Kali Hartshorn was not expecting to take the draw control for Maryland last year.

The Terps were wide open for options and she emerged.

“We kind of just threw her into that role,” said Maryland coach Cathy Reese. “This comes on the heels of Taylor Cummings taking the draw for us for four years. Kali stepped in as a freshman and embraced it and went with it.”

Not only did Hartshorn replace the three-time Tewaaraton Award winner Cummings, but the sophomore attacker solidified her spot in the circle and now remains on pace to surpass the legend’s career draw control record as she heads into her second final four.

“I really wanted to make an impact,” Hartshorn said. “I wanted to try to be a leader out there as a sophomore if I could be. I really wanted to focus on the draw. The draw is so important. It either gets us the draw or loses us the ball. I wanted to get the draw as much as I did last year or maybe even more. I wanted to be good.”

Friday’s second semifinal of the NCAA tournament at Stony Brook is a rematch of last year’s championship game won by Maryland, 16-13, over Boston College. On top of scoring two goals on three shots and adding an assist, Hartshorn had seven draw controls in that win, one fewer than her adversary Sam Apuzzo from BC. Both are back taking the draw this year.

“The rules that changed for the draw this year have definitely made it a different draw,” Hartshorn said. “The Boston College girl who takes the draw is great. It’s going to be a really good matchup. I think we’re going to need all three of the girls on the circle, not just myself, to get involved to come out on top draw-wise.”

The two balanced teams tied in draw controls in last year’s matchup, 15-15, and it figures to be tight again. Through 20 games this year, Hartshorn has 135 draw controls to rank 12th in the country in draw controls per game. Apuzzo ranks 11th.

“Now, we’re at the point where she has a year under her belt, and her and Apuzzo are probably close to having similar amounts of draw controls,” Reese said. “She’s gaining confidence as the season goes on. She’s learning what works for her, what works for the team, and how to draw against different people. It’s an area for me that I truly admire about her. She studies that part of the game to be her best at it, and she’s come up with things to try that I can’t offer any assistance on because she knows more than me about it. ... It’s pretty cool to have watched her kind of get thrown in as a freshman and then embrace the role and gain confidence as she’s gone through her sophomore season.”

Hartshorn had 112 in 23 games as a freshman, and her 247 draw controls in 43 games put her ahead of Cummings, who had 222 in 47 games after her sophomore year. Cummings finished with 509 career draw controls.

“It was a reality check coming from high school to here,” Hartshorn said. “It’s not just about overpowering each other. It’s about flicking your wrists and actually trying to put it somewhere you want to put it.”

Hartshorn wasn’t just filling some big shoes last year. She was confronted early by the legacy she was about to join.

“I came here really kind of blind,” Hartshorn said. “I didn’t even know I was going to take the draw. So coming in here, and coming up against Dana Dobbie for the alumni game and having her work me, I needed someone to teach me some things. Having the alumni group that’s come through here, whether it’s Taylor or Dana or Karri Ellen [Johnson] when they did the draw, they’ve come here and done such a good job of teaching me the techniques I need to know.”

Hartshorn was buoyed by the encouragement from those that took the draw controls before her even as they were showing her in the alumni game how much room she had to grow.

“I knew right then – this is going to be a challenge,” Hartshorn said. “I thought that was going to be a positive. I thought I was going to have girls here that could teach me how to do it. Just coming out of that, and figuring it out towards the middle of the season and the end of the season definitely helped me.

“Once the draw rules changed for this year, I got in a bit of a slump because I was just starting to get used to it from last year and to come back and switch it up made it a little difficult too.”

Hartshorn turned up her play last weekend. After securing just one draw control and seeing Denver hold an 11-10 draw advantage in the Terps’ second-round win, Hartshorn had a game-high 10 draw controls and led Maryland to a 21-13 draw edge over Navy in their 17-15 quarterfinal win.

“She went through her first conference season, and her first conference championship, and first NCAA tournament, and now she’s been there and done that," Reese said. "She’s seen and played against all these great teams that we’re playing all season long. I think that’s the same with everybody. Once you get a year of experience, you can settle in a little bit.

“Kali is someone that has such excellent stick work too that she’s so great at catching and finishing inside too. She’s a really good shooter. She has good hands, good stickwork, good field sense especially on the offensive end.”

Maryland is looking for more contributions from Hartshorn, who also sits fourth on the team with 34 goals and 39 points. Her goals and assists are actually a little down from a year ago.

“For me, it’s not goals and assists and who has the most and who doesn’t, as long as I’m going out there and contributing in some form,” Hartshorn said. “I’m excited for anyone that scores or picks up a draw, whether it’s Lizzie [Colson] or Meg [Siverson]. In the same regard, I have the same role to go out there and win the draw, score some goals, but if it’s not going my way in goals, hopefully it’s going my way in draws that game. I try to pick up on what I’m lacking one game to another.”

Hartshorn and the Terps haven’t been lacking much. They’re 20-1 with their lone loss coming in overtime. Their makeup may be a bit different from last year’s championship, but they are confident in every piece from front to back.

“Our biggest area of improvement has been our defense,” Reese said. “We’re growing together in the right direction. You have Meg Taylor who’s anchoring everything back there. Julia Braig has been our backbone of our defense. Lizzie Colson has had such a tremendous sophomore season [after] she didn’t play much last year, and Meg Doherty is a sophomore back there. Kathy Rudkin transferred to us and came from a completely different style of defense coming from Syracuse. We’ve had an opportunity as we’ve grown to put these pieces together and watch how not only we can grow individually but how we can mesh together as a team defensively.”

Hartshorn is looking forward to her second final four. After having strong upperclass leaders help ease her nerves last year, she’s ready to use her experience for a chance to repeat as champions.

“We’re coming into a good spot,” Hartshorn said. "Everyone is excited to play. Everyone is excited to leave and go to New York. Being in the final four will push us to play a good game on Friday.”