Wildcats Come Up Short in Big Ten Title Game

5/7/2017 2:24:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse

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COLLEGE PARK, Md. — The No. 3-seed Northwestern lacrosse team came up short in the Big Ten Tournament Tournament championship game on Sunday afternoon, falling to top-seed Maryland, 14-6.

The Wildcats (10-9) closed the first half on a 3-1 run to carry momentum into the break despite trailing, 6-4, but gave up a 5-0 run to start the second half and were held to just a pair of second-half goals.

Senior Christina Esposito and juniors Nicole Beardsley, Ally Mueller and Lindsay Darrell were named to the Big Ten All-Tournament Team.

Esposito led Northwestern with three points on a goal and two assists, setting a new career high with 57 points on the season in the process. Beardsley recorded her fifth-straight multi-goal game and has now scored 12 goals in her last five games.

Maryland opened the game with a 4-0 run, but the Wildcats weren't shaken as they scored four of the next six to close the first half. Beardsley got the 'Cats on the board with her 15th goal of the year at the 15:28 mark of the first half and sophomore Liza Elder scored a highlight-reel around-the-world goal to cut the deficit to three, 5-2.

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Liza Elder goes around the ?? for her first goal. #BTNStandout #SCTop10 https://t.co/vIqODH3hOC
— Northwestern Lax (@NULax) May 7, 2017

The Terrapins' (19-0) Kali Hartshorn scored with 8:02 to play in the first half to push their lead to 6-2, but NU's defense clamped down to allow the offense to go to work and cut into the lead.

Esposito scored her first of the game with 2:26 to go in the half and fellow senior Danita Stroup cut it to a pair with 13 seconds left to give Chicago's Big Ten Team the momentum heading into halftime.

The defense continued to play well and held the Terps without a goal for over 14 minutes spanning the two halves. Maryland finally broke through with 23:35 left in the contest however, sparking a quick 5-0 run in just over four minutes of play to push its lead to 11-4.

Nesselbush and Beardsley scored back-to-back goals as the 'Cats attempted to make a comeback, but Maryland closed the game with three unanswered to secure the win.

The Wildcats outshot the Terrapins, 32-30, and had more shots on goal, 22-20, but a large discrepancy in fouls allowed the Terrapins to extend possessions for much of the game. NU was whistled for 39 fouls, while the home Terrapins were called for just 18.

Northwestern will seek at at-large bid for an invitation to their 14th-straight NCAA Tournament during tonight's selection show on NCAA.com. The show will begin at 8 p.m. CT.