The No. 10 DU Women’s Lacrosse team went against the No. 9 Maryland Terrapins on Saturday, where the Crimson and Gold just barely lost 8-10, putting their season record at 3-2.

The game started with an offensive push from the Terrapins. DU initially struggled to combat this but quickly made the transition back into their offensive half, scoring right before the two-minute mark into the game. Graduate student attack Jane Earley, with the help of graduate student attack Olivia Penoyer, solidified the early lead for the Crimson and Gold.

The Terps played back with a vengeance, pushing behind the Denver defense and firing a shot on junior goalkeeper Emelia Bohi that bounced off the crossbar. 

After four minutes of gameplay, the Terps push finally broke through for the first goal of the game, and despite a good defensive effort from the Crimson and Gold, Bohi could not save the shot. 

The Terps used the momentum from their goal to keep up their strides, spending the next two minutes on the Denver defensive side, and once again pushing past Bohi to score their second goal of the game. 

With an offensive push spearheaded by senior defender Bryn McCaughey’s breakaway, the Crimson and Gold pushed to try to get through the Terps defensive line but couldn’t get another goal despite this effort. The Terps continued their domination over the Crimson and Gold, and despite McCaughey’s attempt to get control of the ball, the Terps scored their third goal by minute 6:45.

Junior midfielder Caroline Colimore knew that the Crimson and Gold needed a push, and after positioning herself in front of the Terps’ goal, she slotted away DU’s second goal of the game. Colimore didn’t stop there and continued to bring DU forward towards their offensive half, pushing for the Crimson and Gold to get another shot on goal.

The Terps received a yellow card with less than four minutes to go, but Denver could not capitalize on the man-up advantage. Soon after the penalty ended, Maryland brought their lead to two to end the first quarter. 

DU began the second period with a yellow card on senior draw specialist Abby Jenkins, and in under two minutes, the Terps put another point on the board. 

After six minutes of play, Denver got through after graduate attack Julia Gilbert pushed past the entire defensive line of the Terps and sank the ball straight into the back of the net. 

Soon after, freshman midfielder Olivia Ripple made a beeline straight to the goal and fired a bullet into a corner that would have been incredible if the Terp’s goalkeeper, last year’s NCAA Goalkeeper of the Year, Emily Sterling didn’t come through with yet another unbelievable save. 

Gilbert didn’t waste the end of the second period, and with an assist from junior attack Lauren Black, brought the score to 4-6. With under 1:30 left in the period, Gilbert continued her push and assisted Penoyer in her first goal of the game, bringing DU to a 5-6 score with 90 seconds remaining. 

In what was an incredible turnover, the Terps, with 10 seconds on the clock, sprinted straight toward the Crimson and Gold’s goal, and with 2.2 seconds on the clock, increased their lead, 5-7. 

Coming out of the break, Gilbert combined with Penoyer for another goal and the lethal duo brought the game’s deficit down to one. Maryland came back immediately though, and, two minutes later, brought back their two-point lead. This quickly turned back into a three-point lead for Maryland less than a minute later. 

DU spent practically the entire rest of the quarter on their offensive side but couldn’t break through to get another goal. Even with a sprint that left the turf blazing from graduate student defenseman Trinity McPherson, the Terps scored, bringing the score to 6-10. 

Gilbert did not let the game slip away, however, and after a foul on UMD, scored straight into the left side of the goal, scoring her fourth of the game and her season total to 17. 

With 10 minutes on the clock, senior attack Sloane Kipp scored via a low shot on the left side of the goal off another man-up advantage. 

With a two-point deficit, the Crimson and Gold spent the rest of the fourth quarter battling for possession with UMD but could never muster a comeback. 

DU received three yellow cards towards the end of the game which halted their offensive momentum and never allowed them to get back onto the other side of the field. In the end, Maryland came away with the victory. 

The Crimson and Gold will be traveling to Evanston, Ill. to play against the Northwestern Wildcats on Friday. DU looks to get back into the winning column against the team that eliminated them last season in the NCAA semifinals.