Lipkin missed nearly all of last season with a foot injury.
Senior Jordyn Lipkin is having a year to remember for No. 7 Maryland women’s lacrosse as a reliable attacking option and one of the team’s top goalscorers.
Her journey to this point hasn’t been a steady ascend, though.
Lipkin missed nearly all of last year with a foot injury, but has returned even stronger. She has posted a career-high in goals this year and been key down the stretch with back-to-back hat tricks against Rutgers and then-No. 8 Johns Hopkins.
Early success
Lipkin grew up in Short Hills, New Jersey, and attended Millburn High School. She quickly rose to prominence in the lacrosse world, notching 76 goals and 38 assists as a freshman. However, Lipkin burst onto the national scene her sophomore year, breaking the 100-goal barrier and contributing 17 assists.
Without a junior campaign due to COVID-19, Lipkin finished her high school career with 439 draw controls, 252 ground balls, 232 goals and 74 assists.
Inside Lacrosse’s No. 17-ranked recruit in the class of 2021 had an abundance of offers to consider, including Maryland — one that had always been on her radar.
“I loved watching Jordyn play since the first time we saw her in club lacrosse,” head coach Cathy Reese said. “She loves the sport. She has so much fun when she plays. She has great stick skills, great field sense and great vision, but she’s a really good teammate. She made everyone around her better.”
Lipkin decided to pair up with fellow five-star recruits Maddy Sterling and Kennedy Major, hoping to add to the Terps’ nation-leading 15 NCAA Tournament championships.
A step back
After promising freshman and sophomore seasons, Lipkin’s third year was cut to one game. In the week following the Terps’ 16-3 season-opening win over Saint Jospeh’s, Lipkin’s junior year was derailed.
The knock came during the team’s ordinary midweek practice. Lipkin was preparing to evade her defender with a move she’d done many times before. Lipkin shuffled her feet and accidentally planted on the outside of her foot.
A pop sound ensued, loud enough for many of her teammates to hear. Lipkin immediately fell to the ground. She didn’t think much of it, though, and tried to stand back up, but the pain got exponentially worse.
Lipkin knew the injury was serious. An X-ray revealed a Jones fracture, meaning that the fifth metatarsal bone — which connects the base of the foot to the pinky toe — had snapped. She underwent surgery and was sidelined for the next five months, using a medical redshirt to gain an extra year of eligibility.
But Lipkin remained optimistic throughout the process, spinning the injury as a positive for her development and her knowledge of the game.
“It sucks in the moment. You obviously want to be playing, but you need to take advantage of what you have,” Lipkin said. “Watching the players that we did have, what was working, what wasn’t working, because that’s the most I can take away. It gives you a different perspective that you never know about until you get hurt.”
Reese echoed those comments, highlighting the growth opportunities that the injury enabled.
“Some freshmen are thrown right into the mix and they don’t have that chance to really kind of absorb everything that’s going on,” Reese said. “Jordyn watched last season and was able to pick up on things that different defenses do. … That’s helped her prepare coming into this season.”
A quick start to the season
After nearly a one-year absence, Lipkin has taken on a more established leadership role. She received a text message over winter break announcing her as one of the team’s five captains alongside Kori Edmondson, Chrissy Thomas, Neve O’Ferrall and Kennedy Major.
“[I] read over it twice to make sure I knew what I was reading,” Lipkin said. “I’m so blessed that my teammates voted for me, put me in this role, and I’m just excited to do whatever I can to lead us to success.”
It didn’t take long for Lipkin to display her improved qualities, as the attacker scored Maryland’s first two goals of the season against then-No. 6 Syracuse.
But Lipkin had just cracked the surface. She reached new heights nearly a month later against a familiar foe.
Lipkin — who grew up with two siblings: an older brother named Ben and a twin sister named Ally — was reunited with the latter on Mar. 13. Jordyn and Ally’s sibling rivalry had reached the collegiate level for the first time.
The sisters were always on the same side of the field throughout their childhood, playing on every team together growing up. But Jordyn and Ally realized it was best for them to attend different colleges.
Ally was also a top-100 recruit and decided to commit to Penn State. While the twins were competitors, Jordyn couldn’t hide her excitement battling it out in the same sport they spent many days in the backyard playing.
“There were some times we were on the field and ran by each other, which is kind of cool,” Jordyn said. “We’ll always remember [those moments growing up], but it’s [also] so fun playing her.”
Jordyn won the first and likely only matchup against her sibling, generating a career-high four goals and helping lead the Terps to a 19-11 victory.
That game was the turning point in Jordyn’s season, as her production continued to increase.
Calm under pressure
This year, Lipkin ranks second on the team with 33 goals on 48 shots on frame. But her presence is more than just those numbers.
“Her voice is another sense of calm and balance on offense,” Reese said. “We know that we can go to her. She’s constantly making adjustments, constantly wants to know what she can do better and how she can help the team in different ways.”
These characteristics have been on display particularly in two of Maryland’s prior contests. The New Jersey native scored consecutive goals against Rutgers to tie the game at five in the fourth quarter. And with the Terps’ offense struggling on Saturday, Lipkin took it upon herself to settle the team’s nerves, contributing its first three goals.
She has modeled her game after former Maryland player Aurora Cordingley, who was a graduate student during Lipkin’s freshman season. Cordingley posted 67 goals and 51 assists in her lone season as a Terp.
“[Aurora] was able to take over games and just had such a calm presence all the time,” Lipkin said. “I learned so much from her, and if I could ever implement stuff that she did, I would love to.”
Lipkin credits some of her quick success after recovery to training with Israel for the 2024 Women’s European Lacrosse Championship in the summer. She posted 17 goals and 13 assists across seven games.
As the Terps gear up for a potential postseason run, Lipkin’s play will be pivotal. But she has shown the capability of shouldering the offensive load and elevating her play when Maryland needs her most.