US Lacrosse Magazine released the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Preseason Top 20 on Dec. 17. Team-by-team previews will be unveiled on uslaxmagazine.com through the end of the month and will also appear as part of the magazine’s NCAA preview edition in February.

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No. 3 Maryland

2019 Record: 22-1, (6-0, Big Ten)
Coach: Cathy Reese (14th year)
Assistants: Lauri Kenis, Caitlyn Phipps

All-Time Record: 730-137-3
NCAA Appearances: 36
Final Fours: 27
Championships: 14

2020 Schedule

Save the Date
Feb. 22

Former ACC rivals North Carolina and Maryland have played some incredible games over the years, including a 13-12 double-overtime thriller last year in College Park. This year’s game could show where Maryland is early on and just how good it could be by season’s end.

Opportunity Knocks for Next Wave of Terps

For Maryland women’s lacrosse, each new season is treated as a separate chapter. The story of the previous year is closed, no matter how it ended. When returning players arrive back for the fall, it’s back to trying to figure out how the new team can play to its highest potential.

This year, that’s more of a challenge.

Coming into last year, the Terps knew they’d have to replace Megan Whittle’s prolific scoring, but they had a glut of talented playmakers and an experienced core on the defensive end.

Fast-forward one year later, and that NCAA championship-winning core is mostly gone. Stalwarts Jen Giles and Caroline Steele have graduated, as has impact transfer Erica Evans. The losses are even greater on defense, including Tewaaraton Award-winning goalie Megan Taylor and IWLCA Defender of the Year Julia Braig as well as senior Lizzie Colson, who tore her ACL training for Team USA over the summer. A team spokesperson confirmed to US Lacrosse Magazine on Tuesday that Colson will redshirt and miss the 2020 season.

“When you have a more advanced team, you can pick out where you left off,” Reese said. “There’s just a lot of teaching and getting back to the fundamentals and basics.”

The fall was one of opportunity, the chance for returners to show they’re ready for bigger roles. And for the No. 1 recruiting class, according to Inside Lacrosse, to inject some new energy into the program.

Several freshmen, including midfielders Shaylan Ahearn and Emma Schettig and defender Catherine Flaherty, have a chance to contribute right away.

“I was really impressed with our freshman class,” Reese said. “[They] are what Maryland lacrosse is about: coming out, doing what you can competing at a high level, being a good teammate, raising the bar of everyone around you.”

The cupboard is never bare in College Park. Brindi Griffin is back for her senior year after an incredible final four performance. Senior Kali Hartshorn has been a three-year starter at attack and is one of the best in the country at taking the draw. Junior Grace Griffin is poised to become Maryland’s next star midfielder, and fifth year senior Meghan Doherty will be a leader on the defensive end.

“[I’m] just excited for the possibilities with this group,” Reese said. “There’s so much potential, and we just need to find a way to make the most of it.”

Projected Starters

A - Brindi Griffin – Sr. – 44 G, 24 A
A – Kali Hartshorn – Sr. – 48 G, 137 DC
A – Catie May – Jr. – 13 G, 14 A
A – Hannah Leubecker – Fr. – 119 G, 43 A (high school)
M – Grace Griffin – Jr. – 45 G, 12 A
M- Hannah Warther – Sr. – 12 G, 3A
M – Shaylan Ahearn – Fr. – 52 G, 15 A (high school)
D – Meghan Doherty – RSr. – 22 GB, 17 CT
D - Tori Barretta – Jr. – 7 games
D – Emma Schettig – Fr. – 29 GB, 25 CT (high school)
D – Catherine Flaherty- Fr. - 58 GB, 32 CT (high school)
G – Maddie McSally – So. – 4.16 GAA, 66.7 SV%

Tewaaraton Watch
Kali Harsthorn, A, Sr.

Griffin also could fit in this category, as her six-goal NCAA semifinal performance perhaps a foreshadowing of a prolific senior season. But Hartshorn, a fourth-year starter, can score just as frequently while also standing out as one of the nation’s best draw specialists.

X Factor
Grace Griffin, M, Jr.

Cathy Reese’s teams always have outstanding midfield play. With Jen Giles and Erica Evans departing, the lead role now falls to Griffin. The Sykesville, Md., native had to play defense in the fall to help break in a young group, and that should only make her better this spring.

National Rankings

52 and 55

Maryland lost 52 percent of its goals and 55 percent of its starts to graduation, the first time they’ve lost more than 50 percent in both categories since 2008. That didn’t stop the Terps in 2009, as they went 21-1 and made the first of 11 straight final fours.

Enemy Lines

“They lose kids every year. They just put the next ones in. I think they’re going to be just fine. I’m not going to shed any tears over Maryland graduating some kids.”