COLLEGE PARK, MD - After cruising past the American Eagles during the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the Terps continued their momentum into the second round against the Drexel Dragons. The Dragons upset the 5th ranked UConn Huskies the first round in their first NCAA Tournament appearance and promptly ran into a wall against the Terps. In fact, the Terps kept the Dragons from getting a shot off in the first half, and a total of three shots the entire game. The Terps got going late in the first half and then continued their strong run into the second half to clinch the Final Four berth.

 

Despite both teams playing a game the day before, each team came out with energy in the first 10 minutes. However, the Terps played with center back Alicia Morawski, who was recovering from a nasty cut that she suffered in the first round on an awkward tackle. On the adjustment, the Terps dropped Emma Thomas into coverage and placed the responsibility on the squarely on the midfield to hold the backfield shifts. Alexis Pappas, the center midfielder, was more than capable of stepping up to the challenge, she sprinted to every shift to put the pressure on the ball carrier and caused several turnovers throughout the game; in fact, the entire half barely saw the play go into Maryland’s defensive end.

However, not all was easy for the Terps; even though they were staying in the Drexel defensive side long enough to have a cookout, the Dragons circle defense forced stops and kept the Terps off of the scoreboard the majority of the first half. Jennifer Phillips, the Drexel goalie, saw 17 shots in the first half, and made nine saves in those shots. Yet she couldn’t save two of those shots that resulted in goals on breaks by the Terps both from Nicole Muracco, who broke the single season record for goals scored.

In the second half, the Dragons were showing their exhaustion as their passes became much more readable that resulted in fast breaks by the Maryland forwards and a quick goal by Katie O’Donnell just 1:47 into the second half. As with the first half, the Terps peppered shots at Jennifer Phillips, she had seven saves in the second to 16 shots. The Terps would score two more goals in the last four minutes of the half to put the game away and pave their way to the Final Four.
The Terps will face the Princeton Tigers in the Final Four, a rematch of a game played in the regular season. The game will be played at Winston Salem, North Carolina on the 20th of November.