No. 7 Maryland women’s lacrosse needed a new offensive leader headed into its season opener against No. 11 Syracuse.

On Friday, junior attacker Lauren Lapointe was the answer.  

Lapointe tallied a career-high five goals to guide the Terps to a season-opening win over the Orange, 9-5.  

But Lapointe’s offense wasn’t Maryland’s only strength. 

On the defensive end, junior goalie JJ Suriano was a brick wall. She recorded 16 saves — a mark she only reached twice last season.  

Suriano was a key factor in Syracuse’s lack of scoring and outdueled her opponent, Syracuse goalie Daniella Guyette, who didn’t reach double digits on Friday. Suriano had eight saves in the first half alone, while Guyette only finished with seven. 

Guyette’s difficult performance started early as the Terps looked to set the tone. 

They did just that. 

Kayla Gilmore earned a penalty shot and connected for the first goal of the game, creating a lead that the Terps held throughout. 

While Maryland built its advantage, it seemed like the Orange would punch back. They didn’t. 

The Terps struck three times in the opening frame, twice from Lapointe. She entered the scorebook as Kori Edmonson dodged through the defense and found her for the second goal of the game. It became a trend; Lapointe found the back of the net multiple times on Friday. 

Lapointe’s third goal came from an odd angle. She positioned herself at the goal line and got a good look from Kristen Shanahan, who scored just before, then snuck it past Guyette in a “no angle” shot. Shanahan had two goals in Syracuse on Friday.

Then, the young core woke up. Ava Meyn earned her first collegiate goal with three minutes left in the first half.  The top freshman recruit was helped by a top returner, Edmonson. Edmonson rifled an assist to Meyn for a goal she’ll never forget. 

Defensively, the Terps held firm. 

The Orange had a plethora of poor shots from almost every player, either hitting the post or being too slow and easily stopped by Suriano.

Emma Ward, Syracuse’s former attack facilitator, was glaringly missing in this game. She graduated last year and was a key player, especially in last year’s game against Maryland. 

Syracuse started the game gaining the first possession after the draw between sophomore Molly Guzik and Gilmore. They made three attempts at shooting, but Maryland’s defense held them off.

Syracuse only got production from Caroline Trinkaus, Guzik, Joely Caramelli and Mileena Cotter. But the Orange started the second quarter with a bang as Trinkaus scored a minute in and later scored again in the third quarter.

Trinkaus was one of the younger key players for the Orange last season. She had a hat trick in the last season’s matchup in College Park. 

In midfield for Syracuse, Guzik stayed consistent on the draw and was key to helping the Orange gain possession despite them not being able to capitalize a lot afterwards.

The Terps began their 2026 season strongly with a dominating performance from Lapointe and company. She recorded 29 goals last season and looks to crush that total moving forward.