Women's lacrosse faces stiff test in No. 3 Duke

While its then-No. 2 ranking certainly qualified as sufficient evidence that the Terrapin women's lacrosse team was a bona fide national championship contender, it was the Terps' third win last season that left many assured of their immense abilities.

Not only did the Terps storm into Durham and beat then-No. 5 Duke, but they did so by a score of 17-4 — the largest margin of victory in series history.

Coming off of its best defensive performance of the season, a 13-2 rout of No. 16 Penn State on Sunday, the No. 1 Terps are eager to replicate last year's success as the squad hosts the No. 3 Blue Devils tomorrow at the Field Hockey & Lacrosse Complex.

"Excited," Brittany Poist said of the team's mood heading the contest. "I love playing these games and I know our team does too. I think that we kind of revel in any kind of challenge, and Duke's a good team. We respect them, but we're always excited to go out there and play Maryland's game."

Poist, a senior, was named the ACC's defensive player of the week on Tuesday. It's an honor she's proud of, but she believes the individual accolade pales in comparison to the team's recent play.

"It was more exciting to only allow two goals in the Penn State game," Poist said. "Just very happy with our team right now, and I just want to continue holding teams to pretty much nothing. I don't want them to even get the ball on our side of the field, so that's way more exciting than any individual side of it."

The Terps (3-0) easily dispatched their first three opponents, winning all by at least nine goals. However, Duke (3-0) represents the first truly elite team — one of a mere handful in the sport with legitimate championship aspirations — to match up with the Terrapins.

Another strong defensive effort will again be critical, as the Blue Devils' high-powered offense has averaged more than 18 goals per game thus far. Like the Terps', it features a balanced scoring attack, with four players having scored at least seven goals this year.

"I thought we had a great defensive game last game," coach Cathy Reese said. "But [we need to build] off of that, [get] better from that and [work] on some things that we need to do better. … We know that they're going to generate shots, we just want to do the best we can to limit their opportunities."

The Terps have won three straight against their rival since Duke delivered a season-ending blow to the team three years ago. The Blue Devils topped their hosts, 9-7, in the NCAA quarterfinals in 2008, a result that stands as Reese's lone coaching loss in College Park (41-1).

"That was a couple years ago and that was tough, a tough way to go out in the quarterfinals but it is what it is and you move on to the new year and we had some success last year down in Duke," Reese said. "Had a great game offensively down there and defensively, and we're looking forward to showing what this 2011 team is capable of [tomorrow]."

castello@umdbk.com