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There’s only one undefeated team left in the Big Ten, and it’s No. 6 Maryland. The Terps took down reigning Big Ten champion No. 2 Northwestern, 15-9, in front of a standing-room-only crowd at the Field Hockey and Lacrosse Complex in College Park, Md. The win gives Maryland (14-1, 5-0 Big Ten) at least a share of the conference regular-season championship for the sixth time. The Terps can win the title outright by beating No. 19 Michigan next Saturday.

Northwestern falls to 13-3 and 5-1 in conference action. It’s the Wildcats’ first Big Ten loss since April 11, 2019, when they fell to Maryland, 13-7.

Maryland’s second-ranked scoring defense held Northwestern, which entered the week sixth nationally in goals per game, to its fewest goal total since the Wildcats lost to No. 1 North Carolina, 20-9, March 6. Emily Sterling, the nation’s leader in save percentage, made a career-high 16 stops. Libby May had a banner day of her own, scoring a personal-best seven goals to lead the Terps. Jill Girardi paced Northwestern with a hat trick.

Sterling was hot from the get-go. She made four saves on Northwestern’s first offensive possession and stopped six shots in nine minutes.

Offensively, the two teams stayed close early. Hannah Leubecker opened the scoring by dodging hard towards the net and firing a low shot past Madison Doucette to put the Terps ahead, 1-0, at 11:26. Shannon Smith followed about 80 ticks later with a goal from the left side of the cage.

Gilbert’s first of the day put Maryland on the board with 9:38 left in the first half, but May responded. Carleigh Mahoney and Samantha Smith scored for Northwestern to even the game at 3-3, but May struck again to give the Terps a 4-3 lead after one.

The Terps would never trail again. They scored the first three goals of the second quarter, going up 7-3 when Eloise Clevenger found Grace Griffin in front at 10:19. A May goal with 59 seconds left in the half gave Maryland a 10-5 lead.

The break didn’t stop Maryland’s offense. The Terps used a pair of goals from May and one apiece from Griffin and Clevenger to go ahead, 14-6, in the third quarter. The Wildcats’ lone goal of the stanza came from Girardi, who found the back of the cage with three seconds on the clock.

Northwestern outscored Maryland 3-1 in the fourth quarter, including two more from Girardi from the 8-meter, but it proved to be too little, too late.

HOPKINS BREAKS THROUGH ON SENIOR DAY

A sophomore shined brightest for Johns Hopkins on Senior Day. Georgie Gorelick netted four goals to lead Johns Hopkins (9-7, 1-4 Big Ten) to its first Big Ten win of the season, 17-14, over Ohio State (9-6, 2-3 Big Ten).

The two teams played to an 8-8 tie in the first half, but Hopkins took control in the opening minute of the third quarter when Annika Meyer reached up and intercepted a Lindsay Epstein pass. The Blue Jays pushed the pace in transition, with Madison McPherson finding Gorelick on the doorstep for a 9-8 JHU lead. Nicole Ferrara scored to even the game at 9-9 with 13:06 left in the third quarter. But Hopkins went on a 4-0 run capped when Gorelick took a feed from Claire Mills in front and scored for a 13-9 lead with 15 minutes to play.

The fourth quarter was the highest-scoring of the day, with OSU outscoring Johns Hopkins 5-4. Goals from Ferrara, Ali Beekhuizen and Chloe Johnson brought the Buckeyes within one, 13-12, with 10:29 left. But JHU closed the game on a 4-2 run. Gorelick put an exclamation point on the afternoon when she scooped a ground ball and scored with 17 seconds to play.

FLORIDA BEATS TEMPLE FOR 11TH STRAIGHT LEAGUE TITLE

Multiple winning streaks held for No. 9 Florida in an 18-7 win over Temple. The victory gave Florida its 11th consecutive regular-season conference championship — a remarkable feat for a 13-year-old program. The Gators (11-4, 4-0 AAC) have won 56-straight conference games, 44 of which have come during the regular season. They’re currently on a nine-game winning streak and moved to 13-0 all-time against Temple.

The win also puts pressure on the Owls (10-5, 3-1 AAC), a bubble team, to flip the script and take the AAC title this year if they hope to make the NCAA Tournament. They’ll likely have to break through against Florida to do it.

Danielle Pavinelli scored five goals and added two assists. Emerson Cabrera finished with a hat trick and Emma LoPinto tallied two goals and three assists. Nicolai Quinn led Temple with three goals.

The game was never in question. Pavinelli had a hat trick in the first 15 minutes of the contest, putting the Gators ahead 5-1 when she took a feed from LoPinto with three seconds left.

The barrage didn’t stop there. Shelton Sawers scored twice, and seven different Gators found the back of the cage during a second quarter that saw UF outscore Temple, 8-3, to take a 13-4 lead.

The pace slowed in the second half as the squads combined for eight goals. LoPinto’s goal with 8:13 to play in the fourth quarter was the final of the day.

ARMY EARNS HISTORIC WIN OVER NAVY

Army sang second for the first time in program history this afternoon in Annapolis, Md. The Black Knights, which became a Division I program in 2016, notched their first-ever win over Navy, 14-9, and handed their archrival its first conference loss of the season in the process. Julia Gorajek and Jolie Riedell each scored four goals for Army (11-5, 6-2 Patriot League), and Gil Eby did the same for Navy (13-3, 7-1 Patriot League).

The game was a back-and-forth affair for the first three quarters. The Black Knights held a 10-8 lead with 10:46 to play when Gorajek netted her fourth of the afternoon. The two sides remained scoreless for nearly five minutes until Kathleen Sullivan broke through with 5:55 left. Carleigh Armstrong followed with a score to cap a 3-0 run and put the Black Knights up 13-8 with 3:57 left. Neither side scored again until the final minute, with Alexis Bell finding the back of the cage for Navy with 56 seconds on the clock and Riedell netting her fourth of the day 19 ticks later.

NOTABLE

  • Notre Dame stormed back from a 12-9 third-quarter deficit to beat Louisville, 15-14. Kasey Choma scored five goals, and Maddie Howe added a hat trick, including the game-winner. Bridget Deehan was rock solid in net, posting 16 saves, and Kelly Denes pulled down 12 draws for the Irish. The win secures the fifth seed in the ACC tournament for Notre Dame (8-8, 3-5 ACC). Caroline Blalock was a bright spot for the Cardinals (7-10, 1-7), posting a game-high six points on five goals and one assist. 

  • No. 7 Stony Brook won its 10th straight game, beating UMBC 20-8 on Saturday night. Eli Masera had four goals and four assists and 10 different Stony Brook players scored at least one goal.

  • No. 8 Loyola rattled off 19-straight goals and shut out Lafayette in the second and third quarters in a 20-2 road rout. Livy Rosenzweig led the contest with six points on two goals and four assists, while Chase Boyle scored a game-high four goals for Loyola (15-1, 8-0 Patriot League). Kaitlyn Larsson stopped six shots and let in one goal in one half of work, while rookie Lauren Spence made four saves in the final 30 minutes. Olivia Cunningham scored one goal and added an assist on her Senior Day for Lafayette (2-12, 1-7 Patriot League).

  • Isabella Peterson poured in four goals, and James Madison used a 5-1 fourth-quarter effort to edge Delaware, 14-11. The win is the ninth straight for the Dukes, who move to 12-4 overall and remain undefeated in league play. Syndi Rose and Lizzie Hsu notched hat tricks for Delaware (5-10, 2-3 CAA).

  • No. 12 Princeton scored the first six goals of the fourth quarter, overcoming an 8-7 Harvard lead, and went on to beat the Crimson 14-9. Kyla Sears had four goals and three assists and Kate Mulham had three goals for the Tigers (10-3, 5-0 Ivy).

  • Fiona McGowan scored five goals, and Haley Connaughton tallied a goal and four assists in No. 17 UMass’13-11 win over Davidson. Amanda Monahan made 12 saves for Davidson (12-4, 6-3 A-10). The Wildcats led 8-5 at halftime and 9-5 with 11:58 left in the third quarter. But UMass — or, more accurately, McGowan — took over from there. The Minutewomen (15-2, 9-0 A-10) closed the game on an 8-2 run, with four goals coming from McGowan, to win.

  • Fueled by a balanced offense that saw five different players score at least three goals, No. 14 Rutgers downed Penn State, 18-13, to the delight of a season-high 1,252 fans at SHI Stadium. Cassidy Spilis led the way with five goals, and Taralyn Naslonski became Rutgers’ all-time leading goal scorer at 174. The win was the 13th of the season for RU (13-2, 3-2 Big Ten), a program record. Kristin O’Neill tallied three goals and three assists for Penn State (6-8, 0-5 Big Ten).

HOW THE TOP 20 FARED

No. 6 Maryland defeated No. 2 Northwestern, 15-9
No. 7 Stony Brook defeated UMBC, 20-8
No. 8 Loyola defeated Lafayette, 20-2
No. 9 Florida defeated Temple, 18-7
No. 10 Denver defeated Villanova, 16-8
No. 11 James Madison defeated Delaware, 14-11
No. 12 Princeton defeated Harvard, 14-9
No. 14 Rutgers defeated Penn State, 18-13
No. 15 Stanford defeated Cal, 18-11
No. 16 Connecticut defeated Butler, 22-15
No. 17 Massachusetts defeated Davidson, 13-11
No. 20 Richmond defeated George Mason, 21-9

ALL SCORES

Albany 14, UMass-Lowell 8
Brown 12, Cornell 11
Boston University 11, Bucknell 10
Central Michigan 12, Robert Morris 11
Colgate 16, American 15
No. 16 Connecticut 22, Butler 15
No. 10 Denver 16, Villanova 8
Detroit Mercy 14, Akron 8
Drexel 14, Elon 13
Duquesne 20, St. Bonaventure 12
East Carolina 15, Cincinnati 9
Fairfield 21, Canisius 11
No. 9 Florida 18, Temple 7
Gardner-Webb 15, Longwood 11
George Washington 13, VCU 8
High Point 18, Mercer 12
Hofstra 18, William & Mary 11
Jacksonville 20, Liberty 7
No. 11 James Madison 14, Delaware 11
Johns Hopkins 17, Ohio State 14
Lehigh 12, Holy Cross 4
LIU 14, Merrimack 11
No. 6 Loyola 20, Lafayette 2
Marist 15, Iona 12
No. 6 Maryland 15, No. 2 Northwestern 9
No. 17 Massachusetts 13, Davidson 11
Monmouth 12, Quinnipiac10
Mount St. Mary’s 13, Sacred Heart 9
New Hampshire 15, Binghamton 14
Notre Dame 15, Louisville 14
Penn 12, Dartmouth 4
No. 12 Princeton 14, Harvard 9
Radford 13, Presbyterian 10
No. 20 Richmond 21, George Mason 9
No. 14 Rutgers 18, Penn State 13
Saint Joseph’s 22, LaSalle 10
St. Francis (Pa.) 18, Central Connecticut State 14
No. 7 Stony Brook 20, UMBC 8
No. 15 Stanford 18, Cal 11
Vanderbilt 20, Old Dominion 9
Vermont 17, Bryant 13
Winthrop 20, Wofford 14
Yale 24, Columbia 14
Youngstown State 18, Kent State 11