Fourth-quarter surge propels No. 3-seed Maryland women’s lacrosse to 14-10 win over No. 6-seed Navy in NCAA Tournament quarterfinal

No. 3-seed Maryland women’s lacrosse looked lost in the draw circle Thursday, dropping 12 straight faceoffs across nearly 30 minutes. Lead drawtaker Kayla Gilmore was removed from the circle in favor of freshman Leah Miller.

But as Miller couldn’t turn it around in the circle, Gilmore returned and stepped up. With the game tied at 10, the sophomore cut into the arc, receiving a pass before jamming the ball in the back of the net.

Despite glaring struggles in the draw circle and a crushing loss on defense, Maryland found itself late. Six different Terps netted multiple goals Thursday, securing their first NCAA tournament semifinal bid in four years with a 14-10 win over No. 6-seed Navy.

After a Midshipmen goal in the seventh minute, Maryland’s offense fired back. Kori Edmondson opened the Terps’ scoring, winding around the crease before unloading a sidearm shot into the back of the net. That score marked her 218th career point — pushing her past head coach Cathy Reese on the Maryland all-time points leaderboard.

A pair of transfers fed off of Edmondson’s energy, extending the lead to two before the close of the first quarter. Kristen Shanahan scored a close-range blast with four minutes left in the opening frame, and Keeley Block netted a right-elbow snipe less than two minutes later.

Maryland’s run continued into the second quarter, netting three goals in the frame’s five opening minutes, largely driven by its offense’s sharpshooting ability. The Terps put all of their first seven shots and 63% of their total shots on frame.

Navy’s saving grace came in the form of attacker Alyssa Chung. Maryland has previously been efficient at limiting high-volume scorers, but the Tewaaraton Award finalist was too much for its backline. Chung netted each of the Midshipmen’s opening four goals, finishing with seven points in Thursday’s contest despite being marked by star defender Maddy Sterling.

Chung’s performance drove Navy’s offense, which scored five second-quarter goals to shrink the deficit to one heading into the half.

But while Navy needed to force scores, the Terps used their opponents’ physicality to their advantage. Three of Maryland’s four second quarter scores came on player-up opportunities. It finished the day with six total goals from player-up situations or free positions.

Lauren LaPointe scored an eight-meter of her own with just over three minutes left in the half, unloading from distance to give the Terps their seventh goal of the game. LaPointe finished with a hat trick that put her season goal total at 64 — the highest single-player mark for a Terp since Aurora Cordingly in 2022.