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No. 1 Women's Lacrosse Loses First Game Of The Season Against No. 4 Northwestern

The two top-ranked Big Ten programs squared off at SECU Stadium yesterday afternoon, which finished with Northwestern playing spoiler to Maryland.
Jaden Golding|
Northwestern vs Maryland | NCAA Women’s College Lacrosse Highlights | April 9, 2026
Northwestern vs Maryland | NCAA Women’s College Lacrosse Highlights | April 9, 2026 | NCAA Lacrosse Highlights

In the home finale of the 2026 regular season, the Maryland women's lacrosse experienced an outcome they had yet to encounter this year: a loss. No. 4 Northwestern came to SECU Stadium on Thursday afternoon and played spoiler to the top-ranked Terps in a gritty,11-10 battle. Maryland falls to 13-1 and 5-1 in Big Ten play on the season.

Kayla Gilmore was the Terps' leading scorer on the night, pouring in a career-high performance where she notched three goals, and it was also the sophomore's first multi-goal game of the season.

Two of Gilmore's three total goals scored came in the first quarter, helping guide the Terps to an early 3-0 advantage at the 6:56 mark. Northwestern would net a goal of their own before the quarter's end to make it a 3-1 score entering the second quarter.

Gilmore struck again on a free position shot, to net her hat trick at the 9:10 mark, giving the Terps a 4-2 lead. Jordyn Lipkin would quickly expand the Terps' lead less than a minute later. Once again, the Wildcats added a tally courtesy of Madison Taylor, making it a 5-3 deficit at halftime.

Coming out of halftime, the Wildcats turned up the offensive output, pouring in four goals in the third quarter and holding the Terps to only two, which left the game tied at 7-7 heading into the final quarter. Northwestern's attacking line was the reason for the spark in the third, taking 12 shots, with nine of those attempts on goal.

Lauren LaPointe broke the tie nearly two minutes into the fourth, on a beautiful turn shot from within the crease that went past the goalkeeper into the right side of the net, reclaiming the lead for Maryland.

However, the Big Ten's top scorer, Taylor, struck again for Northwestern not even a minute later, retying the game at 8-8. Taylor's goal marked a 4-0 run that the Wildcats would maintain for nearly the next six minutes, allowing them to take a comfortable 11-8 lead at the 6:20 mark.

Maryland didn't go away quietly. Kristen Shanahan scored her 30th goal of the season at 3:42 to cut the deficit down to two goals. Kori Edmondson added another tally with 58 seconds remaining in the contest; Maryland trailed only by one goal.

However, Northwestern won the key draw control after the goal, allowing them to play keep-away and secure the victory.

Maryland goalkeeper JJ Suriano made 12 saves on the night, marking the third of her past four contests in which she finished with double-digit saves.

Key Team Stats

  • Northwestern held the advantage in shots (31-27) and shots on goal (20-16).
  • The Terps turned over the ball 16 times on the night.
  • Maryland went a perfect 19-of-19 on its clears.
  • Northwestern had a plus-8 advantage in groundballs (20-12).
  • Maryland has not beaten Northwestern since the 2022 season, ending any hopes of an undefeated season.

Up Next:

The Terps travel north on Thursday to play No. 6 Michigan in Ann Arbor, the first road contest of two to end the 2026 regular season. The game begins at 8 p.m.

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Jaden Golding
JADEN GOLDING

Jaden's sports journalism career began at the College of Southern Maryland from 2022-2023, where he was brought in to cover baseball, softball, basketball, soccer, and volleyball at CSM. In late 2023, he began interning at the University of Maryland Athletics Department as a contributing writer to help develop feature stories and game recaps. He also creates his own sports media content on professional Washington teams with LegacyMaker Sports Network.

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