The Terps search for their second straight win.
No. 9 Maryland women’s lacrosse (1-1) moved into the win column Tuesday, taking down Georgetown, 9-7.
However, the Terps almost blew a five-goal advantage. After holding an 8-3 lead late in the third quarter, they conceded four straight goals.
The freshman trio of Shelby Sullivan, Kayla Gilmore and Emma Abbazia combined for four goals, including Gilmore’s late goal to seal the victory. Kori Edmondson also picked up her fourth goal of the season, a team-high.
Maryland continues its four-game homestand Saturday with Saint Joseph’s. The contest will start at 3 p.m. and stream on Big Ten Plus.
Saint Joseph’s Hawks (1-3, 0-0 Atlantic 10)
2024 record: 11-7, 6-3 Atlantic 10
Eleventh-year head coach Alex Kahoe has instilled a winning culture with the Hawks. After recording losing seasons in her first two years at the helm, Kahoe has guided Saint Joseph’s to eight straight winning records. The Hawks earned their first Atlantic 10 Championship and NCAA Tournament berth in 2022.
Last season, Saint Joseph’s finished with an 11-7 record and made its eighth straight Atlantic 10 Tournament semifinal appearance. The Hawks fell, 10-9, to No. 1-seed Massachusetts on a late goal, though.
Saint Joseph’s dropped its first three games of the season against No. 15 Navy, Villanova and Penn State, before taking down Temple in its last contest.
Players to watch
Alexa Capozzoli, junior attacker, No. 7 — The 2023 Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year is fresh off an even better sophomore campaign. Capozzoli finished second on the team in assists (34) and points (57), while adding 23 goals last season. She has picked up where she left off this year, tallying four goals and 18 assists, the sixth-most in the nation.
Jorden Concordia, graduate student goalkeeper, No. 3 — Concordia was last season’s Atlantic 10 Goalkeeper of the Year and a force to be reckoned with in net. She notched the third-highest save percentage in the country at 52.9%. The 2025 campaign has gotten off to a rocky start, though, as she has allowed 50 goals and racked up just 35 saves.
Bella Miceli, senior midfielder, No. 19 — Last season, Miceli tallied a team-high 23 caused turnovers, 64 draw controls and gathered 30 ground balls, the third-most on the team, en route to All-Atlantic 10 second-team honors. Miceli is having another all-around year with 13 draw controls, eight caused turnovers and seven ground balls.
Strength
Faceoff unit. After sitting toward the bottom in the nation in draw control, the Hawks have taken strides to improve. It has worked significantly, holding a top-50 draw control percentage (52.9%) in the country on 13.5 draw controls per game. However, Maryland has been elite in that regard, with the eighth-best X unit.
Weakness
Scoring defense. Saint Joseph’s struggled to contain opposing attacks in the first three contests, conceding 14.3 goals per game — albeit against good competition. While the Hawks allowed seven goals in their last game, that will be an area of concern heading into Saturday’s matchup.
Three things to watch
1. Sloppiness in the attack. Early season rust is expected, especially when you factor in departures to key attackers. However, the Terps’ offensive unit has struggled to generate quality possessions and find the back of the net. Maryland has 36 turnovers — the 26th-most in the nation — and has produced 18 goals on 47 shot attempts.
2. Can Chrissy Thomas continue to provide a spark? The Terps have 10 assists through their first two contests, and Thomas has seven of them. The 5-foot-2 graduate student ranks seventh in the country in that regard.
2. One-way traffic. While this is a relatively new series between these two programs, Maryland has dominated the three previous meetings, outscoring Saint Joseph’s by a combined 37 goals.