Facing familiar foes, women's lacrosse set for title run

For a team that has reached the national championship game each of the past two seasons, it is not a question of whether they will be good, but how good. That, it seems, is always the challenge for the Terrapins women's lacrosse team.

Will the Terps once again win the title? Will they reach the championship game for a third straight year? Or will they fall short of those expectations?

For the Terps, none of those questions matter now.

"As a team, we just expect to play hard every game and compete at the highest level we can, and push ourselves to get back to that tournament and postseason," senior goalie Brittany Dipper said. "We just need to take each game one at a time and play the best lacrosse we can. Myself, I don't really care about last year or the past. It is a new year, so I am just focusing on what I need to do to be successful."

Although it is a new year, the Terps find themselves in familiar territory. Ranked No. 2 in both the Inside Lacrosse/deBeer Poll and the IWLCA/Under Armour Poll, the team's preseason expectations trail only No. 1 Northwestern's. The Wildcats, the defending champions who defeated the Terps, 8-7, in the 2011 final, have reached the title game every year since 2005, losing only to the Terps in 2010.

Beyond the Wildcats, the Terps will have to contend with a stacked ACC that last year sent five teams to the 16-team NCAA Tournament and three to the Final Four. This year, four ACC schools are ranked in the top 10, with North Carolina at No. 3, Duke at No. 5 and Virginia at No. 10.

Although obstacles stand in their way, the Terps are bringing plenty to the table. The program secured the top-ranked freshman class with four Under Armour All-Americans, who may see playing time sooner rather than later following the graduation of six seniors, including star midfielders Brandi Jones and Laura Merrifield and attacker Sarah Mollison.

Those are big shoes to fill, but coach Cathy Reese will not likely be in a bind with a starting lineup that includes four preseason All-Americans in Dipper, attacker Karri Ellen Johnson and midfielders Iliana Sanza and Katie Schwarzmann.

"We graduated some starters that had started for a few years, but that opens up new doors and opportunities for other players to step up and make a difference," said Reese, who's in her sixth season as Terps coach. "We're a very different team from last year."

With Jones and Merrifield graduated, the future of the midfield will likely fall on Schwarzmann. After leading the team in goals and finishing second in points in her sophomore year, she'll likely be looked upon to be the Terps vocal leader following Mollison's departure.

"I just need to fill in that role that those players had, and help this big incoming freshman class fit into the Maryland style of play, and just teach them our philosophy and everything," Schwarzmann said.

A key difference between this season and last will be the presence of senior attacker Karri Ellen Johnson. After missing 11 regular season games and the NCAA Tournament last year due to a concussion against Towson, Johnson, who ranks fourth in career goals in program history, will once again take the field as an offensive threat. Another name to watch is attacker Kristy Black, a senior captain who had the third-most goals last year among returning players.

The Terps begin their season Sunday, hosting William & Mary and alumna Sarah Mollison, who is now an assistant coach for the Tribe. It will be a daunting task for the opposing side — the Terps have not dropped a home game since the NCAA Tournament quarterfinals in 2008 against Duke, and have not lost a regular-season home game since 2006.

munson@umdbk.com