverines have freshman Elizabeth Johnson, who has been making strong defensive stands and proving she belongs out on the field early in her collegiate career.
Johnson has an average save percentage .466 and has earned No.9 for Inside Lacrosse’s Impact Freshman.
Maryland
Maryland has never lost to Michigan in school history.
Last year, the Terps beat the Wolverines 13-10 in the Big Ten tournament, and earlier in the season, beat them 14-12.
In that championship game, Jordyn Lipkin, Lauren LaPointe, and Kori Edmondson were the top scorers.
LaPointe and Edmondson have remained high up in the points for Maryland, and graduate midfielder Lipkin isn’t far behind, landing at fifth on the team for points earned.
LaPointe has continued her reign over the offensive stats, now at 48 goals and 21 assists. Her shots-on-goal percentage is 76.5%. The junior is ranked 16th in the NCAA for total goals and has scored in every game this season.
Senior midfielder Edmondson has worked her way up this season and is now third on the team in points with 46 in total, and she has earned a spot on the Tewaaraton Watch List along with several of her teammates.
The last line of defense, JJ Suriano, has maintained a save percentage above 50% in the past two games, with an average of .529 — the best mark in the nation.
The final weekend will be a critical building block for the postseason against two respectable Big Ten opponents.
