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Upset Brewing? - Renee Washington & La Salle Hope To Keep Their Dream Season Alive Against Maryland

Maryland (10-5-4, 4-4-2, 7th ACC) vs La Salle (15-1-3, 7-0-2, 1st Atlantic 10)

When – Friday, November 11, 6:00 PM EST

Where – Ludwig Field, College Park, Maryland

Quick Reaction – Meh.

Maryland Thus Far – Thought of as potential contenders to make it to Kennesaw and the College Cup, those prognostications seemed to be right on the money after fighting Stanford to a 0-0 draw on home turf, putting the only blemish on Stanford’s record to date. Truthfully though, the Terps would feed off of subpar non-conference opposition for much of the following weeks before a draw at James Madison raised some red flags. The team lost Jasmyne Spencer to injury in that affair, and Maryland would struggle through the opening fixtures of SEC season, winning just one of four to derail their title hopes. In all honesty, it wouldn’t get a whole lot better down the stretch either, the team going through another stretch of one win in four to go into their regular season finale needing a win to be assured of a spot in the ACC Tournament. They responded in memorable fashion though, coming back against North Carolina to win 2-1 over the Heels for the second straight year. Despite qualifying for the ACC Tournament, they would go down meekly to Virginia for the second time this season, losing 2-0 in Charlottesville.

La Salle Thus Far – A team who many saw as having great potential for the future, La Salle accelerated that clock this season with a glittering regular season campaign. The Explorers threatened to not open too many eyes after a 0-0 draw with Drexel in their second match likely led some to believe this group still had some growing to do. But La Salle would then win their next nine matches in impressive fashion, not conceding a goal in the process. It set up a huge clash with Dayton in Philadelphia to potentially decide the A10 title. While La Salle had done well to be undefeated up to that point, it wasn’t like they had been toppling any big guns. The nation would pay attention though as they finally conceded but also beat the Flyers, 2-1. Four wins after that match would all but lock up the league title. Cracks would begin to show down the stretch though as the team drew their final two regular season matches against Rhode Island and Fordham. The Explorers would then be defeated by UMass in the A10 Tournament semi-finals, 1-0.

Who to Watch:

Maryland

Olivia Wagner (M) – Has enjoyed breakout season in front of goal and leads team in points with sixteen.
Domenica Hodak (M) – Shutdown defensive midfielder is one of the best at her trade in the country.
Hayley Brock (F) – Mercurial forward has shined in fits and starts since transfer from Penn State.
Jasmyne Spencer (F) – Enduring a miserable season through injury and poor form but still has the ability to provide something special up front.

La Salle

Melissa Sanger (GK) – A10 Defensive Player of the Year has bounced back from injury that cost her all of last season.
Kelsey Haycook (F) – A10 Rookie of The Year has been a revelation up front for Explorers with sixteen goals to her name, including ten in the league.
Renee Washington (M) – No sophomore slump here as talented midfielder led La Salle with six match winning goals.
Jess Hopton (D) – Big senior defender is the glue holding together a talented defensive unit.

Best WPS Prospect – Hodak is a little undersized but could turn into a nice pest in the middle for a club.

Palatable? – Probably a little less so after La Salle seemingly regressed over the final few weeks before the Big Dance. But this still has the allure of an A10 squad having a chance to shock an ACC program.

Famous Last Words – Has La Salle peaked a little too soon? The Explorers went winless in their last three including the A10 Tournament defeat against UMass. They’ve got a lot of talented pieces, and Paul Royal’s done a masterful job of coaching this year, but if they’ve run out of gas, it could be a long evening on Friday. The Terps have been massively disappointing this year considering the expectations they came into the season with, and the Big Dance represents a last chance for redemption. The offense hasn’t lived up to their potential, but you get the feeling that the Terps have more weapons than anyone La Salle’s seen so far. They also have the NCAA Tournament pedigree their opponents lack, making them favorites on Friday but not to the point that an upset would seem out of the question.

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