For the first time in three weeks, the Maryland women’s lacrosse team will experience some semblance of normalcy.
The Terps dealt with crazy weather conditions during a 17-13 win at Northwestern on April 11, then they overcame a poor first half a week later in a win at Georgetown. Now, Maryland plays at home with a chance to lock up an undefeated Big Ten season.
“We’ve come to the point in the season where, it’s a long season, and we’re no different than any team out there,” Maryland coach Cathy Reese said. “You start playing in the middle of January, and now in April, there’s all this anticipation with the Big Ten tournament coming up soon.
“It’s nice to have the time to take a deep breath and kind of reset.”
By no means did Reese imply that Johns Hopkins will be an easy game on Saturday. What she meant was that Maryland will be back at home in College Park with 10 days of rest between games, a welcome respite after a rigorous mid-April schedule.
NO. 20 JOHNS HOPKINS AT NO. 2 MARYLAND
WHEN: SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 4:30 P.M.
WATCH: BIG TEN NETWORK
“What we’re trying to do now is focus on one game, and that’s winning the Big Ten regular season, and then we’re going to focus on the Big Ten championship,” Reese said.
Maryland has the star power to make this an exceptionally tall task for Hopkins. Jen Giles is a likely Tewaaraton favorite, while Julia Braig and Megan Taylor have anchored a defense that stymies offenses regularly.
With 10 wins against the RPI top 20, Maryland moved into the projected top spot in the NCAA tournament seedings ahead of Selection Sunday.
On the bubble in a murky NCAA tournament picture, the Blue Jays have lost four of their last six games but do have a quality win against Loyola. An at-large bid is certainly a possibility, but another resume-boosting win before Selection Sunday would certainly improve their chances.
OTHERS TO WATCH
No. 4 Syracuse at No. 1 Boston College
Friday, 5 p.m., Raycom Sports Network
If Boston College looked vulnerable at all this spring, it was against Syracuse. The Orange led 7-5 at halftime back on Feb. 16, but BC dominated the second half for a 14-12 win in which Sam Apuzzo scored seven goals. Apuzzo, of course, is the X-factor come postseason play, but Kenzie Kent and Dempsey Arsenault have hit their strides throughout the year. Syracuse, a 12-10 winner of Virginia in the ACC quarterfinals on Wednesday, has offensive firepower and plenty of players to monitor on attack. Emily Hawryschuk has taken a step forward, while Nicole Levy and freshman Meaghan Tyrrell have excelled. BC’s defense, ranked 22nd in the nation, must communicate and slide to neutralize some of Syracuse’s game plan. Regardless of the result, both teams are NCAA tournament bound.
No. 3 North Carolina vs. Duke
Friday, 8 p.m., Raycom Sports Network
Duke kept its NCAA tournament hopes alive by beating Notre Dame in the ACC quarterfinals, 14-13. The Blue Devils get North Carolina in the semis just six days after the Tar Heels dismantled them, 19-5. Riding high after their best win of the season, maybe Duke makes things interesting here. Charlotte North is a handful for defenses, but she’ll need help from Olivia Jenner and others. The duo combined for 10 goals against the Irish. North Carolina just received record-setting performances from Jamie Ortega — who had a tournament record 12 points — and Katie Hoeg — who had a tournament record six assists. That duo has been dominant all year and combined for eight goals and seven assists on April 20 against Duke.
ON THE RADAR
All times Eastern. For a full list of broadcast games, please visit our US Lacrosse TV/Streaming page.
FRIDAY, APRIL 26
1 p.m.
UMass vs. Saint Joseph’s (4 seed)/VCU (5 seed) (ESPN+)
7:30 p.m.
California (4 seed)/Arizona State (5 seed) vs. No. 18 USC (Pac-12 Networks)
10:30 p.m.
No. 19 Stanford (3 seed)/Oregon (6 seed) vs. Colorado (Pac-12 Networks)
SATURDAY, APRIL 27
11 a.m.
Rutgers at Penn State (Big Ten Network)
Noon
No. 14 Penn at Harvard (ESPN+)
1 p.m.
No. 12 Dartmouth at Yale (ESPN+)
Towson at Delaware (YouTube)
3 p.m.
Hofstra at Drexel (Lax Sports Network)
No. 10 Princeton at Cornell (ESPN+)
SUNDAY, APRIL 28
Noon
A-10 Championship (ESPN+)
1 p.m.
ACC Championship (Raycom Sports Network)
2 p.m.
Big South Championship (ESPN3)
4 p.m.
Pac-12 Championship (Pac-12 Networks)
MPSF Championship (MPSF.tv)