Keeley Block’s OT winner sends No. 2-seed Maryland women’s lacrosse past No. 3-seed Johns Hopkins, 15-14, in Big Ten tournament semifinal

Coming out of the half with a five-goal lead, No. 2-seed Maryland women’s lacrosse looked set to cruise to an easy win in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. But after a disastrous second half, the Terps found themselves locked in a stalemate and headed into their first overtime period of the season.

Then, freshman Lyla Ingrilli took a gutsy charge, giving Maryland the possession it needed. Keeley Block took full advantage of the opportunity, drilling a point-blank strike into the net with 70 seconds left in extra time to send the Terps to the conference championship.

In a game far too close for comfort, Maryland survived a second-half revival from No. 3-seed Johns Hopkins and came out on top, 15-14.

The Terps were humming on defense, forcing Johns Hopkins to rush on offense and commit 17 turnovers. Going into Friday, Maryland’s 6.3 caused turnovers per game ranked dead last in the Big Ten — it has struggled to force giveaways all season long despite a satisfactory defensive season.

Backline success allowed the Terps to explode on offense as they jumped out to a 3-1 lead eight minutes into the game.

However, sophomore defender Riley McEnroe struggled to contain sharpshooter Lacey Downey, allowing the Blue Jay to snipe two goals in a row. Then, Downey secured her hat trick with 57 seconds to go in the opening frame, giving Johns Hopkins its first lead of the game.

Even when Lauren LaPointe and Kristen Shanahan went back-to-back to return the advantage to Maryland, Downey would not be denied. She scored her fourth goal of the contest and third from outside the arc to level the game 19 minutes in.

But where the Blue Jays relied on individual success, Maryland’s offense scored by committee. Five Terps recorded multi-goal performances Friday, including Jordyn Lipkin, who potted two goals and three assists to mark her third game in a row with at least three points.

A Devin Livingston draw control following Lipkin’s second goal sent the Terps charging down the field. Emma Abbazia stalked outside the fan, looking to hold the ball for the last shot of the half. Working from the right elbow, the sophomore deked twice before delivering a strike that pinballed just past the goal line to round out the half.

Not one of Maryland’s 14 first-half shots was placed outside the frame. The Terps took advantage of an inexperienced netminder in Ashley Langdon and a flawed zone defense to outscore Johns Hopkins 7-1 in a monstrous second quarter.

The offensive outburst was also fueled by dominance on the turf, as Maryland’s backline outdid the Blue Jays on ground balls, 4-1, in the second quarter. This gave the Terps the offensive possessions they needed to excel.