Maryland senior midfielder Dana Dobbie said the key to the potent offense of her third-ranked women?s lacrosse team is simple.
“We are really dynamic and if anyone is open, that ball is going in,” she said. “I?m surrounded by seven of the best attackers in the country and anytime I am open they are getting the ball on my stick. I work so well with them.”
Dobbie, a National Player of the Year candidate, is ranked 15th in Division I with 45 points on 37 goals and eight assists, and along with fellow midfielder Kelly Kasper (20 goals, 18 assists), powers an offense that averages 15.8 goals per game.
Maryland (9-1) also is ranked first in the country in draws, winning 170-of-260, including 53 by Dobbie, which is tops in the nation.
The Terrapins, however, have shown some cracks in their game.
In last week?s 15-10 win over Towson, Maryland led 12-2 in the second half, but the Tigers frustrated the Terrapins in the second half, outscoring them 8-3.
“I think sometimes we just get that feeling we are up, and have that game already [won] and we don?t need to play it out,” said sophomore midfielder and former Notre Dame Prep standout Caitlyn McFadden.
They can?t afford a similar letdown if they want to win a pair of games during the next three days in Chapel Hill, N.C., at the Atlantic Coast Conference/American Lacrosse Conference Challenge.
Maryland, which is 12-2 all-time in the event and 4-0 the past two years, faces Penn State (3-6) this evening at 5 at Fetzer Field. The Terrapins conclude the event at the same location on Sunday at noon against Ohio State (7-3).
Maryland defeated Penn State, 11-10, last year in State College, Pa., in the final game of the Challenge, and has been one goal better than the Nittany Lions in three of the past four meetings.
The Terrapins are 6-1 all-time against Ohio State, winning the past five meetings by an average of more than seven goals, including a 19-12 win last season.
“You think you can relax a little bit,” Kasper, a former standout at Century, said. “But we have to keep being strong and consistent and get out to an even bigger lead.”
