Cathy Reese contends that past games have no bearing on her team’s upcoming matchup with Syracuse. But Maryland has ended SU’s season in each of the past two NCAA tournaments, including in the national championship game last year.

“When we started this season, it wasn’t about anything from 2014,” Reese said. “For our team it was looking forward to what we can do in 2015 and I think Syracuse is the same way. They’re a different team than they were last year.”

The No. 4 seed Orange’s (16-7, 3-4 Atlantic Coast) shot at revenge will come on Friday at 7:30 p.m. at PPL Park in Chester, Pennsylvania in the semifinals of the NCAA tournament. Reese, the Terrapins’ head coach, emphasized that it’ll take more than just reigning Tewaaraton Award winner Taylor Cummings for No. 1 seed UMD (18-1, 5-0 Big Ten) to emerge victorious.

Tewaaraton finalist Kayla Treanor leads Syracuse with 57 goals and Maryland transfer Halle Majorana leads the Orange with 89 points.

The Terrapins will have their hands full trying to contain the duo, Reese said, but her focus is on playing team defense and limiting the chances of all of SU’s offensive weapons, not just one or two.

“They’re able to create opportunities with good stick work and good shooters,” Reese said. “Yes, we’re very aware of Kayla, we’re very aware of Halle, but at the same time, they have other players that are stepping up for them this season.”

Reese noted that Syracuse attack and draw specialist Kailah Kempney has been having an “awesome” season. Kempney ranks third in the country in draw controls per game, while Cummings comes in at fifth.

Kempney stands at third all-time in NCAA history in draw controls, but has struggled against Cummings in the past. In SU’s 10-7 loss to UMD in March, Kempney finished with only three draw controls. However, gaining possession comes down to more than just the two girls in the draw circle, Reese said.

“It’s not just up to one person, both of our teams rely heavily on the people around the circle,” Reese said. “…We want to make sure we’re all involved in it and it’s not just Taylor. It needs to be the effort of everybody to try to get in there.”

Though Syracuse finished the regular season with seven losses, while the other three teams in the final four — Maryland, Duke and North Carolina — combined for eight losses, Reese said the Orange is peaking at the right time after winning the ACC tournament, despite being just a No. 6 seed.

“All of our teams work through things to conquer the ups and downs,” Reese said. “… Coming off the ACC tournament, I know they have a lot of momentum and confidence.”

Published on May 18, 2015 at 5:05 pm

Contact Jon: jrmettus@syr.edu | @jmettus